My phone rang while the hotel room was still dark.
I looked at the screen.
Patricia.
For several seconds, I considered letting it ring.
Leo was asleep beside me.
His little coat was folded over the chair, and his shoes were sitting near the desk.
I didn't want the sound to wake him.
I answered quietly.
"Hello?"
My mother didn't greet me.
"Nicole, what have you done?"
I closed my eyes.
Not one question about Leo.
Not one question about where we had slept.
Just the house.
"David explained everything."
"Your father says you own this property."
"That's correct."
There was a long silence.
Then she spoke again.
"Why didn't you tell us?"
I looked at the window.
The city was beginning to brighten.
"I tried to help you without making it a family issue."
"Well, it is a family issue now."
I almost laughed.
I remembered standing in the hallway while my father held my coat.
I remembered her expression.
She had watched us leave.
Now she was worried about the family.
"Mom, Leo is sleeping."
She lowered her voice.
"Your father wants to talk to you."
"Not right now."
"Nicole, you can't just leave us with those papers."
I looked toward the bedside table.
My phone was still warm in my hand.
"You told me never to return."
She didn't answer.
I waited.
Then I ended the call.
I wasn't proud of how cold I sounded.
But I was tired of being expected to comfort people who had made no effort to comfort my son.
A few minutes later, Leo woke up.
He sat up slowly and rubbed his eyes.
"Is it morning?"
"Almost."
He looked toward the window.
Then he looked at me.
"Are we going home?"
I moved closer.
"We're staying here a little longer."
He nodded.
He didn't ask about Grandma.
He didn't ask about Grandpa.
That silence told me more than any question could have.
Click here to continue reading: PART 10: The Bedroom My Sister Had Already Started Planning Was the Same Room I Had Once Believed Would Always Be Mine
My Father Asked Me to Leave, but the Cruelest Part Was Watching My Mother Smile While My Little Boy Tried Not to Cry
Part 9 of 16
