Free Nascent Decay (The Goddess of Decay Book 1) by Charles Hash Page A

fixing breakfast again, the and the children were kneeling on the living room floor quietly playing a board game. The boy looked like Ryan and the girl looked like Rhylie. Rhylie crossed the living room to lay down on the couch, staring vacantly at the ceiling.
    Vorcia had not come by since before the exams, and the doctors had not yet sent for her again. Her life had settled into an endless lull. She had everything she had ever wanted…and hated all of it. The children never fought. They also never laughed, played, or really even behaved like children. They were more like robots than people. Ryan made love like a machine, in a bad way. In a strange sense, his perfection was his flaw, and in some ways he failed terribly, such as showing emotion. He was as predictable as if he were reading from a script. They never argued with each other, and he never disagreed with her.
    “Breakfast is ready!” he said in his always cheerful voice. Rhylie rolled her eyes. The children jumped up wordlessly and ran to the table to eat. Rhylie didn’t move. “Baby, are you coming to eat?”
    “I’m not really hungry,” she said. Did they have to have breakfast every morning? It was probably eggs and bacon again.
    “Is everything ok?” he asked. He almost managed to sound concerned.
    “Yes, everything is fine, dear,” she responded. “I’m just not hungry.”
    “But it’s good, mommy!” Timmy exclaimed, smacking his lips loudly for effect.
    “I’m glad, son,” she said wearily.
    “It’s gonna get cold, mommy!” the little girl exclaimed. They were always exclaiming. It was as if they only had one volume setting.
    “I don’t care, Polly. I’m not going to eat it,” she said.
    “Why not mommy?” the two children asked in unison. She really hated it when they did that.
    “Because I’m sick of scrambled eggs and bacon,” she said irritably. The room grew quiet for a moment.
    “I always used to fix you scrambled eggs and bacon when you stayed the night with me,” Ryan said sadly. Rhylie frowned.
    “That wasn’t really you,” she said.
    “Of course it was!” Ryan exclaimed, laughing. “Do you think I’ve been replaced by an alien or android or something?” The children laughed together as well, perfectly timed.
    “You’re so funny, daddy!” they exclaimed together with simultaneous delight. It was creepy. Rhylie closed her eyes again. Her headache was starting to get worse.
    “Mommy used to think I was funny,” Ryan said.
    “No, Ryan was funny,” she said angrily. “I’ve never thought you were funny.”
    “I see,” he said. “That’s too bad.”
    “What’s mommy talking about, daddy?” the children again asked as one.
    “I don’t know kids. I don’t think she’s feeling well today,” Ryan said.
    “Oh,” the children said, sounding sad.
    “Yes, mommy is very dangerous when she is not feeling well, so you should both go to your rooms after you finish eating your breakfast,” Ryan said in a serious tone of voice. Rhylie hoped this wasn’t about to get weird.
    Ryan had a subtle way of pushing her buttons mentally. It wasn’t quite abuse…it was just invasive and creepy sometimes. It had broken the illusion of a normal family life more than once, and seemed to be getting worse.
    “Yes, daddy,” they both said. They jumped up from the kitchen table and ran up the stairs. Ryan came over to the couch and lifted her legs up. He sat down and placed her legs over his lap.
    “Would you like to talk about it?” he asked after a moment.
    “No.”
    “I see. I’m doing the best I can,” he said. She shook her head and rolled her eyes.
    “Whatever that is supposed to mean,” she said.
    “I…I can’t explain. I wish I could,” he said. “I just want to make you happy.”
    “I just want to go home,” she said.
    “You are home.”
    “My real home,” she said. “Back to my real life.”
    “You cannot do that, Gota,” Ryan’s voice suddenly became soft, and serious. “You may as