Page 6 of Gravity

“He’s a lovely young man, Nora. It will be nice if you were to get to know him.”

“I’ve no problem getting to know anyone Mom, the problem comes in the form of Asher. Do you really think he will like the idea of me getting to know a guy who’s going to be in our house all day long while you’re at work?” I state. “Because somehow, I don’t think it will be that easy.”

“Your brother just loves you that’s all.”

“No, he loves the control that comes with trying to protect me. Why do you think I moved to campus with such eagerness?”

“To. Escape.”

“You see, Pop gets it.” I smile. “When is he back anyway? I need to plan how many cars I’m going to hijack and how many bars I’m going to drink my way through before he’s home and puts a microchip in my shoulder.” I joke.

“Nora,” Mom warns. “He’s back already. He came by before you arrived home. And no, we never mentioned you were coming home. Not that I like lying to him.”

“It wasn’t a lie, Mom. You just got your dates mixed up, right?” I grin. I’d had her promise not to tell Asher when I was coming home from campus. I knew he’d make a fuss if he was back from whatever country he’s been in.

“So, I’ve still got time to rebel then before I’m put under lock and key?”

Grabbing her car keys from the island, she gives Dad a kiss on the cheek before placing one on my head. “He just worries about you. We all do, Nora. You’re the one who—”

“You guys didn’t know about,” I sigh. “Yeah, I get it Mom. You don’t have to remind me. Again.”

Being the one they hadn’t known about often feels like I was born with a non-criminal prison sentence. I’m surprised I haven’t been given a badge that tells everyone in Virginia who I actually am.

Nora Nelson: the miracle baby. Handle with care, or better still, avoid at all costs.

After Mom had Asher, she told me that they’d tried for another baby, but nothing had happened. One year had turned into two and two turned into three rounds of IVF, all of which were unsuccessful. Then, ten years after heartache and deciding to give up on a bigger family, my mother woke one day in agony. Six hours later, she was cuddling a baby girl she never realized she was carrying.

As the years went on, I struggled at times with feeling overwhelmed. Mom sat me down and explained the heartache that her and Dad had faced with her miscarriages, and failed IVF. It was only then that I understood the impact it’d had on Asher: he’d witnessed heartbreak from a young age and had been just as devastated by the turmoil it brought on our parents. That’s why he’s always wanted to protect me. Sometimes, though, he never understood that I needed to grow up and experience life like he already had.

“Right, I’ll see you both later. Behave, Pete. Nora is home for a while, so don’t overdo it in one go,” she orders my dad. I sometimes wonder if that is where Asher gets it from.

“It’s okay, I don’t plan on stealing those cars with Dad today.”

She rolls her eyes and heads out the kitchen, muttering to herself about how she’s going to cope with the both of us while I’m home, leaving Dad and me laughing.

As I watch him concentrate on his jigsaw puzzle, my mind wanders to the times we would all be home together, having big family dinners and playing games on Sunday afternoons before I went off to college. Those times seem like a lifetime ago, and so many things have changed since.

Regardless of whether Asher was here or deployed in another country, Grayson used to always come in and out of our place like it was his second home—be it for breakfast, a coffee or just a catch up. That guy was part of our furniture, and I’ve seen a dramatic decline in that since the tragedy of his mother’s death.

"Do you still see Grayson much?" I ask Dad, breaking the silence. Looking up, I notice his eyes turn sad, and that wedge in my chest pushes harder.

“Not. Much.” Placing his puzzle piece down, he turns his wheelchair toward me, an indication that he’s wanting to talk. Knowing that his words are limited, I’ll have to either fill in the gaps, help him with his words or sit and wait until he gets them all out.

"Few. Times. But...”

“Is he still working more than he should?”

Dad nods, and I let him rest for a few minutes before I quiz him again. Grayson has always been a hard worker, but with no reason to come home now, it’s clear he drowns himself in work. That’s something I’ve learnt he does when things are on his mind.

"You. Can… Change. Th-that."

I frown. “By making him work less?”

He nods.

“How?”

“Fun.”