Gemini was preparing for her first day at Syphon Industries. She wouldn't rock the boat for now. Best to wait until their guard is down.
Her cats brushed against her legs and purred enthusiastically to calm their owner's shaking nerves.
"You two are the sweetest…"
She bent down to pet them. When she stood up again she looked in the mirror at herself. "Stella" looked back. Her wig was well secured to her head with a cap and glue to hide her hair and ears. Her tails were tucked up into her shirt and secured in place with the elastic of her bra. Lastly, an amber contact covered her blue eyes. She looked totally unremarkable, almost a little plain.
She slipped her laptop in her bag as well as some of her preprogrammed thumb drives just in case.
"Ugh I have too many shoes. I need to donate some of these."
She picked out a semi formal looking pair that were still practical and easy to run in. Gem slipped the shoes on her feet and threw on an oversized blazer that made her look bigger than she was.
"Just make it through today, then I can worry about tomorrow."
She slips out the door and locks it right behind her.
– HANNAH'S APARTMENT –
... Knock knock knock.
"Clayton! Put that down!"
A small child had gotten his hands on his mom's flat iron. Though, his celebration was short lived as she suddenly snatches it from his grasp. Due to this party pooping, the boy falls down onto his rump and begins to tear up. Meeting her gaze with a sorely upset expression of his own.
Enter, Hannah Young.
"... Oh my gosh.. Be right there!"
She shouts back towards the door, feeling bad for the wait of whoever was knocking.
Hannah picks up her son, and sets him on the couch near the door, sliding him a rather rugged touch screen device in the process.
Though the tablet has probably seen better days, it does a good job calming the boy down before his pouting turns into a full blown sob..
With an exhausted sigh, she opens the door.
"... Hello?"
It was Dr. Syphon who knocked behind the door. His outfit was very casual wear, reminiscent of his past days before he got his money. He looked disgusted even being here, but a twisted sense of nostalgia prevented him from loathing it.
"Hello."
He walks in, not even asking for permission in whether or not he can come in, acting as if he owns the joint.
Hannah's expression is nothing short of utter disarray. She had no idea how to feel... It's been almost months since he came back... Here.
"B-Brett? Huh..? What are yo-"
Before she could articulate words, her son caught wind of the visitor. His eyes locked directly with Dr. Syphon as he walked in. Lighting up almost instantly as he leaps off of the couch and starts running towards him.
"DADDY!!"
He hops from the ground and clings to his father.
He gives him a one armed hug in return, then a small pat on the head. His gaze never leaves Hannah.
"I'm here to say hi and to see our kid of course."
"...?"
She is silent for a bit, taking on the situation to make sure it wasn't all a dream. Or... A nightmare. She then speaks up.
"Wait, wait... Why now? Didn't you say you were going to be out of the country this month??"
She reaches out and grasps the sleeve of one of his wrists gently.
Their son hops down, and runs to go and grab his tablet.
"I did say that, but plans changed."
Midst this, his collar slightly lowers... But he makes no attempts at hiding it.
"So I decided to use my spare time visiting both you and the kid. Is that wrong?"
"No, no! You said that when you came back, we'd-"
She tugs at his sleeve, but as his collar slips down, she notices...
A multitude of hickeys on his neck.
"..."
She's frozen in shock. A wave of heavy emotion sweeps past her, almost forcing her to buckle under the pressure.
"Dad! Dad! Look, look at this game!"
The child comes back with his tablet, trying to shove its screen towards his father's face.
Perhaps he noticed Hannah's reaction, but a faint, shit eating grin was on his face... Before immediately turning into intrigue, crouching down to meet Clayton at eye level.
"A game? What is it?"
He looks at the tablet
Hannah's mind was aggressively corroding her emotional state. Though, she felt forced to keep up a solid physical barrier and prevent herself from breaking down in front of Clayton. She clenches her teeth heavily and turns her head away from Brett and her child, with her face held in one hand. Her free hand is released from Syphon's sleeve and placed on her shoulder... Clasping down with nearly a white knuckle grip.
