Emma had seen enough. As she made her way out of the store, she followed someone out of the automatic doors. She fumbled for her keys as she took long strides to her car, hitting unlock on the key fob before she got there. She slid into her car and looked in the rear-view mirror, but there was no reflection. Again, she looked down at her shaking hands and could see nothing.
Emma’s brain was short-wiring. She didn’t know if she was safe to drive, and she didn’t know what others would see. Emma took a few calming breaths, but her hands still shook. Instead of starting the car, she opened the door and got back out.
The sun was going down, and it was getting dark out. Emma thoughts went to the dinner she wanted to provide for Trevor, but she realized that there was something bigger going on. She caught herself a bit and steadied her hands. She decided, like any good scientist, that she needed to run a few more tests.
Emma looked around the parking lot for someone to test out what was going on. There was an elderly woman pushing a cart to the cart rack. Emma jogged over and moved to the woman’s side.
“Can I help you with that?” she asked.
“No, thanks,” the woman replied without glancing at Emma. Emma leaned down, trying to get the woman’s attention.
“Are you sure?” Emma asked, bringing her face within inches of the woman. When the woman finally looked up, her eyes searched the night as her forehead filled with creases. The woman’s pace quickened, and she pushed the cart in the corral and nearly jogged to her car.
Emma lifted her hands to her face. So, it was true. She was invisible. Now what? Emma thought as she made her way back to her car and drove in silence on the way home, unsure what other drivers were seeing. Good thing it was night.
As she navigated through the city, Emma’s brain ran through all the possible scientific explanations. This had to do with the suit and the formulas that she’d accidentally created. Trevor’s work was with nanites, so maybe nanites that had the power to render their host invisible.
She thought to the name of the suit. NAN009 must also have been created with nanites, and as Emma knew, nanites could communicate with each other. Was that what was happening? Was that why she remained invisible even with the suit on and even after she put regular clothes on. The nanites were not only able to communicate with her skin, but they interacted with anything she was wearing. Then again, was the suit still on? If so, where did it go?
No matter what happened, Emma didn’t know how she’d explain it to Trevor. On one hand, this would be a great find for him. On the other hand, Emma didn’t know what this meant for her, if there were some side effects or after effects.
Emma pulled into the garage and let out a sigh as she walked through the front door. She tossed her keys on the table and made her way into the kitchen. She perched on the stool, considering what she would say to Trevor, and the longer she waited, the surer she was that she should tell him the truth.
In her mind, she practiced how she would start. Maybe she would tell him what Charla said.
When more time went by, and Trevor still wasn’t home, Emma felt tears pooling in the corner of her eyes. Usually, Trevor’s long hours merely annoyed Emma, but today, of all days, they upset her. Maybe if he’d spent more time with her, none of this would have happened. He should have been home, anyway. With Liam gone, this was time they could have spent alone, and if Trevor didn’t see that, maybe his priorities weren’t straight.
Emma pushed the stool out and moved toward the door, looking one more time to see if Trevor’s car was pulling up the driveway. When she was met with darkness, she turned and went to bed, hoping that no other side effects would manifest in the night.
Chapter 8 Fed Up
Emma felt the bed move when Trevor came in for the night, but she didn’t bother to look at the clock. She knew it was late. When five o’clock in the morning rolled around, she slid out from under the covers and made her way to the kitchen to brew a fresh pot of coffee.
As she studied her skin, she thought about making breakfast, but she wasn’t sure if Trevor was getting up and her appetite had disappeared.
Emma’s nerves were frayed. She felt like she was being needy, but Trevor knew that this was the last stand for their marriage and he wasn’t even trying, which felt to Emma like he didn’t even care. On top of that, Emma was crazy to be obsessing about their relationship after what happened yesterday.
She decided the normalcy of prepping breakfast would be good for her, so she set to work getting out the eggs and bacon.
