Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again. - Chapter 301

Chapter 301: Ariel’s fears.
Ariel did not flinch.

“Put that thing away.” Hades ordered him.

Ariel shook his head. “I will do no such thing, I am investigating.”

Sunshine arched her eyebrows. Lisha laughed. Hades frowned while Earl, Castiel and White did the sensible thing by holding silence.

“Investigating?” Sunshine was amused.

Ariel nodded. “For safety reasons, yours and ours. You fell from a kitchen counter mom, and you did not even realize that you were hurt. You bounced those three….” He pointed at Castiel, Earl and White, “on some kind of snow cloud that you created. I have to protect you and everyone from alcohol.”

Sunshine blinked. “Oh.” She could not recall the snow cloud. She stood up and walked to him slowly. Without saying another word, she carried him and rushed to the children’s bedroom, kicking the door shut.

His objections came to a stop when she sat him down on the bed.

She sat beside him and exhaled. “Buddy, why don’t we talk about your need to protect me and everyone from alcohol. I have been thinking for a while that it is not about me purely and it has more to do with your birth mother. Am I right?”

Ariel nodded, eyes fixed on the floor. “Dad was always working so he never noticed it at first. Earl is young, he doesn’t remember much, but I do. She tried to hide the bottles until she stopped and just left them everywhere. In the laundry basket, on the windowsills, in my bathroom. Once she forgot and left a bottle in my school bag. I did not realize until when I reached school.

She would scream at everyone and break stuff. She would hug some of the male servants. When I told dad, he tried to help but it just seemed to make things worse. And then she left. I don’t want that to happen again.”

His words were heavy for a child of his age.

“Oh sweetie.” Sunshine pulled him into a hug. “I get it. Truly, I do. But champ, I am not your mom. I don’t drink every day, just once in a fortnight…like two times a month. I could never turn into an alcoholic, I have seen what that stuff does to people. Also, we are living in an apocalypse, it is not exactly bar friendly weather. And do not forget that I mostly grew up on your family’s estate, I witnessed some of the thing’s alcohol did to your mother. I could never put you through what she did.”

Ariel sniffled. “But what if it happens without you noticing? Castiel still sucks his thumb sometimes and he does not know when it is happening.”

Sunshine smiled gently. “Then you’ll be the first to know and keep me from going off the edge. You are already doing that by confiscating all the alcohol in the house. I could not have asked for a better protector than you.”

Ariel gave a half-laugh. “I guess I should now admit that I started after your first drunk episode. I poured some of the wine out when everyone was sleeping and I replaced the contents with apple juice.”

Sunshine gasped. “You clever monkey.” She pinched his nose. “That explains the weird taste in the steak yesterday. I knew I could taste apple in it!”

“And I swapped the grape juice with grandma’s homemade blackberry syrup, just in case.” He admitted.

Sunshine laughed. “Ah…that explains why Earl has barely touched his favorite juice lately.”

“I was just trying to protect you,” Ariel said, “and us. If you leave, we won’t have a mommy anymore. And Cass will be a nightmare; you have spoiled him rotten.”

Sunshine nodded. “I am not going anywhere, and I think it is incredibly brave of you to try and protect me. But sweetie, you don’t have to carry all that fear by yourself. For heaven’s sake Ariel, you are walking around with a breathalyzer in your bag! You are a child, and you should be enjoying your childhood. If there is anything that worries me, talk to me or your dad directly. Don’t wait until it grows too big that it cannot be fixed anymore. I am not going to turn into a booze-guzzling bottle hider and servant hugger. My hugs are for your dad, my sons, White and some of my friends.”

Ariel smiled. “You promise.”

“On my honor as the worlds coolest stepmom and best repairman in the universe.” She swore.

[That is not true host.]

“Shut up.” She responded to the system.

They sat in silence for a moment, and she used the opportunity to wipe his tears. In the back of her mind, she cursed Amber for traumatizing her son and making him so afraid of wine and wine glasses. And Hades was not without blame too. Making money was important, but family was more important. Maybe if he had noticed it earlier, Ariel would not have such fears.

“You know, I have been saving something for the moment when we had a special mother-son chat. I did not think it would be this one but…..” A small glowing cube appeared in her hands. It pulsed with a soft sky-blue light and emitted a hum, like White purring after filling up on milk on coconut beans.

Ariel’s eyes widened. “Where did that come from? What is it?”

“It is awesome technology.” She said, “it’s called a Lulu trust beacon. It is a gadget that only works if two people trust each other completely.”

Sunshine pulled his hand like she wanted him to touch the beacon. The closer it got, the more the blue light faded and it turned red. “See, it knows that you don’t trust me fully.”

He gasped. “How does it know?”

She shrugged. “It just knows.”

He tried to touch it again, but it turned red and produced a hissing sound, like it did not want him coming close.

Ariel frowned. He really wanted to touch it. “How do I make it know that I trust you?”

“You don’t,” Sunshine said. “You just have to trust me fully and let go of your fears. No more replacing drinks stealth-fully. No more alcohol patrols. No more breathalyzers. No more comparisons between me and Amber. Just trust.

I am an adult and your mother. I am your cheerleader, and I will always want the best for you. From now on, I will regulate my alcohol intake to put you at ease. I believe in myself, so I want you to believe in me.”

Ariel looked at her, then at the cube. His whole body relaxed, he took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay. I trust you.”

She placed the cube in his right hand. It blinked once, then glowed bright sky blue. A holographic cat in a spacesuit popped out and did a celebratory dance.

Ariel burst out laughing. “Look mommy, there is a dancing cat with horns on its head. What is it?”

Sunshine shook her head. “I am not sure.”

The cat turned around, shaking fleshy buttocks and wagging two tails. Then it jumped like a rock star, spun and turned around to look directly at Ariel. “Congratulations, your trust level is one hundred percent.”

Ariel burst into laugh. “This is the coolest thing ever.”

Sunshine patted him on his back. “It is yours now. From now on, whenever you have doubts just hold it. If it is blue, you are okay but if it flashes red, you need to talk to someone. Me, your dad, your aunts and uncles or grandparents. If none of us is considered them talk to the two tailed cat. But I would prefer if you pick me over the cat because I love you and it probably doesn’t.”

Ariel reached out and hugged her tight. “Thanks, mom.”

She hugged him back. “Anytime champ, and the next time you want to swap something in the kitchen, I will appreciate it if you give me a heads up. I still haven’t recovered from that apple steak.”

The cube in Ariel’s hand glowed blue. The two tailed cat started dancing again. Sunshine smiled, satisfied with the talk they had. Maybe Ariel would be less uptight now.