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Uma's husband Tony was on the road, driving fast at the edge of legality, in order to reach the hospital. The day had already been wasted, and he'd cut short his business trip to see his son. Seeing as he would make no further progress in his exhausted state, he pulled in to the side of the road and fetched his phone. A quick call to his secretary informing her of his departure was made. He then looked up motels en route to find a place to stay. Once those little chores were complete, he started another call:

“Call Jacob Eriksson. Mobile," he said, waiting for the voice command to process. The kids shared their mother's surname, something he wasn't too concerned about when he and his wife first discussed it. Sounded better than Marquesez anyway (which sounded like a tablet). He found himself regretting that decision nowadays, as it widened the gap he'd inflicted on the family.

He heard Jacob answer. “Hi Dad."

“Hey Jacob. Are you still at the hospital?"

“I am. Mom's here too. Everyone else has gone."

“Okay."

“Do you want to talk to her?"

Tony felt a lump form in his throat. He paused for a second, making an audible swallow. “No...no, leave her. She's with Donnie right?"

“Yeah."

“Yes...just leave her be." Tony rubbed his brow. “Don't think she's in much of a mood for talking, eh?"

“Nah," Jacob agreed, his voice cracking over the line, “we've all taken turns at Donnie's side."

“He's doing good, right? I mean...Michael told me a lot, but has there been any changes?"

“Bro's the same." Tony sighed as he listened to Jacob, who was keeping his voice down so as not to disturb his mother. “I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens next."

“And your sister, how does she feel?"

“Umm...Cynthia's pretty beat up. She's gone now. She left with Mikey in his car. They're gonna visit again tomorrow."

“I see." Tony spent a moment looking through the windshield, gazing out at the night sky as it floated above the barren highway. He leaned forward in the car seat, weight against the wheel, and straightened his spine. A cough sputtered out from his strained pose, cutting short his stretch. “Give me a minute son," he said as he unlocked the door and stepped onto the shadowy ground. The air was fresh, if not a bit dry, and its sharpness woke his senses after hours trapped in a stuffy car. “About me coming over..."

“What's wrong? You said you were on the way." Jacob sounded annoyed over the phone.

“I was—I am! Yes. But I won't make it tonight."

“Oh."

“This drive is way longer than I thought. I underestimated how long it'd take me."

“Fine," Jacob grumbled, “when will you arrive?"

“Tomorrow night—"

“Jesus dad!"

“Hey, hey! Do not take that tone with me, son."

“Yeah fine, I won't."

“And will you give your regards to your mother?"

“Why can't you just talk to her? What is it with you two?"

“Jacob...I'm not in the mood to discuss that. Suffice to say our speaking terms are...somewhat tenuous at the moment."

“I know."

“Then you know better than to ask stupid questions."

Tony kicked a small rock and watched it sail through the air, landing with a clatter and a spray of dust. He wasn't sure who knew what. The kids seemed to have a faint grasp of their parent's falling out, but the specifics were left to fester in an ungodly soup of paranoia. It would fucking kill them, he reminded himself, ignorant of the truth...of what happened when Uma discovered his affair.

Jacob had been quiet for a while, and his father's idling in the countryside was a coincidental complement to his silence. Soon, however, he spoke again: “Mom sold the house."

“Already!?"

“What do you mean 'already'? She's been talking about it for months."

“I—"

Tony held his phone far from his head and cursed. His life was moving too fast. Now Uma had signed away any chance of things returning to normal, of returning to how they were. He'll be a stranger in a new home, nothing to keep old memories pushing his wife further and further away.

“She authorised the sale this morning," Jacob added, his words fizzling with static as Tony brought the phone back to his ear. “Never expected mom to be so proactive 'bout it. Though you're gone so often you probably didn't notice a thing when she was knee-deep in preparations," Jacob chuckled. His father picked up on that slight.

“Listen...I've to make my way to a motel for the night, so I don't want to waste more time on this call, but at least tell me this: do we have a place to go?"

“For fuck's sake dad! We're not gonna be homeless! Yes, mom has found somewhere...somewhere safer. It's in a small town an hour's drive from the city. Look, I'll get mom on the line—"

“NO! I said no and that's final. Leave her be. And I thought I told you to stop the swearing!"

Jacob muttered an unintelligible profanity under his breath. Tony wanted to wrap up the call before he pissed his son off worse. “Okay. I'll see you tomorrow night. Hopefully. Bye..."

He hung up. His eyes were heavy. Tiredness was setting in. A bed, that's all he cared about right now. Not the exchange with his son, or the parting spat they ended on, or the fact he'd lost track of time — lost track of many things...no, those were forgettable. A good night's sleep. Yeah. That other stuff...what other stuff?

Tony got back into his car, turning the key. The engine growled as his seat-belt clipped into place, palms growing sweaty as they gripped the steering wheel. He was of two minds. One was already with his family, kneeling beside Donnie's bed, playing the part of concerned parent. The other was in his office miles away, whispering into his secretary's ear. Which one did he belong to? Which one did he feel he belonged to...it was a tough choice, and both lives had met only once. Yet once was all it took to shatter the illusion of a happy marriage.

It pained him to answer the call of the life he had no passion for; not an ounce left in his heart.

His foot kissed the accelerator pedal.

Brittany wouldn't judge him. She was better. For now.

* * *

Jacob tapped his phone screen, watching the animated button shrink into nothingness as his father's call ended, accompanied by a schwoomp sound effect. He felt on-edge. Their call had got heated, and Jacob found it hard to avoid cursing out his dad, especially since he knew the score.

His mom had found messages on his dad's phone. Lewd ones. The kind you send to someone you're involved with. After forcing him to fess up she'd put him at arms length, giving herself space. The rest didn't know shit, but Jacob did. He was the one to walk in on her crying...the one who learned about Tony's adultery. He was the one who held his mom as she wept, and learned what kindness his dad had ruefully abandoned in pursuit of another woman...

Jacob shook his head and groaned. He stuck his phone back in his pocket and shuffled over to where his mom and brother lay. “I'll swing 'round in the morning."

“Wait a sec, was that your father you were talking to?"

“Yeah. He said he'd make it here by tomorrow night."

Uma sighed. Typical. “Goodnight then," she said blankly.

Jacob knelt beside her, placing his hands on her cheeks and planting a light kiss on her forehead. “Goodnight mom," he said before passing through the curtains into the outer ward.