Trevor awoke shortly after. She heard him shuffle to the bathroom to shower and didn’t look his way when he finally entered the kitchen. He grabbed a cup of coffee and slid in at the table. He was typing on his phone, probably an email to someone important.
Emma plated the food and brought it over to the table. She grabbed silverware and napkins, still with no word from Trevor. She moved to the opposite side of the table and took a seat, pushing her eggs around the plate.
She looked at Trevor, but she recognized the vacant look on his face. He was there, but he wasn’t really there. She looked at her hand and the wedding band that encircled her finger. She stared at it and concentrated. Her finger blinked out of her vision for only a moment before it returned. She glanced up at Trevor to see if he noticed.
He had his phone out and was still scrolling through emails. She dropped her fork, letting it clatter to the plate. Trevor didn’t look up.
Finally, Emma spoke up. “Trevor?”
“Hmm?” he answered, not looking at her.
She was tired of playing games, but she knew the one thing, the only thing that interested him. “So, what have you been working on? You’ve been so busy that it’s got to be something big.” Emma picked her fork back up and speared a piece of bacon, lifting it to her mouth. She looked back at her husband. He continued staring at his phone as though he hadn’t heard her.
Emma finished chewing her food and put her fork down. “Trevor?” she asked again.
“Oh, what?” he asked, still not looking at her. “Oh, Emma. I’m sorry. It looks like I’ll have to go back to the office. Jenny said there were some complications with the new batch of nanites we’ve been working on.” He started typing a response.
“What’s the point of even having a lab here?” Emma whispered under her breath. Trevor finally peeled his eyes from his phone. He placed it down on the table.
“Sorry, babe. You know the government contract work has to be done at a secure facility.” He tilted his head at her.
“What are you working on?” Emma asked, folding her arms across her chest.
Trevor folded his hands just beneath his chin and sighed, pursing his lips. “You know I can’t divulge any information.”
And that was it. Emma took in his smug look and couldn’t take it. She slid her chair back and pushed herself up from the table.
“Wait, Emma,” Trevor reached her hand out to her, but it was a half-hearted attempt. She clenched her jaw and walked out to the living room. She grabbed the throw blanket off the back of the couch and curled up, staring at the dark television set.
In the reflection, she saw Trevor walk into the room and look at the back of her head before reaching for his car keys that were on the tray in the foyer. He looked back once before walking out the front door. Emma buried her face in her blanket as the soft material absorbed her tears. Trevor knew this was it for them, and he wasn’t even trying.
After a few minutes of self-pity, Emma decided that she needed to do something. She would go to the lab. She would see for herself. Why not? It’s not like she would tell anyone what they were doing. Emma felt unhinged. She knew what she was doing was wrong, but she couldn’t control it. She couldn’t stop herself.
Emma pulled into the parking structure across the street from Trevor’s lab. She didn’t want to risk having him see her, or having Jenny see her. How mortifying would that be?
Emma closed her eyes and concentrated hard. She held her h
ands out in front of her, and there was nothing. She waved her hands in front of her face, checking one last time.
Emma raced across the street to the building that housed Axion labs. She hadn’t thought through how she’d get in the actual lab. She thought she could follow someone in, but Emma didn’t know how busy the lab was. If there were only a few people coming and going, then she’d be stuck sitting outside the lab and wasting this whole damn trip.
Luckily for her, she didn’t have to worry about how to get in because there were enough people entering the building for her to slip in behind someone. Trevor’s lab was on the third floor, so she made her way to the elevator and stood as close to the doors as she could, ready to slide in.
That was easy enough. There were a few people coming and going and she got lucky again when the third person who entered the elevator, a man in a blue sweater and tan khakis, punched the 3rd floor button. She sighed as the elevator hummed into motion.
She waited for the man to exit the elevator and tailed him as closely as she could. The elevator opened into the lobby. The receptionist, who Emma didn’t know, gave the man a curt nod as he took long strides approaching the entrance of the actual lab. When he stopped at the door to the lab, she stumbled, nearly colliding into his backside.
