And You And I

Chapter 27: Mother's going to keep you right here under her wing

Kim sat in the passenger seat and could only watch as the garage door opened and her mother drove her own car inside. When it closed behind them, she had a sinking feeling that she had just lost her chance to escape from... whatever her mom intended to do to her now. God, I feel like some teenager who's just been picked up from the police station, after having been arrested for underage drinking. Granted, she couldn't have gone anywhere anyway. In her present condition, she'd be lucky to get out of the car and then up to her old bedroom without assistance. Not that mom's likely to let me do that, she thought bitterly, as her mom climbed out of the Sloth and wandered around to the passenger side.

The door opened and her mom reached in to turn the oxygen tank off. "If you need more, I've got some upstairs," the woman said and removed the mask from Kim's face.

She was about to respond with her usual, 'I'm fine,' but recalled what her mom had said she'd do if she did. While it seemed unlikely that the woman would get back into the car and drive her to the hospital now that they were home, Kim did not want to risk inviting some of other form of punishment. Great, I'm even thinking like a busted high school teen. Instead, she replied, "my breathing's a lot better now." While true, she doubted her word on the matter would spare her the examination to come.

"Ok, Kimmie, let's get you up to your bedroom," her mom then said, her tone still one of no-nonsense and no-argument, but with a dash of motherly kindness thrown in as a sort of goodwill gesture.

Before her mom could get to it, Kim unbuckled her own seatbelt. While purely a symbolic gesture, she would not suffer the indignity of having everything done for her. She hated feeling so weak... so vulnerable. With difficulty, she swung her legs out of the car and planted them on the garage floor. Come on, you can do this, Possible. It was a struggle for her to stand and she had to grip the door frame, to the point her knuckles turned white, in order to straighten up. Immediately, her mom was there to offer her support, which she grudgingly had to accept. Her legs shook as slowly, her mother helped her out of the garage. With each step, she felt a foreign fear that her legs would give way. I refuse to fall, I refuse to fall! When they entered the hallway, Kim's gaze darted around, searching for any sign of her dad or the Tweebs.

Her mom must have sensed her apprehension, for she quickly said, "your father and brothers went to bed about fifteen minutes before I left to come and pick you up."

"What time is it?" she asked, slightly confused.

"Almost midnight. Now, let's get you upstairs."

This came as somewhat of a surprise to Kim, the last she'd been aware it had only been half-past ten, but she quickly decided it was irrelevant. The important thing being that neither her dad nor the Tweebs were likely to see her in this state. It's bad enough that mom and Monique have seen me like this, not to mention Shego... damn that bitch! The mere thought of the green-skinned woman caused her anger to simmer once more. However, she chose not to let it boil over, electing instead to ask her mom, "why were you not in bed?" The answer came to her before her mom could respond and so she then queried, "were you waiting up for me?"

"Of course I was. I did tell you that you could call me for a lift home," her mom replied as she guided Kim towards the stairs. "And it's a good thing too."

She chose not to waste her breath on arguing, primarily since she still did not have much to spare, but also because her present condition served as more than enough evidence to counter any possible claim she could make to the contrary. However, she had a sneaking suspicion that her mom may have been expecting something untoward to happen. Does she seriously just assume that I'm always going to wind up in some sort of trouble?