Middle Child Syndrome - Chapter 54

Chapter 54: Ch 54: Get in the car
“That is good to hear. I hope you enjoy your new position and reach new heights. By the way, why did Damian not go with you? He would be a good shield to run away from people?”

As the night grew darker, Rika’s eyelids grew heavier. The familiar tug of sleep was pulling her towards her bed.

Despite the late hour and the growing fatigue, the allure of our conversation was too strong to resist. I couldn’t bring myself to end it.

It felt like ages since Rika had last been able to talk to Emily, but that conversation came surprisingly quickly.

Once they were done, Rika fell asleep quickly, and tomorrow was a new and fresh day without any worries.

That was what Rika wanted it to be, but that early-morning call from her mothaer caused her to change all her plans.

“Mom, do you need something from me? I am a little busy today, so can it wait?”

Rika asked in a hushed voice as she tried to fight off the sleep from her eyes. It was too early for any sane person to wake up, but Rika’s mother was up and likely in her office already.

Her mother did not spend much time at home.

“Rika, we need to talk. Do you have some time?”

It was almost 06:00 in the morning, and hardly anything needed to be done. So, of course, the answer to this question was – yes!

But everything in Rika’s body wanted her to yell ‘no’ loudly.

Since Rika did not have a death wish, she decided to play it safe and give the obvious answer.

“I do have time before 5 in the evening today. Is our talk going to take a long time?”

Rika asked, already dredging up what was about to happen next. She wondered if she could tune out and mimic the response her mother wanted from her later.

‘Will it work? I feel like it would not! But god! I do want to try it out!’

Unfortunately for Rika, her mother crushed all her dreams of cheesing this conversation with her following words.

“I will be coming to pick you up, Rika. I will be at your dorm lane in about 10 minutes. You better be ready to head out by that time.”

‘Fuckkkkk! Why did you tell me about this earlier? I need to get ready and do so much more. But I guess I do not have a choice.’

“Can you give me half an hour? I will come out and meet you after that.”

Rika offered back the compromise that she thought her mother would take.

Her mother could stalk her way inside the dorm and drag Rika out. But that would only make the dorm lady even more upset. Moreover, it would expose Rika’s identity, which she wanted to avoid.

It would just be best if she met her mother outside and then went from there.”

“Fine! I can do half an hour. Stop complaining, Mark! You wanted to do this as well. Rika, we will be there soon.”

Suddenly, Rika wanted to cancel everything and not show up.

Having her mother in the same place as her would be awkward, but having Mark there as well would be overkill, and it scared Rika a lot more than she was willing to say.

‘Is it too late to say that I cannot come? But knowing my mother, she will track me down to find out what I am so busy with that I cannot come with her.’

Since Rika knew this, she sighed and decided to get ready.

The dorm lady was awake at that hour, and Rika quickly explained her situation before heading out.

She felt nervous, and her insides churned with the anxiety of not knowing what would happen next.

Rika had no idea why her mother had called her out like this. Mark was with her, and there was a solid chance that Suzie would be with them.

Somehow, the thought of being in the same confined place as an omega did not sit well with Rika. Just thinking about that possibility made her gag harder.

‘I should not think about it right now. I will cross that bridge when it comes. Until then, I should focus on myself.’

After half an hour of the call, Rika finally saw her mother’s car. As expected, her mother did not know the meaning of being late.

When the door opened, Rika expected to see Suzie, but the only people in her car were her mother and Mark.

And Mark chose to ignore Rika rather than acknowledge her presence.

“Hurry up and come inside, Rika. Mark, stop playing with your phone. Can’t you greet your sister?”

Rika awkwardly got into the car as she watched her mother smack her brother’s arm for not greeting her properly.

But Mark only made an annoyed face at that behaviour.

“Why did you decide to drive here to pick Rika up? We did not need her to help when we picked out Suzie’s gift. Her taste could not be any different than Suzie’s. This will be a disaster!”

Mark almost yelled at his mother before feeling guilty and quietening down.

Rika masked her hurt with annoyance, but she did not say anything. On the other hand, her mother quickly snapped back at Mark.

“I told you before! This is not a shopping trip for Suzie alone. It is a chance for us all to bond. We do not get enough time with each other, which makes me sad. Don’t you want to spend time with your sister, Mark?”

Mark looked at his mother dead in the eye when he replied to her.

“I was spending time with my sister when you decided we needed to head out. And no offence to you, Rika, but I am sure you would prefer not to be with us, right? We are almost like strangers at this point-”

The oldest alpha stopped the car and held out her hand toward Mark. He looked confused at her actions, and the lady decided to specify what she wanted.