The Heartless Persona

20

A day later, Keri approached her mom with a grin stretched across her lips. "Mom, guess what!?"

Her mom moved the phone away from her mouth for a moment. "Honey, I'm on the phone with work."

"Yeah, but, Mom-"

"Yes, I completely understand," her mom said into the phone. She shot Keri a look.

"Mom," Keri tried one last time. Her smile was already faded and she felt empty.

"Keri," Mrs. Hastings said sternly with the phone away from her mouth. "I'm busy. We can talk later."

Keri took a step back, her expression had fallen, and she glared at her mother. She stormed off to her room and slammed the door.

She didn't need her mom anyway. It wasn't like this was the first time that happened. Her mom had been like this ever since Keri was a child. That was why her and Cam spent so much time together--her parents didn't have enough time for her.

She experienced this almost everyday. It got to the point where she wanted to stop talking to her parents unless it was absolutely neccessary.

Lying down on her bed, Keri shut her eyes.

Even though she didn't want this to impact her or her mood, the truth was that it did.

This was her mother. And she was disregarding Keri like some annoying co-worker who couldn't take a hint. Keri was her daughter. And she should come first in her mother's life instead of her stupid job.

But she didn't.

Tears streamed from Keri's eyes while she gripped her pillow.

What was the point of having a child if her parents were just going to neglect her? What was the point of coming on this stupid family vacation if they weren't going to act like a family?

I don't care, Keri thought to herself. This whole trip was a bust. I just wanna go home. I hate it here.

Keri heard a knock on her door. "Go away," she mumbled, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

Whoever it was didn't listen and entered the room. She was about to shout at the person until she realized who it was.

"I just wanna be alone. I don't wanna talk about it," Keri turned her head away from Cam. He sat down on her bed, placing his hand on her back.

"What happened?" He finally spoke. Keri turned her head back to him with a look of despair.

The next thing she knew, she was sobbing into Cam's shirt, gripping onto him instead of the pillow.

"I just don't understand why they always chose their job over me," Keri cried. Cam wiped her tears with his fingers, then brushed her hair out of her face. "I just hate it. I wish they actually cared."

"They do care about you," he assured. His ocean colored eyes had a sympathetic look.

Keri didn't even care that someone was watching her cry. To her, crying was a form of weakness that no one besides her should witness. She usually did this at home, or she would do it in a bathroom and pretend like nothing happened when she came out.

"If I died, they'd probably leave my funeral to take a call from work," she muttered.

That was what she honestly believed, too. She thought that her parents were too wrapped up in their job to acknowledge the presence of their only daughter--only child.

Cam looked between both of her eyes before wrapping his arms around her. Keri's eyes shut closed and she hiccuped sobs. He didn't need to say anything because she knew that she could trust him and that he was there for her.

Eventually, Keri had cried herself to sleep. She laid on top of Cam as he watched the television. Her eyes were puffy and her face was still a little blotchy and drained.

Cam couldn't help but to stare at her.

He always saw something different in her than everyone else. Everyone saw Keri's guise, but not many people saw her soul, her vulnerbility, or even her quirks. No one saw what made her Keri Hastings.

And in that moment, he saw the Keri he once knew.