BWWM | Oneshots & Short Stories

Lesson Learned - VI

"Um," Ryleigh gave a nervous wave. "Hi mom, dad." Her eye contact with them was brief as she focused her attention on removing her bag from her shoulder and setting it on the island between them.

Oh she had some words for Ariel as soon as time permitted.

"Hi? Hi? You up and move across the country with only a letter. You barely return calls, texts, hell even emails but all we get is hi? I should go down to the bursar's and revoke your Hazlewood right now!"

Ryleigh had never seen her mother this angry before. Usually it would be her dad yelling and all she'd have to do was show a little remorse, sometimes cry even, and he'd back down. But her mother? Tears were never her thing. "If we hadn't come up here to see you, we'd still be waiting by the phone."

At that Ryleigh finally gave them a sheepish look. Her mother was right. She had distanced herself physically as far as she could and as if that weren't enough, they barely heard from her at all. "I—well every time I call...it's this." Ryleigh waved her hands in the air, pointing out the tension. "I mean do you really care about my grade in British Literature because last I checked, you didn't." Ryleigh started pointedly at her parents. "Even when I took my writing classes as an elective back in Miami, you just wanted to know my science GPA."

Ryleigh opened her backpack and started taking out the things she'd packed inside for class today so she could switch to her Friday materials.

"Well yes because that's what you were stud—" her mother's words were cut off with a question from Ryleigh.

"How did you even get in? How did you find me?"

"Your roommate let us in on her way out. She's not here. And to answer your question, the VA called us to let us know your tuition had been paid. They wanted to verify the address to send the statement of payment to. You changed the address on the account but not the number so I got the call."

"Very bold of you to not notify us of your location when you're on your own thousands of miles away." Her father said to her sternly. "Anything could happen to you. Do you know how many rape kits we go through at the ER? How many calls we get of people hoping their missing loved one is at the county hospital being treated and not dead or trafficked or in jail?"

"Oh my God!" Ryleigh threw her hands up in exasperation. "You're so dramatic. I'm fine, I'm whole, I'm here and I need to get changed for work!" Ryleigh crossed her arms over her chest and stalked across the kitchen to her bedroom.

"Oh don't start with the attitude missy," her mother was right on her heels. The only thing Ryan could hear after the door slam was his wife and his daughter having a very heated screaming match. He had told his wife this is what would happen.

"If it weren't for me serving, your ass wouldn't have the money to even be here."

"Okay well thanks for being a stand-up parent! You never supported me, never asked me what I wanted. It's always what you expect from me, what you've molded me to be." Ryleigh pulled her Adidas gym bag from her closet and began stuffing clothes and toiletries inside. She was hardly paying any attention to what she was grabbing because she was trying to get away from her parents — namely her mother — as soon as possible. "And all I ever hear is what you've done for me, the life you made for me."

"Yeah you know why? Because you're sounding real ungrateful."

"If I'm ungrateful for making my life how I want then I'll be that. No one told you to go to the Marines. You did that because you wanted to. No one told you to go and open your own preschool. You did that because you wanted to. No one mapped out your life so what makes you think I don't deserve the same?"