The Serum

T H I R T Y - T W O.

"Lizzy, sweetheart, breakfast! I made omelets!" I jump out of bed, dashing into the bathroom. Omelets are the epitome of my existence and Mom knows it. After a quick brush of my teeth, I clamber down the stairs . I pause at the threshold, panting. 

"I'm here!"

Mom bursts out laughing when she sees me. "What were you doing last night?" She points to my hair, which when I look in the mirror in the hall is sticking up in all directions. My face pinches together. 

"Nothing." 

She arches a brow and my jaw drops when I realize what she's insinuating. 

"Mom!" 

She laughs again. "I'm just teasing, darling." 

She goes back to the stove to flip the omelets. I can hear the butter sizzling in the pan and lick my lips. Mom hasn't made omelets in... forever.

It's been three months since I came home. Correction: amazing three months. Mom and I have gotten a lot closer, and Sierra has been good to update me on the forthcomings of the serum, which she has named Reversal. All good news, so far, so now it's just a waiting game for Dad and Sam to come home. 

I slide into the breakfast bench, bouncing like I did when I was a little kid. Some habits die hard. Mom sets the plate with the steaming omelet in front of me and immediately, I start slicing it up. 

I haven't even taken a bite when the doorbell sings, announcing someone's arrival. A pleat appears between Mom's brows. We hardly get visitors. 

"Lizzy, get that, will you?" I moan.

"What about my omelet? It'll get cold by then."

"Don't be dramatic, Liz. I'm cooking, you're not, so you're getting the doorbell." 

I do as she says, grumbling as I tug the door open. 

As I gaze at the man standing at the door, I feel myself feeling incredibly faint. 

He smiles at me, eyes crinkling in the corner of our identical eyes.

"Dad?"

When I force the word out, there's a clatter in the kitchen and Mom comes rushing out, frazzled. She sees Dad and tears waterfall down her cheeks. 

"I thought you'd be more happy to see me," Dad jokes, holding his arms. The two of us fall into them, reveling in the sensation of his warmth. He's here, he's really here. My mind stubbornly refuses to believe it but he's here, standing right in front of me. 

If he's here, is Sam here too?

As if Dad can read my thoughts, he smiles down at me and squeezes my shoulder. 

"He's waiting for you, love." Hearing him say the word makes a fresh wave of tears come.

"Where?" I ask, desperate. 

"He said that you'll know where." 

I look downcast, sifting through my memories as I think for what he could mean. I come upon a particular one and recognition lights a fuse.

"I'll be back. Promise!" I call as I leap into the car.

"Honey, why don't one of us drop you?" Mom calls, worried. 

"She'll be alright, Chloe," Mom lets out a sob and falls into his arms again. "She'll be alright. She's our daughter, after all."