1

                The phone rang and I was half tempted to let it go to voicemail without checking the caller. Nine times of ten, a random phone call out of the blue was probably my mother, who’s number for some reason I’d decided not to block. I was determined to live out the rest of my silent treatment against her, and blocking her number would certainly save me a lot of trouble. But… I wasn’t sure why I was hesitating. It felt cruel to block a mother’s phone number, especially when I was determined to someday mend our shaky relationship. Every time I saw “Mom” pop up on my phone’s screen alongside a ringtone, it was a jolt of pressure; A reminder of the promises I’d made to her on my way out, and the expectations I had for her when we’d eventually talk again.

                Just in case, I picked up the phone from my desk and turned to read the name. My eyebrows raised, reading “Ramona Gomez” on the screen. Very quickly I swiped the answer slider and brought the phone to my ear, a smile forming on my lips. “Ramona! Hi!”

                “Beck! My goodness, it’s wonderful to hear your voice!” replied a motherly, yet exhausted voice I’d learned to really appreciate.

                “Yours as well,” I said honestly. “Sorry, I’d been meaning to call, but I’d been so busy with homework and stuff…”

                “I’m sorry!” she exclaimed suddenly with some shakiness to her voice. “I-Is this a bad time?”

                “This is a great time,” I said, sliding my rolling chair away from my laptop and the essay I was writing. Truth be told, I had a deadline that I had to make that night, but I was more than happy to put it aside for Ramona. “So how is everything?”

                She sighed with an exhausted chuckle. “Chaotic. I’ve met with a lawyer more times than I’d ever done in my whole life these past few weeks. We’re all good on the restraining order components, but the divorce proceedings are much harder, considering my soon-to-be ex-husband is in jail.”

                I only gave a small “mm hmm” in response. Ramona had been having a rough time mentally recently, and I didn’t want to stir the pot any more than she needed. “Sounds that way.”

                “I won’t lie to you Beck, it’s been a harsh awakening on my end. Talking with lawyers, my therapist, and with Lizzie, I’m learning about all these subtle things he’d been doing to me all these years… it’s far worse than I thought. He’d been hurting me for years and I had no idea. It’s horrifying. I felt so powerless with him. I felt trapped.”

                I remembered Lizzie’s countless stories about Doyle LeClair and his horrifying behaviors. He’d been manipulative, controlling, and abusive all throughout her life growing up. And as a result, Ramona had become extremely feeble. She was easy to push around, finding it hard to push back against her husband. There was no room for negotiation, it was entirely one-sided. “I bet it feels a bit freeing too though, right?” I tried, hoping to cheer her up a bit.

                “There’s certainly some of that,” she admitted. “But the nightmares don’t just go away. If anything, the fact that I’m more aware of everything he did only makes me more tense. I mean… what if he tries to do something else? What if he tries to retaliate? Especially with Lizzie trying to get that restraining order and choosing me over him…”

                There was really only one thing that had ever steadied Doyle, and that was my girlfriend, Lizzie. She was Doyle’s perfect little angel. She was the only person who could stand up to him, and he’d listen.  She was his steadying force, and it was the only thing that held the family together. But it wasn’t a solution as much as it was a band-aid on a sinking ship. Something had to change eventually. And now with her choosing to cut him out of her life entirely, I could see how something like that would make Ramona wary. “It’ll be hard with all the restrictions he’ll have,” I said slowly. “For once, you’ll have legitimate power over him.”

                “I know…” she said shakily. “But it’s hard not to be paranoid. I mean… I’ve already lost so much…”

                If anyone had lost more in their life than Ramona Gomez, I hadn’t yet met them. Ramona had lost a mother, a daughter, and a brother all to heart disease, and very nearly lost her father to cardiac arrest almost two weeks ago. On top of that, she also lost her husband, and according to Lizzie, was on the brink of losing a lot of her assets since Doyle was the primary breadwinner of the house. “You have Lizzie,” I said in an attempt to comfort her. “She’s not going anywhere. And soon, you’ll have a new son in law.”

                “Aww…” she said, her tone already lightening. “Speaking of my future son in law, how is he doing?”

                “He’s doing good,” I laughed, happy to change the subject. “I’ve been more focused on schoolwork than I think I’ve ever been in my life.”

                “That’s good to hear. Lizzie told me something similar when she came back.”

                She was referring to this past weekend when Lizzie spent a weekend “visiting” me at school. Technically she also attended Northwestern University and was working on graduating, but after vigorous emailing back and forth with her professors explaining her situation, she was able to take online options for a while as she stayed home to support her mom. Recently, however, she decided to take the weekend to surprise me and spend a night. It’d been a nice morale boost considering the rough week back I’d had. “Did she?” was my only response.

                “And how about your family? Have you spoken to your mother recently?”

                I grinded my teeth a bit as my heart sunk. She hit a really sore spot just by asking. “No,” I said bitterly, “and I don’t plan on talking to her until graduation. That hasn’t changed. She can take the silence I’ve given her as extra motivation to figure out how she wants to treat me.”

                Ramona stayed silent, my bitterness really sinking in. Lizzie told me she’d filled Ramona in on the fight I’d had with Mom before I left. I wasn’t sure how she’d take it. Even disregarding her current mental state, I knew Ramona as someone who didn’t like conflict, tended to shy away from arguments as much as she could. She was like my dad in that sense, a big reason why Mom was the main voice in the house.

                “I’m… I’m sorry,” I said. “I don’t mean to spring my business onto you at a time like this. Let’s just forget it.”

                “It’s alright sweetie,” she motherly said. “I only asked because I care about you. I’m sorry to hear that your relationship with your mother is waning. That can’t be an easy thing to deal with.”

                “Yeah…” I replied awkwardly.

                Suddenly I heard the doorbell to the apartment ring. I looked toward the bedroom door, uncertain of what to do, but then I heard the shuffling of feet and my roommate exiting his room. “I got it!” he shouted.

                “Okay!” I shouted out. I put the phone back to my ear. “Sorry, doorbell rang, my roommate’s getting it.”

                “I see,” she said, with a strange shift in her tone. “Listen… You should know that your mother called me the other day.”