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“But,Mom,” Elliot groaned. She gave him one stern look, and my brother simply sighed. “Okay, okay,” he grumbled. He picked up his plate and Clary’s before heading toward the kitchen.

Mom reached over for my plate but didn’t walk off straightaway. “They’ve called me into the hospital tonight.”

“What? It’s your first day off in forever.”

Mom shrugged. “They need me.”

“And you need rest. Tell them you can’t go.”

She shook her head. “I’m not going to do that.”

I stood from the table, frustration lashing through me. “You’re dead on your feet. Get them to call someone else.”

“You know that’s not how it works. This is my job, Aiden, and we’re fighting a pandemic. The virus doesn’t take days off.”

I couldn’t listen to her anymore. Mom always put others first, but if she kept going at this rate, it was going to kill her. She wouldn’t even consider telling her workno, and I knew there was no way I could change her mind.

“I have to go do my homework.” I stalked from the room.

“Aiden…” she called after me, but I didn’t look back.

It was only once I got to my bedroom that I remembered the homework excuse didn’t really work right now. We hadn’t had classes in weeks and weren’t starting school again for a few days.

I let out a sigh and collapsed on my bed. I was sick of worrying about my mom, but it didn’t look like that would be stopping anytime soon. A flicker of guilt went through me because of how I’d reacted. Mom was only trying to help people, but she needed to look out for herself too. Still, the way I’d stormed off didn’t help anyone.

The evening had been going so well. It had been easy to forget why we were all stuck at home while we’d been solving the puzzle together. Reality was never far away though, and Mom getting called into work only reminded me of it. I had to wonder just how long the pandemic would be messing with our lives.

19

Clary

Istared after Aiden’s retreating figure. His body radiated tension as he stalked from the room. Jade’s shoulders slumped with disappointment as she watched him leave. He’d been smiling and joking only moments ago, but his demeanor had completely changed as soon as his mom told him she was working tonight.

“Is he okay?” I asked.

She sighed as she looked toward me. “He’ll be fine. He just worries about me too much.” She let out another sigh before she carried the dirty plates she was holding back to the kitchen.

I didn’t share Jade’s optimism about Aiden though. He’d looked really upset. I probably should have just ignored it and gone upstairs to read a book. Instead, when I reached the upstairs landing, I found myself stopping outside his bedroom door.

I hesitated for a few seconds, gnawing on my lower lip as I decided whether I should see if Aiden was okay or take the far safer option of retreating to my room. A few weeks ago, I would have let him be without a second thought. But there was a swirling pit of concern in my stomach I couldn’t seem to ignore. I was worried about him, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to relax until I’d checked on him.

I lightly knocked on the door but didn’t wait for an answer before I pushed it open. Aiden was lying on his bed, resting an arm across his face. He didn’t even acknowledge my presence.

“Hey, are you okay?” I asked as I slowly ventured farther into the room.

“Peachy,” he replied.

I sat on the edge of his bed, unsure what else to say. He was acting like he wanted to be on his own, but I knew how much it sucked being left alone with your thoughts. Especially at times like this.

“You don’t seem peachy,” I eventually replied.

He lowered his arm slightly and looked at me with one eye. “What gave me away?”

“I mean, it’s a toss-up between you storming off from dinner and you hiding in your room…” I gave him a shy smile, and his expression relaxed.

He slowly removed his arm from over his head before he sat up. “I’m fine, really.” The fun twinkle his gaze usually held was gone though.

“So, your mom…” I started.