No Regrets

Chapter 6

Mother held the phone normally at first, but as she read further, her muscles loosened up and began failing her. The phone was being balanced by just the palm; her fingers were nowhere near the phone. Her whole body fell limp and she stood watching the phone for a few minutes. Moments later, mother read the text again and finally processed everything. The man that she had just seen on film was a dangerous criminal and it meant that she and I were not safe. But especially me, the one who the man had taken a liking to.

The motherly instinct fueled her mind and body, she looked at the unknown number and marked it down to call it: (714) 127-8702. As the phone rang, her anxiety peaked until the other person picked up.

"Langston Facility, how may I help you?" Said a woman on the other end.

Mother's voice shook as she responded, "H- hello, my name is R- Rossetta Stone. You sent me a message stating that me and my daughter were in danger?"

"I'm glad you responded so quickly!" She said, her voice higher. Mother heard her tap on her keyboard and continued, "Rossetta Stone and Margaret Nelson, we found the police files where you reported a man breaking into your home, but the police did not find anything to suggest he was able to break inside your home."

"Yes, yes. That's it," mother said now pacing around the kitchen in circles until she got dizzy and expanded her circle into the living room.

By now, I had woken up and was brushing my teeth with no knowledge of this phone call. As I brushed my teeth, I sobbed quietly over the fact father would rarely visit me starting today. Mother had made it unsafe for him and I felt the pain just as much as he did. My eyes turned red and I realized mother would know I had been crying. I had to stop crying and distract myself while she made breakfast. Enough time to pass where the red in my eyes were gone. After brushing my teeth, I decided to play with my toys for my distraction.

Mother asked quickly, interrupting the woman on the other end, "You said we were in danger because the man is a criminal? How do you know this and why hasn't he been caught?" Mother began questioning, overlooking the fact that this facility had private records of a crime. Records that shouldn't be seen by the public, and yet, they were able to acquire such findings.

"Here at Langston Facility, we are dedicated to finding these things and putting a stop to their crimes. The police has not been able to catch a single one but we have found multiple over the many years."

Mother nodded her head and asked, "What crimes are we talking about?"

Before playing however, I had to get changed. I quickly put on my blue skirt, bright pink shirt, my mismatched socks, and my black sneakers. When done, I grabbed my Styrofoam building blocks and created a city for my dolls.

The woman stopped talking on her end just for a split second, pondering if she should answer, but after hearing mother's anxiety driven noises, answered, "They murder countless people every day. And the police have not been able to find evidence of the ones who committed the murders. With no evidence or leads, the crimes become cold and are never solved."

     Mother gasped, "Oh my God." She went silent, freaking out about this all she could think about was: Is my Maggie one of these many victims? "And you believe my daughter is one of their victims?"

The lady responded quickly, "Not quite. These things don't murder children. Only people sixteen and above. We believe that they are using her to get close to you."

Me? But why? Are they cold-hearted killers trying to make a six-year-old an orphan? Mother stayed silent as she looked over at the hallway, then at my opened door. I was in there playing while she talked about the stranger who had convinced me was my real dad only to murder her and leave me to fend for myself. If he ever did come close enough to kill my mother, she feared that it would mean Liam would try to win custody of me. Even with the sentencing of domestic abuse, it could be possible Liam would put up a fight. It was something she was not willing to risk. To risk her murder and risk me going back to Liam. She would fight for my and her safety.