Chapter 301

Chapter 301

An hour passed.

Bianca suddenly rolled over and leaned over the edge of the bed, dry heaving. Emily quickly grabbed a basin. What came up was nothing but bile—yellow-green and reeking of acid.

After she finished, Bianca collapsed back onto the bed, gasping for air.

Another half hour went by.

Bianca opened her eyes.

This time, there was light in them.

"Mom."

"I'm hungry," Bianca said.

On her way out to buy oatmeal, Emily stopped in the hallway and leaned against the wall for a moment.

Five days.

Only five days left.

She wiped her tears and headed downstairs.

Lucas noticed something was off with Damian starting Wednesday.

At dinner that night, Damian chewed his food twice, glanced up at him, then looked back down and shoveled rice into his mouth.

Thursday was the same.

When Damian got home from school, he tossed his backpack on the couch, walked to the study door, and stood there for a good ten seconds. His hand was halfway up before he pulled it back, turned around, and went upstairs.

Friday was even more obvious.

Juliana picked up on it too. That night in bed, she said to Lucas, "Damian's been out of it these past couple days. You should ask him."

"I know."

"You know and you're still not asking?"

"I'm waiting for him to say it himself."

Juliana rolled over. "If he could say it himself, would he be hovering outside your study for three days? You know how Damian is—stubborn as hell. When it comes time to actually open his mouth, he's timid."

"You're his father," Juliana added.

Saturday morning, Lucas came out of the study and ran into Damian in the second-floor hallway.

"Come here."

Damian followed him into the study.

Lucas sat down in his chair. "Sit."

Lucas studied him for a moment.

"Whatever you've been wanting to tell me these past few days, say it."

"You've stood outside my study three times. Stopped yourself from speaking at the dinner table four times. Unless I miscounted."

The room was quiet for about half a minute.

"Dad."

"Yeah."

"I want to join the military."

Lucas didn't respond right away.

The thirteen-year-old boy had already shot up to five-foot-seven. His jawline was starting to sharpen.

"When did you start thinking about this?"

"When Kate won that award. She looked so... commanding."

Lucas listened.

"That's when I started thinking... what do I want to do with my life? Take over your company? I'm not cut out for it. I can't sit in an office all day."

"What do you think you're cut out for?"

Damian thought for a second. "I'm good at physical stuff. I've never lost a fight—"

"Fighting isn't something to brag about."

"I know. But what I mean is, I'm not afraid of hard work or getting hurt. I want to do something... real. Not the kind of 'real' where you make money. A different kind."

He added, "Anyway, I want to join the military."

"Do you know what that means?"

"Yeah."

"Tell me."

"Leaving home. Going to base. Training. Following orders. Maybe getting stationed somewhere far away where I can only come home a few times a year."

"What else?"

"Danger."

"Your mother just got pregnant. There's your brother or sister in her belly right now. You're going to tell her you want to join the military—have you thought about how she'll react?"

Damian lowered his head.

"I have. That's why I'm telling you first."

Lucas tapped his fingers twice on the armrest.

"Are you serious about this? Or is this just an impulse?"

"I'm serious. I've been thinking about it for a month."

"You've been thinking about it for a month. Why didn't you say something earlier?"

Damian looked up at him. "I was afraid you wouldn't agree."

Damian added, "And afraid you'd be disappointed."

After Damian said that, the study fell silent again.

Lucas stood up and walked to the window.

"Dami."

"Yeah."

"I'm not disappointed."

Damian froze.

Lucas turned around. "If you want to go, I'll get you the resources. But there are a few conditions."

"What conditions?"

"First, when you tell your mother about this, you do it yourself. I'm not doing it for you. Second, before you go, catch up on whatever schoolwork you need to. I don't want people saying the Sharp family's kids can't pass their classes. Third..."

He walked back and stood in front of Damian.

"Once you're in, do it right. Don't embarrass me."

Damian stood up. "Thank you, Father."

Lucas clapped him on the shoulder.

"Go dry your hair. Walking around with it wet—what kind of impression does that give?"

Damian left the study and almost ran into Matthew in the hallway.

Matthew looked innocent.

"Were you eavesdropping?"

"No. I was just passing by."

"Passing by? Right outside the study?"

Matthew held up the cat to hide his face. "Potato wanted to come here to sunbathe."

Damian reached out and plucked the cat from his hands. "Potato's downstairs in the flower bed. Whose cat are you trying to pass off?"

Matthew blinked. "This is Potato's stand-in."

"...You got the cat a stand-in?"

"A backup. In case Potato calls in sick."

