Mother walks in the kitchen

The kitchen door swung open, and Elena stepped inside with her usual vibrant, commanding presence. She looked remarkably youthful, easily passing for an older sister rather than the mother of eighteen-year-old twins, but her brow immediately furrowed as she looked over at the table."Honey, didn't you get enough sleep last night?" Elena asked, stopping dead in her tracks as she noticed Chloe’s glazed expression and the slight, unusual flush across her face.

Chloe snapped out of her deep trance, her cheeks burning with a sudden, intense blush as her secret, unbidden thoughts were abruptly interrupted. She quickly tried to shake off the daze, nervously shifting her feet as she composed herself. "Oh, yeah, Mom, I'm totally fine, just got distracted thinking about my classes today," she replied quickly, forcing a bright but slightly breathless smile that seemed to satisfy Elena.

She picked up her bag from the kitchen counter and turned directly toward Elena. Affection was a completely normal, everyday thing between the two of them, so Elena instinctively stepped forward to meet her for their usual goodbye. Chloe wrapped her arms around Elena in a tight, affectionate version of their daily hug. As she leaned in, Chloe pressed a damp goodbye kiss straight onto her mother's lips, completely unaware that the virus's increased saliva secretion caused a noticeable transfer of moisture directly onto Elena's lips and skin.

From his spot at the table, Mark watched the entire exchange in a state of absolute, frozen clarity. Seeing the damp transfer of saliva confirmed that the highly contagious virus had just been passed directly to their mother, meaning the countdown had officially begun for her as well. Mark stared at Elena as she remained standing by the kitchen table, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand in mild confusion at how wet the kiss had been.

Turning her attention away from the door, Elena's expression instantly hardened into its familiar, icy mask the moment her eyes landed on Mark. "Clean up your plate when you're done, and don't leave a mess," she said coldly, her voice devoid of any of the warmth she had just shown Chloe before she turned and walked toward the hallway. Mark stood up, quietly grabbed his jacket, and left the kitchen to head out of the house.

As he walked down the street, a heavy realization began to settle in his chest. According to the virus profiles, infected women eventually developed a fierce psychological fixation on the man they resented most in their lives. Elena had spent years projecting her bitterness onto him, and outside of their home, her entire life was isolated; she hadn't dated Men since their father passed, and even the small boutique she owned and ran was staffed entirely by women. With absolutely no other men in her life, Mark realized with an erection straining his pants that once the infection took hold of his mother, he was the only possible target left for her to fixate on.