“Look, we’re visiting family! Aren’t there any other flights leaving that we can take?

  Simon watched his stepmom, Haley, arguing with the airline attendant.

  “The runway is too icy for anything to take off,” said the woman. “I’m sorry, ma'am. We weren’t expecting this, and as always, Velta Airlines will be offering hotel vouchers if the delay ends up extending into the night.”

  I understand why she’s so frustrated. Nobody likes being stuck at the airport.

  Simon walked over to Haley and gently took her hand into his. She was wearing a long wool jacket over a white turtleneck sweater and black leggings. She looked good, and Simon wasn’t the only one who noticed.

  “It’s okay, mom,” he said. “We’ll figure something out.”

  Haley hesitated, as though the sound of her son’s voice had cast a spell over her. She turned and smiled at him, her lovely features coming to life like a crystal catching the glint of early morning sunlight.

  “Ma’am?” The attendant looked from Simon, to Haley, and then back down at the counter. “Do you want me to put you on the list for a hotel voucher?”

  Haley shook her head.

  “No,” she said. “We’ll make do.”

  Simon kept his hand against hers as they walked back over to their bags. Neither of them said anything for a moment, and neither of them needed to. They’d been fiercely close ever since Simon was a young child, and Haley first came into his life.

  “My friend Molly has a small apartment not too far from the airport. I still have a key to it from my last cycling trip.”

  Simon nodded. Haley was an avid cyclist, and at least once or twice a year, she made time for cross country trips that brought her out into the Midwest. She always came back with a certain air about her, as though each journey had a spiritual quality to it.

  “That sounds fine to me,” said Simon. “Mom… I don’t mind being stuck here for an extra night.”

  “I don’t either.”

  They met each other’s eye for a moment, and Simon felt something he shouldn’t have. He’d been feeling it more frequently lately, and as an 18-year-old on the other side of puberty, it was more confusing for him than ever.

  “Your father won’t be getting to my parent’s house for another couple of days,” said Haley. “We shouldn’t have to worry about missing out on anything.”

  “It’s him who is missing out.” Simon smiled at her, and she smiled back, though hers contained hints of strain and sadness.

  I shouldn’t have said that.

  Haley and Simon’s father, Jim, had been together for the better part of two decades. It was hard for Simon to remember the early years of their relationship, but what memories he did have always seemed to revolve around raising him.

  It wasn’t that they didn’t love each other, but rather, both of them loved Simon more. It sometimes left him with a selfish, spoiled taste in his mouth, but in some ways, it held the family together more effectively than anything else could.

  “Shoot, our bags!” Haley bit her lip and gently slapped her hand against her thigh.

  “I don’t think we’re going to be able to get our luggage,” said Simon. “We’ll just have to make do with what we have in our carry-ons.”

  “I don’t have any clothes in mine, or really anything that I need.” Haley started to scowl, but Simon caught her eye, and her expression softened slightly. “Well, I guess I do have my toothbrush. And some makeup.”

  “We’ll make do, mom,” said Simon. Haley smiled at him, and Simon felt that same unsettling feeling again. She looped her arm through his, and the two of them made their way to the airport’s exit.

  There was a cold winter breeze in the air, but it was much milder than most winters. The airport was on the outskirts of the city, and a few people who’d been on the flight with them were loading up into taxis.

  “I don’t feel like being cramped into the back of a smelly cab,” said Haley. “Not after such a long flight. It’s only a mile or so to Molly’s place. Do you mind if we walk?”

  Something prickled the hairs on the back of Simon’s neck. He shook the feeling off and nodded.

  “Not at all,” he said. “The moon’s out tonight, after all.”

  “I biked down this exact road on my last cycling trip.”

  Haley was smiling, and as always, Simon felt intoxicated by the way it projected her beauty, as though serving as the focus of a luscious laser beam. They were still walking arm in arm, and every step he took felt buoyant.

