NULL
BY NIKLUAS VERMONT
3rd POV
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The door creaked open an hour later. Jaeger's mother stepped in, basket heavy with fruit. She set it on the counter and called out, soft as always.
"J, come on down—I'm home."
Jaeger came running, barefoot on the warped wood. He stopped in the kitchen doorway, forcing a smile that felt borrowed.
"Hey, Mom. Welcome home. How was work?"
"Work was great." She turned, wiping her hands on her apron. "So what were you up to while I was gone?"
"Nothing much, really…"
The pause stretched. He opened his mouth, closed it. She knew that look—had known it since he was small enough to hide behind her skirt.
She set the basket down, hands on hips, gentle smile ready.
"Okay, what's wrong?"
He rubbed his palms together like he could erase the question.
"Well… um… Mom, I was thinking—can I get a job at the mine?"
The smile froze.
"Mine?"
Most kids ran from the mine like it was plague ground. Only orphans and the desperate took picks down there. And they weren't far from that life either —Jaeger had grown up a bastard, no father's name, no stories, just the hole where one should have been.
"If you don't mind me asking… why exactly?"
He'd rehearsed this.
"I've been thinking. You've worked double shifts my whole life. I'm old enough now. I want to take some of that weight off your shoulders. I don't want you carrying it alone anymore."
Her face softened, then cracked. Eyes down. Shoulders in.
Jaeger watched her and felt the knife he'd written himself twist.
Because he remembered chapter 12.
The one where the mother dies in a mine collapse to give the protagonist his first real rage.
The one he'd typed at 3 a.m. because tragedy sells, because pain makes the climb meaningful.
He was asking her permission to walk into the grave he'd already dug for her.
"I understand, dear…"
Silence again, thicker this time.
"You can check it out tomorrow," she said finally, voice thin.
"Thanks, Mom. You're the best." He grinned too wide.
She walked over, pulled him into a hug. Her arms were thin but fierce, like they could hold the whole shallow world together if she tried hard enough.
She whispered into his ear, "Do your best on your job."
The words were warm.
They were also the exact last line he'd given her before the rocks fell.
He hugged her back harder, memorizing the smell of her hair, the way her heartbeat felt against his cheek.
Because he knew—better than anyone—that this hug had an expiration date he'd set himself.
"Okay," she said, pulling away, forcing brightness. "What do you say we have curry for dinner?"
"That's a great idea, Mom."
He smiled.
She smiled.
Neither of them mentioned that tomorrow he would start walking toward the day she stops breathing.
(Turn the page.
The mine waits below.)
A/N - pls author here I'll love to here your views about the novel, leave a comment down below