CHAPTER 16: THE NIGHTMARE RETURNS
I thought it was over. I really did.
Three years had passed since my mother went to prison. I had built a new life, a new career, new friendships. The wounds had healed, or so I believed.
Then I got the call.
It was from the prison. My mother had been released early. Good behavior. The system, in its infinite wisdom, had decided she had served enough time.
I stared at my phone for a long time, the words echoing in my head. She was out. She was free. And I knew she hadn't changed.
The knock on my door came three days later. It was midnight. I opened it to find my mother standing in the rain, her clothes soaking wet, her eyes burning with something I had never seen before.
"Hello, Evelyn," she said.
"Mother. What are you doing here?"
"I came to see my daughter. Is that a crime?"
"It should be."
She pushed past me into the house. I closed the door behind her, my heart pounding. She looked around at my small home, her lips curling with disdain.
"Living modestly, I see. How pathetic."
"It's mine. I earned it."
"Earned it. You mean you stole it. From me. From your family."
"I didn't steal anything. You did."
She turned to face me. Her eyes were wild. Desperate.
"I need money, Evelyn. I need a place to stay. Your father threw me out, Grant won't return my calls. You're all I have left."
"You have nothing because you destroyed everything."
"Don't lecture me. You owe me. After everything I sacrificed for you—"
"You sacrificed nothing. You stole. You lied. You tried to destroy me."
"I did what I had to do for this family!"
"Family?" I laughed. "You don't know the meaning of the word."
She lunged at me.
I didn't see it coming. Her fingers wrapped around my throat, and I was thrown backward against the wall. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't scream.
"Give me the money," she hissed. "Give me what I deserve."
I kicked out, catching her in the shin. She stumbled, and I broke free, gasping for air. I grabbed my phone and dialed 911.
She was gone by the time the police arrived. But I had made my choice. I pressed charges.
She was arrested again, this time for assault.
And I realized that some people never change.
May you like
She would always be the same.
And I would always have to protect myself.