As he pulled the door open, it surprised Emma that there wasn’t more security. The man in the sweater walked through the door as Emma squeezed through the small before letting the fall closed behind her.
The smell hit her, and that familiar nostalgia washed over her. Emma recognized the hum of the generators and the backup generators. She scanned the lab, a pristine white and metallic set up along with computer stations and various equipment found in most labs. Then she saw him.
Trevor stood by a glass window. He was in the clean room, situated by what looked like an ultra-high vacuum system. Emma watched him as he studied something that was on the counter. Trevor had a bit of stubble on his chin. She hadn’t even noticed it before, like he’d skipped shaving the last few days. She watched him squint into a microscope, the familiar wrinkles around his eyes.
A wave of sadness washed over her as Jenny came around the corner. Emma took a few steps back to avoid Jenny brushing into her. Emma watched as Jenny entered the lab and joined Trevor. He didn’t look up at first, even though Emma could see Jenny’s mouth moving. It was odd to see them together this way. Emma attended many events with Trevor and Jenny, and at no time did she ever feel uncomfortable around Trevor’s ex, but this was different. Seeing them alone together, without her, was like getting a glimpse of the time before Emma, when it was just Jenny and Trevor.
Trevor finally looked up at Jenny and nodded to whatever she’d been saying. He moved to the other side of the room and they began a choreographed waltz that happened when two people were used to working together. There was nothing between them besides cordial collegial interactions.
Emma’s cheeks burned with shame. For a moment, she had thought that maybe something was going on between them. But Trevor and Jenny chose to split. They did it knowing that their passion for their work was the only passion in their relationship. And seeing them move about the lab reconfirmed that for Emma.
Emma turned her back on them. She didn’t even recognize herself. She wondered when she began to doubt her husband, but maybe it was about herself. It wasn’t Trevor’s fault that Emma’s life felt unfulfilled without her work. She loved being a mom, but sometimes the work of being a parent just wasn’t enough, though she was ashamed to admit it.
Emma wasn’t the jealous type, and she wasn’t the type to indulge in self-pity. The problem was, she didn’t know if she knew what type of person she was anymore.
Emma exited the lab without thinking. She pulled the door open on her own, positive that no one was even paying attention. Instead of taking the elevator, she took the stairs, burning the extra energy she had and longing for a rush of endorphins. She left the stairwell and retreated into the parking lot, and that was when she finally stopped to breathe.
Emma needed to find herself. She needed to be her own person, and she couldn’t wait around for Trevor or she might wait for the rest of her life. She scanned her surroundings, for the first time realizing that the lab was in a shady part of town. It was still early morning and Emma watched as a scruffy man stumbled down the sidewalk. He appeared as though he was still finishing up his Friday night.
An unease hit Emma until she remembered that he couldn’t see her. She was safe. Then Emma heard a man yelling.
“Get back here, bitch!” A voice grumbled.
A woman stumbled out from the backdoor of what looked like a bar, though in the daylight, those neon lights looked haunting rather than inviting. Emma watched as a man stumbled after the woman.
“Just leave me alone,” the woman called to the man. Emma watched as the woman’s alcohol slicked words spilled out of her mouth. The man, who towered over the woman, leaned in.
“No, no. You were flirting with me all night. You can’t just leave now.” He grabbed her forearm and pulled her even closer. The woman fought, but the man was too strong. He grabbed her with the other arm, pulling her to him as he stuck his tongue out, attempting to force it in her mouth.
Emma froze. She’d never seen something like this play out in front of her. She’d always thought a good citizen would stop a man like this, but Emma was five foot nothing and this man was a hulking beast. Then she realized maybe there was another way.
Emma closed her eyes and concentrated on being invisible. She looked down at her hands, and there was nothing. She looked at her sleeve. It was gone.
