Taylor Hillridge stood up from the table, a chinese food box ajar, and was stopped in her tracks by the thing protruding from her stomach. She sighed.
"Mom, is this really necessary?"
"Yes, honey. Ever since things with the internet and the police, we have to do this. It's the only way," Taylor's mother exhaled. The control she felt over the situation, and her child, invigorated her. "Only until I'm sure I can trust you again."
"It was three years ago, why can't you let it go? Why can't you let me…" Taylor trailed off mid-sentence, knowing she dare not finish it.
Because the last time she questioned her mother, she took Taylor to the hospital and demanded they sew them back together.
Taylor sighed and grabbed a bottle of water from the counter, then sat back down at the table. She groaned, wishing she could eat with her mouth again, rather than her stomach, connected to her mother's uterus. Her mother ate a spoonful of rice and chicken.
"This chicken is so good, Taylor. I wish you could eat it, but you can't eat with your mouth anymore. You don't need to eat with your mouth anymore, Taylor. Because I give you all the nutrients you need through our love cord. I am your mother, Taylor," her mom leaned over the table at Taylor, who was sitting across from her with a sick look on her face. Their long umbilical cord sat over the table like a looming boa constrictor, a slither of a giant piece of meat over the smooth white tablecloth. It protruded with veins that pulsed with every synchronized heartbeat between Taylor and her mother. Taylor's mom looked at it and stroked it with the back of her hand.
"It was just Cliquesters, mom." Taylor groaned. "I just wanted to fit in with the other kids at school… I won't do it again… I can't do it again…"
"I am your mother, Taylor, and I need to make sure you can't use Cliquesters again. You remember what happened the last time you saw a computer. The last time the embrace of a screensaver graced your eyes. The last time you saw megapixels up close. The last time you-"
"Mom, I don't need this!" Taylor interrupted. Her mother dropped the spoon she was holding, about to shovel into her mouth.
"What did you just say to me, young lady?"
"Sorry, mom, I didn't mean-"
"Are you saying you want to be cyberbullied again?"
"I'm sorry, mom," Taylor pleaded and sobbed.
"Do you want to end up like Eric?" Taylor's mom screamed at her, voice going hoarse.
"No, mom, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." The memory of Eric, her late brother, shuddered through Taylor's body. It rattled the Frankenstein umbilical cord across the table, and Mrs. Hillridge felt Taylor's fear. She smiled, satisfied with her parenting methods.
"I love you, Taylor. I only do this because I want to trust you again. I love you, Taylor. I want you to be safe. That's why we had to do this. We had to be sure you couldn't see a computer again, Taylor. We just want you to be safe." She reached across the table and caressed Taylor's pale cheeks. The undersides of her eyes were dark purple, drooping like she'd been on Cliquesters all night long-
But she couldn't have done that.
Taylor Hillridge hasn't seen a computer in years, and won't for years to come.
She could never be cyberbullied again.
Taylor remembered the correct thoughts to think at the right time. If she thought any more wrong things, then she might say wrong things, and she might disappoint her mother, which she didn't want to do. Her very life was proof to Taylor that she owed it to her mother, and as such, Taylor did everything her mother told her do, even if it was sewing them back together.
"You're right. Mom. I'm sorry for being so disobedient. I don't want to be cyberbullied again," Taylor sighed. "Let's stay connected forever, Mom." She lightly rubbed her mother's hand on her cheek, and smiled faintly. Taylor was restrained, but she was safe. She'd never have to see Lindsay again, or any boys, or the gay guy in her history class that gave her psychological truths about life-
She wouldn't ever see Cheyenne again-
She'd never see Sam again.
The same Sam that tried to ruin her life, but also, the Sam that gave her the first real love of her life, that taught her the touch of another woman… James. Sam's sockpuppet. Sam's insults, Sam's rumors, Sam's voice, Sam calling Taylor's mom. Sam's voice, but Sam calling out Taylor's name. Did Taylor owe Sam her life? Probably, but she also tried to end it-
She couldn't get the cap off.
Sam, watching Taylor cry on the floor.
Taylor's mom, holding Taylor as she cried, unbeknownst to Taylor, plotting to sew them together, but holding Taylor with all the love in her body.
"Love you a lot, mom." Taylor smiled more, and closed her eyes blissfully. She took her bad thoughts and converted them into positivity immediately, in fear that any negative feelings would cause her to upset her mother, and she didn't want that at all.
"Love you too, Taylor. Wanna go watch the video of me smashing your laptop with a sledgehammer again, honey?"
"Sure, mom." She gleefully rubbed the giant umbilical cord in front of her and sighed with pleasure. "Anything to make you happy."