Damian had no response to that. He shoved the cat back at him. "All right, stop hanging around here. Go downstairs."

Matthew headed down with the cat, then turned back after a couple steps. "Damian."

"What?"

"Joining the military's a good thing. You'll look great in uniform."

Damian didn't answer, but his ears turned red.

...

That afternoon, Lucas sat in the living room scrolling through his phone. Juliana was on the couch next to him, holding a book she hadn't really been reading, her eyelids drooping.

Lucas put down his phone and glanced at Matthew.

"Matty."

"Hmm?"

"Damian's got something he wants to do. What about you? Have you thought about what you want?"

Matthew tilted his head and thought for a moment.

"I want to stay with Mom."

Lucas waited for him to continue.

Juliana had almost dozed off, but when she heard that, her eyes opened.

"Don't just think about me. What about you?"

"I am thinking about me. I want to stay with you. You've got a baby in your belly—once it's born, you'll be even busier. I need to help you watch over things."

Juliana sat up. "You're how old? What are you going to help me with?"

"I can do lots of things." Matthew counted on his fingers. "I can make formula. I can get kids to sleep."

Lucas leaned back on the couch, watching Matthew.

Matthew was like Juliana—soft on the outside, but with his own ideas inside. And those ideas ran deep. Once he made up his mind, he wasn't easily swayed.

"Our Matthew," Juliana laughed, "don't let that quiet act fool you. He's capable of more than you'd think."

She turned to Lucas. "You know he's got another talent?"

"What?"

"Hacking."

Matthew's ears perked up. He waved his hands quickly. "Mom..."

"What, I can't say?"

Lucas looked at Matthew.

"The Logan thing. That was you?" Lucas asked.

Matthew shrank back a little. "He was messing with my dad," he said quietly.

The word 'dad' came out naturally.

Lucas's expression didn't change much, but he picked up his teacup, took a sip, and when he set it down, the curve of his mouth was different than before.

"Well done."

Matthew looked up.

"Seven people in the tech department spent a week trying to find a trace of you and came up empty. That's solid work."

Matthew's eyes lit up, but he quickly tamped it down and snuck a glance at Juliana.

Juliana shot Lucas a look. "Don't praise him. The more you do, the cockier he gets. Last time he took apart his school's firewall just for practice and almost got us called in."

"That firewall was way too weak," Matthew muttered. "Basically didn't exist."

"Oh, so now you're justified?"

"I fixed it for them... and upgraded it."

Juliana pointed at him. "Next time you pull something like that, I'm confiscating your computer."

"Okay."

Lucas watched Juliana and Matthew bicker without saying anything.

Matthew went back to his homework at the coffee table, wrote two lines, then looked up again. "Dad."

"Yeah."

"If you ever need help with computer stuff, you can ask me. I won't charge you."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Matthew looked satisfied and went back to writing.

Juliana leaned back on the couch. The baby in her belly moved again.

Footsteps sounded from upstairs. Damian came down, hair finally dry, wearing fresh clothes. He walked into the living room, surveyed the scene, and sat down next to Matthew.

"What are you working on?"

"Math."

"Which problem are you stuck on?"

"I'm not stuck."

"Then why are you going so slow?"

"I'm enjoying the process."

Iris poked her head out from the kitchen. "What does everyone want for dinner?"

"Braised pork!" Damian.

"Something light." Juliana.

"Ribs." Matthew.

Three answers came out at once. Iris blinked, then looked at Lucas.

Lucas was scrolling through his phone. Without looking up, he said, "Make all of it."

Iris laughed and went back to the kitchen.

---

Clarence lived in the military compound on the west side of the city.

When Lucas arrived with Damian, Clarence was sitting in the courtyard playing chess.

"Mr. Fisher."

Clarence looked up, glanced at Lucas, then at Damian beside him.

"You made it?"

"Yeah."

Clarence set down his chess piece, stood up, and circled around Damian.

"How old?"

"Thirteen," Damian answered himself.

Clarence squeezed his arm. "Frame's decent. Muscle's too soft. Looks solid, but once you put him under real strain, he'll drop weight fast."

Damian didn't say anything, but his face showed he wasn't convinced.

Clarence caught the look and laughed. "Kid, that expression is exactly like Lucas's back in the day. When he joined my unit at nineteen, he had that same defiant look. And what happened? First day, after a five-mile run, he was flat on the ground puking three times."

Lucas sipped his coffee and didn't comment.

Clarence sat back down. "Lucas told me you want to join the military."

"Yes, sir."

"Why?"