She walked toward the two and neither looked her way. The man had the woman by the neck now, and though the women tried to fight him off, he was too strong. “Hel—” she tried to call, but he clamped his mouth on hers. Emma looked around the alley for something she could grab to hit the man. There was garbage next to the backdoor of the bar, but it was plastic, not one of those metal ones from the movies. Then she saw a bottle next to the garbage. Emma tiptoed over and grasped the bottle in her hand. A bottle wasn’t very heavy, but it would probably do the trick, especially when the man wasn’t expecting it.
Emma gripped the bottle and approached the two. The man was reaching down, grasping at the woman’s pants. Emma held her breath and brought the bottle up, gripping it harder so she wouldn’t drop it. Emma looked up at the floating bottle before bringing it down as hard as she could on the back of the guy’s head.
The guy didn’t drop to the ground like Emma had hoped he would. He staggered, grasping his head and looking around. When he didn’t see anything, he zeroed in on the girl.
“You bitch,” he snarled. The woman backed up with her hands in the air, confused. She didn’t know what had stopped him or why he was enraged.
Emma clenched her fist and cocked her arm back. She closed her eyes and swung at the man’s nose, hearing the crunch and feeling the pain in her knuckles as she made contact. The man staggered back, and Emma didn’t give him a chance to recover. Though she’d never hit anyone before, it came naturally as she swung again, this time hitting him in the eye.
The man fell down, hitting ground with a thud. Emma stepped back, surprised at her power. Her knuckles were red, and she rubbed at them with her other hand. When she looked up, she realized the woman stared at the man on the ground. The woman looked around, trying to figure out what had happened.
When he stirred, the woman took off down the alley, glancing back a few times to see if the man followed her.
Emma’s adrenaline and heightened senses blended with the orchestra of the city, composing a symphony of sounds and colors. She inhaled deeply, but her brain nearly short-circuited with the sudden cacophony of what she had done. She placed her hand to her chest and staggered back a few steps before regaining her composure, and she found a smile breaking out across her face. Emma decided it was time for her to go home.
As Emma got to her car, she looked at her reflection in t
he window. Just days ago, she felt invisible. Now she felt like a superhero.
Chapter 9 The Gala
When Emma awoke, the world had taken on a new light. Though the nagging thread of her husband still hung like a snag in wait. She was no closer to Trevor than she’d been before Liam left. In fact, she felt more distant than ever, but she had done something for someone else. She was filled with a new sense of purpose. She helped someone last night. She helped that woman.
So many thoughts swirled in her head. The day went by in slow motion, and Emma cleaned every surface of their modest house. Well, every surface but the lab. There was no way she was setting foot in there again.
She kept waiting for Trevor to come home early, to surprise her with a little funny business, but it never happened. Though Emma didn’t want to believe it, things could really be over for the two of them. Emma had never failed at anything, but a marriage took two and it was hard to win when one of them didn’t want to play.
Late afternoon, Emma slouched on the bed, clutching her phone. Amid her cleaning frenzy, she’d received a notification. It had been weeks since she agreed to attend the gala, and now that she and Trevor were barely speaking, she didn’t know how to find the energy. She let out a sigh, puffing her still too long bangs.
Emma hadn’t heard him get home, but when Trevor tapped on the bedroom door, she flinched. He continued to push the door part way open.
“Emma?” he called. Emma looked up, clenching her jaw before giving him a tiny smile. Trevor paused in the doorway, biting his lip. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He took two steps and paused before finishing his trip across the room and settling on the bed next to Emma. Reaching down, he slipped his hand around hers and squeezed.
“I’m sorry I’m such a jerk. Work is stressing me out, but that’s no excuse to take it out on you. You know I’m grateful to have such a strong, brilliant woman by my side.” Emma closed her eyes. She wanted to stay mad at him. It would make the lying easier. “I sometimes forget that I’m lucky enough to always have the most gorgeous woman in the room by my side. I want you to know that.”
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