Free Love Bug by H.E. Goodhue Page B

shrugged as he kicked a clod of dirt into the open grave.
    “Stop that!” Cora cried.
    “What? This?” Xander asked as he kicked more dirt. “It’s going to have to get filled in at some point. Othe rwise the animals will come and –”
    Cora’s hand moved in a flash, leaving a bright red imprint of itself on Xander’s cheek. The boy looked shocked for a moment and then seemed simply to absorb the pain.
    “You done?” Xander smiled sickly as he gently touched his cheek.
    “Yeah,” Cora snapped. Her stomach felt like it was doing back flips and her head swam with anger as she glared at her brother. “Leave, Xander.”
    “I thought this was supposed to mean something , Cora?” Xander mocked. “Aren’t I supposed to sit beside this hole in the dirt and think longingly of all of the wonderful times we never had with our mother. To fondly remember all of those times that never existed ?”
    “Xander,” Cora said, a note of danger in her voice, “leave. Now.” Her brother shrugged once more, kicked some more dirt , and turned to leave.
    Cora collapsed to the ground, a sob erupting from her lips. Xander was an awful person, probably even without his Em-Pak, but he was right about one thing – there really were no good times to mourn. Cora had lived her entire life with a mother who was harnessed to an Em-Pak, so developing an emotional attachment to the woman had been nearly impossible. Some part of Cora though, knew that Xander was wrong.
    The role of mother was something important, sacred even , and the loss of one was an event to mourn. Cora had never been given the chance to love her mother or to feel her mother’s love, but she couldn’t help but wonder if it was really there, buried deep underneath her Em-Pak. What if her mother never had an Em-Pak or had it removed? Would things have been different? Would she have been different? Cora believed that she would have been. She had to believe that the woman who had given her life would have loved her and silently hated her brother for mocking such a sacrosanct role.
    “You okay?” Remmy’s voice asked gently as he knelt down beside Cora. The other Emos allowed Cora alone time to mourn as she saw fit, but Remmy remained on the edge of the clearing just in case Cora needed him. “Kind of a stupid question to ask at times like these, but I mean are you as okay as you can be considering everything?”
    “I guess,” Cora sniffed. “Xander is such a jerk.”
    “I’d probably use a different word,” Remmy grinned, “but he’s your brother, so we’ll stick with jerk for now.”
    “I wish Samuel could be here,” Cora admitted. Her grandfather had wanted to be there, had even helped Remmy and his father dig the grave during the night, but couldn’t be there with Cora, not with Xander around. It was simply too risky. Xander would surely recognize Samuel as his grandfather and no one could predict how he would react.
    “I know,” Remmy said as he placed a hand on Cora’s shoulder. “I’m sure that he wishes that he could too, but with Xander, it would be too dangerous.”
    “Yeah,” Cora mumbled , “I know.” Her eyes traveled over to where Remmy’s hand rested on her shoulder. It was a simple gesture, just the placement of a hand, really nothing more, but it somehow meant the world to Cora in that moment. It anchored her to the people that were still here, those that she could still care for and who could still care for her. “Thanks, Remmy.”
    “For what?” Remmy asked.
    “I don’t know,” Cora shrugged, “everything, I guess.”
    “Already told you that you don’t have to thank me,” Remmy smiled.
    He was so kind, so gentle. Why couldn’t Xander be more like him, Cora wondered? Maybe no one could? Maybe there was only one person like Remmy in the entire world? And right now that person, that singularly amazing special person was right there with her.
    Cora leaned into Remmy. He slowly wrapped his arm around her and tucked her