She was suffering, and he didn't care one bit.
"Rocket ships!"
On the screen, Brett could see something that was similar to a space shuttle building sandbox.
"I'm making a rock ship for you and mommy to take to the moon!"
"Really now? That's really cool, Clayton. I'm proud of you."
He glanced over at Hannah... Oh. Right. It won't be long until Clayton will be shooed away so they can talk. So, he does the honors.
"Hey. Your mom and I have something important to talk about. Can you head to your room for a bit?"
He rubs the top of Clayton's head as he speaks, and the young boy scuttles upstairs shortly after. His expression shifts suddenly from wonder, to sadness. But, he understood.
He gives Clayton a gentle wave.
"..."
The tone shifts dramatically. He gets up, glaring over at Hannah.
"... Why are you so surprised?"
Soft sobbing could be heard. Though, as he asked that question it began to get louder... Until she broke.
"You're... You're such a fucking liar!"
She snaps, yelling at the man as she turns around to face him with a heavily pained, simultaneously angered expression. Clearly, this wasn't the first time something like this had happened. No questions were needed to be asked, she already knew what went on.
"You show up here... Maybe twice in the god damn year, promising to save us from this… Shit hole!"
"... And nothing ever happens?"
Hannah's intense, powerful emotions are met with nothing more than a scoff from Brett.
"And who's fault was it to believe me? Should I care about this shithole? Please."
His gaze hardens as he continues, showing zero empathy. In fact, he looked to be enjoying this.
"Hannah. I have it all right now, and goddammit, I refuse to let your needs get in my way."
"Don't you fucking say that! You made the choice to knock me up in the first place, Brett!"
She picks up a random decorative piece in the room, and chucks it at his face.
"You're actually so intolerable! You don't even have simple respect for your own kid? I'm not one of your office whores Brett! We used to mean something, you know!?"
The object shatters the moment it hits his face. He has no visible reaction to it, instead replying to Hannah.
"Used to doesn't mean now, Hannah! I think you and I both know that! Be glad I'm even visiting this shitty ass neighborhood in the first place for you and the boy!"
Tears cloud her eyes to the point she could barely see. Flooding down her cheeks and being soaked up by her oversized T-shirt. Her breathing was heavy, sporadic, and frantic. She was feeling too many big emotions for how small of a woman she really felt in this situation.
"... I can't believe you..."
"I can't... Do this shit anymore Brett..."
"... Just, why?"
"..."
Brett wanted to say something dismissive, but... There was that heavy feeling of guilt inside of him. He hated it, but it was there. Hannah wasn't wrong. They did mean something. They had a kid, and it was a choice made by both of them to do so. They agreed on it, not just her, not just him. All of this time he's spent ignoring this fact, and avoiding even the slightest thought of contributing to his family. Though, this time he just couldn't bring himself to do it again…
"... We can talk more about this next week. I think we're both smart enough to know all we're going to do is scream at each other if this keeps up."
"..."
She doesn't reply, wiping her tears as she looks at him with a doubtful expression.
Brett knows Hannah thinks he's lying, but he also knows no amount of words will convince her otherwise. It's the tale of a boy who cried wolf.
He crouches down, picking up the shards of the object she threw at him. He picks up the big ones, walking over to the trash can, throwing it away
"... You left me alone, Brett."
She says, watching his half hearted effort at cleaning up the mess. A small part of a bigger mess, that seems to never have an end.
"All alone."
Her voice was shaky, but calm. It was obvious that she was running out of tears to shed for this situation...
"... I know."
He said, for the first time, showing a pint of emotion besides ruthlessness. Whether it was genuine or not was hard to tell.
"I'll see you next week Hannah."
He walks past her, out of the house.
Her eyes shift into a cold, soulless stare. Locked on to nothing, and empty of emotion. Anything she had left to give was already taken and ruined by this man. At this point, she knew better than to get excited or get her hopes up.
It remains as he walks past, and as he leaves.
"..."
She closes the door behind him.
Leaned against it, she slowly slid down until she was on her knees.