Page 99 of Control Us (Next Generation 1)

“If I lost you,” I finally said. “Ifwelost you.” I looked up then. My dad blurred in my vision.

“Hey, I’m not going anywhere.” He looked between us. “Are you trying to get rid of me already?”

“No,” Mom cried, punching his arm.

He winced, grabbing her hand and bringing it up to his mouth.

“Sorry. I’m sorry.” She took a breath. “It brought me back to…” She shook her head.

“Zach.” Dad looked at me then. “Will you give us a moment?”

“Of course.” I stood from the bed and leaned over, giving him a hug. “I’m glad you’re fine. I’m really fucking glad.”

“Me too, Son.” He swallowed noisily. “Me too.”

“The teddy bear is from Luna.” I released him and placed the toy on the shelf by the window.

“Tell her thank you.” Dad gave me a small smile.

“I will.” I gave Mom a quick hug and left the room. Closing the door behind me, I breathed out a sigh of relief. As much as I knew that I should go to Luna, I leaned against the wall instead and slid to the floor. Dropping my head in my hands, I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to massage out some of the tension resting on my shoulders. But it didn’t work. It didn’t do shit in fact.

“Zach?”

My head popped up, finding Luna coming toward me.

“Can I sit?”

I nodded.

She slid to the floor beside me, wrapping her hand around my forearm. “How’s he doing?”

“Good. My mom’s pissed that he scared us.” I shrugged. “But she’s happy. We both are.”

“I bet.”

Bringing my knees up to my chest, I rested my arms on top of them. “I’m just glad—” My phone rang at that point. Pulling it out of my pocket, I muttered a curse when I saw that it was my secretary calling. “Dennis,” I answered. “I’m so sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing? You are the boss and all.”

“Yeah.” I sighed. “Listen, I should have called earlier but I wasn’t thinking straight. I need you to cancel all of my meetings today. I won’t be in the office due to a family emergency.”

“Oh God. Is everything okay?”

I smiled at his concern. “Yes. It is now.”

“Oh good. But I’m on it. You take care of yourself, Mr. Porter.”

“What did I tell you?” I chided.

“Zach.” He laughed nervously. “Right.”

“I’ll be in on Monday,” I told him and disconnected the call. It was Thursday but having an extra day wouldn’t hurt. Or that would be what my parents would say.

“Dennis?” Luna asked a moment later. “You have a male secretary?”

“I do.” I leaned my head against the wall. “He’s actually Clara’s brother. That’s why we kept in touch. He was looking for an internship because he wants to run his own business one day. He’s a freshman in college and also needed some extra cash. I needed the help anyway and gave him a job instead. He’s a good kid.”

“That’s good.”

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