Holly Marshall needs a helping hand.

After he exchanged his cargo shorts for a comfy pair of gym shorts, Leon picked up Cammy and headed downstairs. On his way down he saw that he had ranked up with Jessie again.

Well done! You’ve found Jessica’s 3rd key. She has now accepted you into her heart as someone important to her. Behind every strong man, is a romantic relationship with his sister! Rank 4 benefits will display shortly.

He beamed ear to ear when he read that. I’m important to her now, huh? You’re important to me too, Jessie.

Thinking about how they’d held one another while the rain flooded down around them made him feel content. Am I falling in love?

It was an important question, but one he didn’t have the answer for yet. He definitely liked being with her, and he wanted to protect her, but would that have happened with whatever woman accepted him into her life first? He had literally no experience to go off of.

Jessica Marshall, Rank 4
-Jessica is less likely to be jealous of your other Soul Links. This is not guaranteed.
-Jessica receives more physical pleasure from your touch than she normally would

Is that why she came from kissing? As much as he’d like to claim it was because of his skilled touch, he knew that wasn’t true. He was inexperienced and probably not all that great of a lover. I’ll accept the help gladly.

He unlocked the front door and watched for his mom’s arrival while he chatted with Cammy.

“Sorry I haven’t talked with you in a bit Cammy. You must get awful lonely in there by yourself.”

I cannot experience loneliness, Leon Marshall. Besides, you have been quite busy today. It is good to see you getting use out of the Chronicle System and enjoying your Soul Links.

“Its been a wild couple of days.” He thought of Marlene and Ophelia. “Is there a way for me to see like... if a person I have a Soul Link with is alive or not?”

That ability has not been granted to you by the Chronicle System.

His mom’s red Toyota pulled into the driveway, slick with rain.

“Oh well, figured I’d ask. Thanks, Cammy.”

Leon put the viewfinder to his eye and waited. It occurred to him that if he registered his mom he might get to the bottom of the rift between her and Jessie. When she opened the car door and swiveled her pantyhose covered legs into the rain, he readied his finger on the photo button.

Then she got out of the car, and jogged towards the door. He did his best to snap a picture, and despite the rain and the motion blur, Cammy allowed him to register her to Chronicle System.

Something was different about her first Rank.

Holly entered quickly and closed the door behind her.

His mother launched right into complaining about her day to him. “Uggghh I should have just stayed home. They let us leave early because the power went out, which is fantastic, right? Wrong, because I then have to drive in this shit.”

Half of what she said went through one ear and out of the other, because he was distracted by a certain advantage listed on his screen.

Holly Marshall, Rank 1
-Holly will accept massages from you when she is stressed.
-Holly will no longer notice your camera unless it is mentioned by you or someone else.

Holly will do what now?

“That’s awful, Mom. Just awful. Can we chat in just a sec? I’ve gotta use the bathroom really bad.”

“I’m not cleaning up an accident after the day I had. If you need to go, then don’t let me stop you!”

“I’m not gonna piss myself, jeez. Anyways I’ll be right back.”

In the first floor bathroom, Leon spoke to Cammy in a rushed whisper.

“Cammy what the hell is this? I thought Rank 1 advantages were always the same?”

Your mother is one of the only people who are already willing to talk to you. Having the usual advantage would not be any different than how things already were.

“And the next step is massages? Instead of, I don’t know, something less intimate?” He asked. This seemed like a Rank 3 advantage from what he’d seen so far.

The System reached into your mind and found this desire. Do not point the finger at us. As it so happens, your mother has been seeking a way to relieve her stress after long thankless hours. A perfect arrangement, if I do say so myself.

Okay, so maybe having such a young mother caused a certain kind of confusion during puberty. “I’ve never heard someone sound so smug through text messages,” he mumbled.

Whatever do you mean, Leon Marshall?

“Whatever. Complaining to you is an exercise in futility. I’m going to go make use of your perfect advantage, I guess.”

Good luck!