𝙲𝚊𝚛𝚖𝚎𝚗'𝚜 𝙳𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚖𝚖𝚊

Chapter Twenty Two

Laying on the bed in the guest room that is now mine, i heard soft knocking on the door and i glanced up. The knocking continued and debated on whether to ignore it or answer it.
I finally did and saw my mother standing beside the door.
"Um,Hey..." My mom said, seemingly nervous.
I stood stiffly, not sure what to say or how to react. This was the woman who had left me, who had never been part of my life, and now we were expected to coexist all of a sudden? I suddenly felt very young, very out of place, and very angry all at once.
I let out a breath
"I-" my mother began, but there was a pause, as if she hadn't quite figured out what came next.. She glanced awkwardly over her shoulder, into the house, before turning back to me.
"Uh... your dad didn't come inside. He just... dropped you off and left."
I shrugged, as if that wasn't exactly surprising.
"That's kind of his style," i said, my
voice tighter than i intended.
My mother sighed, the tension in the air thickening. "I guess he's still the same," she muttered under her breath, more to herself than to me. There was something tired in the way she
said it, like this wasn't how she'd imagined things would go,either.
"Come in" i said, stepping aside.
As soon as she stepped inside, i felt my mother's gaze on me, as though she was trying
to assess who i,her daughter had become in the years we'd been apart. There was
something unnerving about it, something hesitant and unsure, as if my mother was struggling to
place me within the fractured memories she had of me as a baby.

"How... how long am I staying here?" I asked her breaking the silence.
My mother blinked, seemingly caught off guard by the question. She wrung her hands
nervously.
"I don't know. Your dad didn't really say much," she admitted. "He just...called me earlier said you'd be staying here until things settle down. I didn't get a chance to ask him anything
else."

There was an edge of bitterness in her voice now, as if the idea of my father dismissing her was just as painful as it might have always been. Like they'd been married before....
I nodded, though my mind was elsewhere. The whole situation was absurd. My father had sent me to a woman i barely knew, as if i was someone else's problem now. And this woman, this person i had once thought about with a mixture of curiosity and resentment, didn't even seem to know what to do with me
"I guess I'll just... stay here, then,"
I muttered, walking further into the room.
"Yeah," my mother echoed quietly.
"We'll figure it out."

There was an awkward silence that lingered between us, both of us seemingly unsure of what to say next. I could hear faint noises from another room-the sound of the television turned low,
the distant hum of conversation. I didn't have to ask who it was to know.
She suddenly gave me an apologetic smile.
"It's not much, but I hope you'll be comfortable."
I nodded, managing a weak smile.
"It's fine."
She lingered in the doorway for a moment before speaking again.
"I'm making dinner so I'll let you know when I'm done ,okay?" She said calmly looking at me. I nodded calmly wondering if my silence must have started to irk her by now.
"I know this must be difficult for you, Carmen. I just... I hope we can get to know each other better, despite
everything." She said finally.
I nodded again, not trusting myself to speak. My mother gave me one last look before closing the door, leaving me alone.

As soon as i was alone, i sat down on the edge of the bed, my mind spinning. I
had thought nothing could be worse than the humiliation i had faced at school, but
this-being here, with my estranged mother and her unsettling boyfriend-felt like a new kind of nightmare.
My thoughts remained hazy as i gradually drifted off to sleep. I'll think about my problems at the break of dawn.

---

The soft murmur of voices barely reached my ears as i find myself slouched against the cold tiles of the hospital walkway. The flickering fluorescent lights above me gave off a faint hum, casting long, uneven shadows across the sterile white floor. I'd had been sitting there for what felt like hours, staring blankly ahead, trying to make sense of the fragment of conversation i'd just overheard.