Page 8 of The Challenge

“It’s not okay. She needs to be up for school in the morning.”

She scooted off the bed. “Goodbye, Chloe.”

“Bye, Effie,” I managed before she ran off.

Evan left the door open a crack as he followed her. I wasn’t expecting him to return, but a few minutes later, he did. He knocked lightly and stopped just inside the doorway.

I moved to sit at the edge of the bed. “She’s very sweet.”

“She’s sneaky, is what she is.” He sighed. “I see you conceded to staying here.”

“Actually, my body just shut down. I thought I was kicking my feet up for a bit, but I fell asleep.”

“Well, at least your body has some common sense, unlike the rest of you. Did Effie wake you?”

“No, I woke up on my own, and she was just…staring at me.”

Evan nodded. “She likes to do that. It’s a little creepy.”

“I thought it was cute.” Silence filled the space between us. “I’m sorry about this,” I added. “Clearly you have enough on your hands without a surprise house guest.”

“It’s really no skin off my back.”

He couldn’t have meant that. Although…maybe I had it all wrong. There was always the possibility that I simply didn’t mean all that much to Evan anymore, so my being here didn’t faze him as much as I thought.

Evan leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. “Exactly how bad is your mom’s condition?”

“She doesn’t remember much of anything anymore.” I paused. “Well, last time I was here, there were occasional blips of reality, but they were few and far between. I’m told things are worse now.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Chloe. Truly.”

“Well, not everything is worth remembering, right? I guess the consolation is that she doesn’t remember the demise of her marriage, nor will she ever know my father remarried. Maybe sometimes it’s better to be out of touch with reality.”

Evan frowned. “You’re not speaking to your dad at all?”

“Barely.”

“That’s a shame. You two were close.”

“It is what it is,” I said, pain tugging at my chest.

“Did you have to quit your job to come here?”

“Thankfully, no.” I shook my head. “I’ll be working remotely.”

“Where do you work?”

“I’m at Lakeview Technologies in Chicago, working as a project manager.”

“What do they do?”

“They make healthcare software. We have several contracts with hospital systems in multiple states.” I tilted my head. “Where are you working now?”

“Still at the power plant, believe it or not. Just in a different capacity.”

“What do you do there?”

“I worked my way up to a senior engineer position about five years ago, but I got promoted last year to operations manager. Pretty much run the place now.”