The Rapunzel Effect

Reality Punches

"Mother." I breathed out as I saw her sitting on the sofa, surrounded by detectives and police. The policeman who had brought me up had a firm grip on my arm, as if I had escaped a prison and he was making sure I wouldn't be let loose again. My mother looked calm and respectful. There were no tears and her make up was so impeccable I doubted that she had even shed a tear today. I felt as if I had been punched in the stomach. Did she not care? I had began to have doubts on my intentions on coming here but the policeman's grip was so hard I knew that there was no chance of escape. As she saw me, her eyes widened slightly as she stood up. Maybe she did care after all? I almost thought she was going to rush to me and hug me but instead she shook the policeman's hand for escorting me to the penthouse. He had a large smile

"I would like some time alone with Rachel." She announced and made me follow her into her office as she sat down in the large chair, indicating me to sit opposite her desk. I was shocked. She didn't seemed to be elated or upset. It was as if it was another day, apart from the abundance of policemen in the lounge. I knew that physically, she looked the exact same as she did the night she left. I knew that I looked the same too but I felt different. 

And she looked different. 

She looked cold and unfriendly. Everything Kyle's mum wasn't. Unloving and uncaring. I used to think that she loved me but after seeing with with Kyle and his mum, I began to doubt everything I was taught.

"Mother I-" I began to say, almost plead, but she cut me off. I fought against speaking anyway but kept silent, the engraved obedience dominating me mentally. I hated it.

"How could you Rachel. How could you do this." She stated at me, her voice only getting slightly louder towards the end of her statement. I hung my head in shame and I felt embarrassed. She was right. How could I have done this to her? My mother? I didn't know what to say so instead I stared at the floor. I was just how I was before. A naive little girl frightened by her own shadow. I felt a tear slip from my eye and it was filled with all the memories from the past few days.

"You made me humiliate myself in front of everyone on national tv... do you understand?" Her voice concealed an anger I've never witnessed in my life before.

"Mother I-" She cut me off yet again.

"Where were you?" She said, her voice full of disappointment and... fear. She was probably afraid that I got hurt probably.

"Well I met someone!" I said, my voice full of happiness. Maybe she'd be proud that I made a friend. I wanted to tell her all the things I found out and what I can do now and that I don't have to be scared of the outside world. Maybe I was different how I used to be. Things are different now compared to when I was younger and I just wanted her to understand that. Maybe she'd be less angry at me.

"His name is Kyle and-" She held up a single finger, cutting me off once again. She left the room and returned with a detective who held a large tablet in his hand. He was an old man, about 40 and I could see that even he feared my mother based on the perspiration on his forehead.

"So um Rachel, what was the name of your... friend." His voice went higher at the word 'friend' and he glanced at my mother only to see her jaw line tense up. I wouldn't have been surprised if she had shattered all her white teeth based on the amount of extension she was forcing.

"Why?" I asked, unsure on why it would matter to someone who worked against fighting crime? Or working for deep pockets.

"Just answer him." Mother snapped and I tried hard to avoid tears from welling up my eyes. I felt so alone. So scared.

"Kyle Montrola." I spoke out evenly, staring out the window. I knew she didn't care. She couldn't care. And precisely at that moment, I just gave up. I felt numb with pain and I was emotionless. Just like her. I was turning into her. For most people, their mothers and fathers are something they strive to be like in the future but for me, it was the opposite. It was as if reality was laughing at my face as it dawned on me that my future was set in stone.

The detective typed in the name onto the database, presumably, and showed it to my mother. She gasped as she looked at me.

"Rachel! How dare you acquaint yourself with a criminal?!" I stopped breathing. What? No Kyle was a good person, he couldn't be a criminal. He was so kind and gentle to me. There must have been a mistake. Then I was shown a picture of him. A mug shot. Maybe it wasn't something awful maybe just maybe it was something such as just stealing bread. That's what happened in Les Miserables. Do people steal bread these days from hunger? But his parents seemed okay financially? Maybe he had a twin? But with the same name? Maybe it was a mistake...

"I um-" I whispered, unsure on what to say.

"He's a thief. Ah, I've seen many like him. The lowest of the low." The detective began to murmur, probably unsure on what input he should provide. If souls existed, I was sure that mine would've been shattered then. My first and only friend had only wanted me for the money. I couldn't believe it and I didn't want to but I seriously doubted that the detective would've forged a mug shot that precise. Not even my mother could hire someone to create an image that perfectly in less than a minute.

I felt my heart drop and I felt positively sick. I sat up and got to the nearest bin as soon as I could and I vomited. Tears fell into the mess I had made and as I looked up at my mother, I could see her stare at me. I wanted to just not exist due to my own stupidity. Trusting someone like him was a mistake. My mother won. I was weak. I was nothing. People just wanted me for their personal advantage, I will never be wanted for who I am. 

Due to the error I had unwittingly made, I was going to pay.

My mother dismissed the detective and everyone else in the apartment while I cowered over a bin full of my own sick, looking pathetic.

"Get up." I kept crouching, hoping that she wouldn't make me stand up, the shame unbearable.

"I said get up!" She shouted and I stood up slowly, my knees shaking and the whole world began to spin slowly. Tears blurred my vision and all I could hear were the fast pumped off my heart

That's when she slapped me hard and I was lost into the regrets of my own mind, as I hit the floor unconscious.

Goodbye Kyle.