Jason stood outside Elaine's room, feeling oddly buoyant. The weight that had pressed down on him since his father's revelation felt lighter somehow, replaced by a warm contentment he hadn't expected to find in their underground world.
He knocked, a playful smile tugging at his lips.
"Come in," Elaine's voice called from inside.
Opening the door, he found her perched on the edge of her bed, wrapped in a plush bathrobe. Her red hair hung damply around her shoulders, and she greeted him with that familiar warm smile that always made the bunker feel more like home.
"Did you forget your massage appointment? Should I come back when you're ready?" He made an exaggerated turn toward the door, playing it up.
"No, don't go. Come, sweetheart. I wanted to talk to you before we start."
Jason crossed the room with easy strides and dropped onto the bed beside her. "Alright, let's hear it then. What did my beautiful mom want to talk about so early in the day?" The words came naturally, wrapped in a smirk.
Elaine's laugh was soft, knowing. "Hmm... someone's glowing today. Is there a special reason for those roses on your cheeks?"
The memory of yesterday flickered through his mind—Lily's warmth, her touch, the incredible intimacy they'd shared. His grin faltered slightly as heat crept up his neck, but he kept his voice steady. "No reason. Why do you ask?"
Elaine let the silence stretch between them, though the moment remained gentle. "Before we get to what I actually wanted to say... I need to share something with you. A secret. One I buried so deep, I nearly forgot it myself. But yesterday brought it back."
"Alright," Jason said, his posture still relaxed but his attention sharpening. "I'm listening."
Jason studied his mother's face, searching for clues. The playful mood from moments earlier had evaporated, replaced by something heavier, more significant.
Elaine took a deep breath. "When I was sixteen, Ashley was fourteen." She paused, tucking a damp strand of hair behind her ear. "We were close—closer than most sisters. But there was something... different between us."
"Different?" Jason tilted his head.
"We were experimenting. Trying to understand ourselves, our bodies." Elaine's voice remained steady, though her eyes fixed on some distant point beyond the concrete walls. "It started with innocent questions, sharing secrets. Then one night, during a thunderstorm, she crawled into my bed because she was scared."
Jason's eyebrows rose slightly. "Are we really talking about my aunt Ashley? The one who makes those horrible Christmas sweaters?"
A soft laugh escaped Elaine. "Yes, that Ashley. Before she was your aunt, she was my baby sister. My best friend." Her smile faded. "That night, comfort turned to curiosity. Curiosity became... something else. Something that lasted nearly two years."
"Two years?" Jason couldn't hide his surprise. "What happened?"
"Mom caught us. She walked in without knocking." Elaine's fingers twisted together in her lap. "The look on her face—I'll never forget it. Not anger, Jason. Disappointment. Like we'd broken something precious she could never replace."
Jason sat motionless, trying to reconcile this revelation with everything he thought he knew about his family. His grandmother, always so proper at holiday gatherings. His aunt, with her loud laugh and endless stories about her travels.
"Ashley and I were separated after that. Different schools, different schedules. We weren't allowed to be alone together." Elaine's voice grew quieter. "When I met your father years later, Ashley was genuinely happy for me. But there was always this... ghost between us. This thing we never spoke about again."
"Why are you telling me this now?" Jason asked, though a cold sensation was already spreading through his stomach.
Elaine's eyes met his, direct and unwavering. "Because yesterday, I opened your door to check on you. I saw you and Lily asleep together."
Jason's heart hammered against his ribs. His mouth went dry, and he felt the blood drain from his face. "Mom, I—"
"I'm not angry, sweetheart." Elaine reached out, her cool palm resting against his cheek. "I didn't call you here to scold or stop you. I just... I want you to know that I understand. And I'm with you. Whatever this is—you're not alone."
The relief that washed over him was so intense it made him dizzy. He hadn't realized how desperately he'd needed those words until they were spoken.
"How did it happen?" she asked gently. "Between you and Lily?"
Jason exhaled slowly, gathering his thoughts. "Dad called me to his den you know. He told me... Jesus, Mom, he told me we might be the last people alive. And that I needed to..." He struggled with the words. "He wants me to father children. With you, with Marissa, with Lily. He said he's making something to prevent genetic problems, but there's only enough for one person. For me."
Elaine's expression transformed before his eyes. The softness hardened into something sharp and dangerous.
"So Richard told you to do this. To... breed." She stood abruptly, her robe parting slightly as she stood abruptly, like the fabric itself was unsure how to contain her. "Then the man I married really died in that accident, and some kind of machine came back wearing his face."
She paced a few steps, her movements tightly controlled but vibrating with fury. Jason had never seen her like this—a wildfire contained within human form.
"When I went to my room after breakfast yesterday, I was completely messed up," he continued. "Lily found me drinking. I told her everything, and she... she said she's had feelings for me for years. One thing led to another, and—"
"Of course she has," Elaine cut in, her voice softer now but no less intense. "Anyone with eyes could see that. But Richard—" She spat the name like it tasted bitter. "He's turning us into his personal science experiment."
Her fists clenched at her sides, and when she turned back to Jason, her gaze blazed with an emotion that stole the air from his lungs.
"If Richard wants to be a cuckold so badly..." A wicked smile curved her lips, transforming her face into something both familiar and alien. "Then maybe it's time we give him exactly what he wants."
Jason stared at her, mouth slightly open, unable to process the implications of her words. Was she suggesting what he thought she was suggesting? The energy between them had shifted into something dangerous, electric, and entirely unexpected.