  This isn’t how I should feel, is it?

  “I remember,” said Simon. “You were gone for two weeks straight.”

  “You and your father got by well enough,” said Haley.

  “Yeah, I guess we did.”

  “It probably helped that I left you with enough frozen casserole to feed a small army.”

  Haley smiled at him and leaned her head against his shoulder. She was shorter than him, but she hadn’t always been. The fact that he was now taller than her seemed to be indicative of something. Simon didn’t know whether it was just the gentle march of time, a sign of how their relationship had evolved, or just maybe, something a bit harder to put into words.

  “You know, this isn’t so bad,” he said.

  “Yeah.”

  “I almost thought you were going to tear that poor airline assistant’s head off, for a second.”

  Haley swatted him on the arm. The two of them came to a stop, and a few snowflakes gently began to fall through the air around them, as if on cue.

  “I was tired from the flight,” she said. “That’s all.”

  “Oh yeah?” Simon smiled and met her eye. “That’s all?”

  Haley didn’t say anything. Simon felt his heart rate accelerating. The street lights were far enough apart on the suburban road to allow little pockets of shadow to form at regular intervals. The two of them were standing within one of them, and they were staring into each other’s eyes. The tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife, or for other, less metaphorical things.

  Nobody would ever know. I could kiss her, and probably play it off as it being an expression of my love for her as a son.

  Simon leaned his face into hers. Haley’s bottom lip quivered slightly. She could see what he was thinking, read the lust and logic that went into what was happening. Simon could see a similar calculus of passion taking place in her heart. Haley smiled slightly and set a hand on his chest.

  Something crunched in the snow from behind them, shattering the moment into a thousand jagged little pieces. Simon coughed and looked away and Haley started walking again.

  “We should get there soon,” she said, her voice much more anxious than it had been a few seconds earlier. “I’ll keep my eyes out for it, so we don’t end up going too far.”

  “Uh-huh.” Simon nodded, taking deep, calming breaths. “We wouldn’t want that. That would be bad.”

  What the hell was I thinking? I’ve never been so ashamed of myself in my life.

  The two of them kept walking, this time slightly further apart than they had been before. Simon felt lucky for the snow, his face burning with well-deserved embarrassment.

  An awkward silence to end all awkward silences filled the space between them, but only for a couple of seconds. The footsteps following behind them grew louder and more urgent. Simon glanced over his shoulder just before a figure overtook him and slammed a hard elbow into his face.

  “Simon!” Haley moved to help him and then stepped back. Simon managed to stay present enough to see that his attacker had been a woman, almost as tall as he was, and holding a knife in one hand.

  “Run, Mom! Hurry!”

  “Not so fast.” The woman took a step forward, brandishing her knife first at Haley, and then at Simon. “If you run away, I’m going to make sure your boyfriend has a very bad night.”

  “He’s not…” Haley trailed off, shaking her head. Her face was a mask of fear and desperation, and just looking at her made Simon’s heart sink.”

  The woman with the knife brought two fingers to her mouth and let out a loud whistle. A few seconds later, another man and woman showed up. The man dragged Simon to his feet.

  “Nice find,” said the man. “The look like they have a lot of cash on them.”

  The woman with the knife nodded. Simon could see that they were all wearing masks, and a jolt of fear went through him.

  They’re professionals. They could decide to kill us, and that would be the end.

  “Now now, cheer up,” said the woman. “We aren’t going to hurt you. We just want your money, and then you can be on your way.”

 “I… I only have my credit card on me.” Haley shook her head. “He doesn’t have anything, either.”

  “I take credit and debit,” said the woman.

  “We’ll just cancel the card.” Simon felt suddenly defiant. The idea of his mother being intimidated into obedience through him was not something he could accept.

  I have to protect her!

  The woman with the knife nodded to the man holding Simon. A fist slammed into the side of his head and he fell to the ground. Two hard kicks to the ribs followed.