My Harvard-Law Mom Slapped Me Over 3×4—So I Stripped Away Her Elite Title Overnight Chapter 02

My Harvard-Law Mom Slapped Me Over 3×4—So I Stripped Away Her Elite Title Overnight Chapter 02

I floated in midair and saw a tiny body lying crooked on the road below.

That was me.

My hair was spread out. There was a dark pool beside me, glinting under the streetlight.

I couldn’t look.

I turned and flew forward.

I caught up with Dad’s car in no time.

It was parked in the rest stop lot. The headlights were still on.

I passed through the door and landed in the back seat.

Connor was on his phone. Mom was checking her watch in the passenger seat.

“We’ve been waiting forty minutes. Where is she?” Dad frowned.

A wave of warmth rushed through me. He was thinking about me.

“Dad! I’m right here!” I yelled.

He didn’t hear.

“It’s only a mile. She could’ve crawled here by now.” Mom rolled her eyes.

“Connor would’ve made it in ten minutes,” my brother said without looking up.

“She’s just not built for this. Weak body, slow mind. If we don’t push her now, she’ll never amount to anything.” Mom’s voice was ice.

I crouched in the back seat and whispered, “Mom, I’m not weak. You just didn’t give me my coat. And Connor lied to me about three times four. That’s why I hesitated.”

No one heard.

Dad glanced at his watch again. “Maybe I should drive back and get her.”

Before Mom could answer, a couple walked into the rest stop.

The woman rubbed her hands. “That stretch of road is completely backed up. They said there was an accident.”

The man sighed. “Apparently they hit a kid. A kid walking in the emergency lane.”

“In the middle of the night? On a highway? Where were the parents?”

Dad’s hand froze.

Mom’s face went white. She pulled out her phone and opened the tracker.

A little blue dot was still moving slowly on the screen.

Mom sighed with relief and held the phone up for Dad. “See? She’s still moving. She’s fine. She probably hitched a ride.”

I screamed. “It’s not a ride! It’s an ambulance! Mom!”

No one heard.

Mom zipped Connor’s coat and patted his shoulder. “Let’s go. Straight to your grandparents’ house. If she got a ride, she’ll find her own way.”

Dad hesitated for a few seconds. Then he started the car.

I ran after it, but my body just passed through and landed in the back seat again.

It was forty minutes from the rest stop to Grandma and Grandpa’s house.

Mom closed her eyes. Connor did math problems on his phone. Dad drove in silence.

No one mentioned me.

When we got to the house, it was almost one in the morning.

The yard light was on. The front gate was half open.

Grandma came running out in her winter coat.

“You’re here!” She yanked open the back door, pulled Connor out first, then peeked inside the car.

“Where’s Nora?”

“Grandma, I’m here.” I threw my arms around her.

I grabbed nothing.

Mom got out with her bags and said casually, “She caught a ride with someone. She’ll be here in a minute.”

Grandma paused, about to ask more, but Mom cut her off.

“It’s ten degrees below zero out there. Connor’s been freezing in the car for hours. Can you take care of your precious grandson first?”

Grandpa came out of the house. He looked at Dad’s face, then at the empty back seat, and his forehead creased.

Dad pushed up his glasses and nodded. “Almost here.”

They went inside. The house was warm.

The table was covered with chocolate chip cookies. The pot was bubbling.

Grandma filled a bowl and handed it to Connor. “Here, honey. Warm yourself up.”

Connor thought it was too hot. He blew on it twice and set it down.

I crouched by the table, staring at the cookies. My throat tightened.

“Grandma, I want some too.”

Grandma didn’t hear.

She gave a bowl to Dad, then to Mom. Then she walked to the window and looked outside.

“Where’s Nora?”

Mom scooped a cookie into her mouth and mumbled, “Like I said. Someone else’s car. Maybe they took a detour.”

Grandpa sat quietly the whole time. He watched Mom eat and asked, “Whose car? What’s their number? I’ll call.”

Mom’s spoon stopped.

“Dad, don’t worry about it. She’s not three years old.”