Part Fifty. The Epilogue
Momma looks so tired.
I don’t like this. I mean, I wanted to know more about Caroline… but I’m starting to see why she doesn’t talk about her. She just looks really drained.
“I’ll let you two alone for a bit,” Dad whispers to me, and before I can protest he disappears. Okay, yeah, I kinda asked for it. But I don’t know how to cheer her up! That’s Dad’s job!
“Sounds like that was… kinda hard,” I say lamely. She glances at me disinterestedly.
“You have no idea.”
“So… did she ever come back? The test subject, I mean.”
“No,” Momma says heavily. “No, she’s… moved on.”
“Do you miss her?”
“Caroline – “
“She was your friend and she never came back,” I interrupt, because I don’t want her to be able to change the subject. Not when we’re finally talking about something important. “And she probably considered you her friend.”
“I don’t have any friends,” she tells me coldly. “I don’t have the time to invest in people who are only going to disappoint me.”
“Well… Dad’s your friend, isn’t he?”
“Technically.”
“And… how about Doug? Is he your friend?”
“I never talk to Dr Rattmann. So no. He is not.”
“Is… what about the systems? Aren’t they your –“
“Are you quite finished?” she snaps. “Why does it matter whether I have friends?”
“Because you’re lonely!”
Whoops.
I didn’t mean to say that. I don’t even know why I did. And though I’m still not too good at reading her, she looks almost like she did when I told her I didn’t want her to be my mom. Hurt. Devastated.
“Fine,” she says in a bitter voice, turning away. “You’re right. Is that what you wanted to hear?”
“Not… not really,” I say quietly. “I just… I didn’t mean to say that.”
“Perhaps you should consider thinking before you speak, then, because this is beginning to happen a lot.”
I’m about to apologise when I think of what exactly I’d be apologising for: caring about my mom! And you know what? She’s making me the bad guy here!
She’s pretty good at this. I know that trick and I fell for it anyway.
“Maybe you should consider listening when I speak.”
She turns around to fix her stare on me, and yeah it’s a bit scary but I’m in the right. I know I am.
“Fine. What exactly are you saying.”
“People can be your friend, you know,” I make up on the spot. “It doesn’t make you look bad.”
“I’m not concerned with how I look.”
“What are you concerned with, then?”
She turns away again, and her voice is soft enough that I’m surprised. “What they’ll do to me.”
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Portal: Love as a Construct
RomanceAfter the events of Portal 2, GLaDOS brings Wheatley out of space to keep her company. Through trial and error and revelations, their friendship grows into an undeniable connection that they just might be able to call love. And with that on their si...
