Blood Bandits

6.

Jolie Above...

July 25, 2020

New Orleans, Louisiana

1...2...3

Breathe

1...2...3

Breathe

I'd been looking at the clock all day. Tonight was the night either I was going to catch my guy or, I was going to look like a fool. Could I be anymore stupid than I am right now? Probably not but I was going to see what all this was about. My thoughts were running crazy. What if this was a set up? What if it was a hoax? It was a shot in the dark but I wanted to see where this was going to lead. Laying on my bed, I watched the clock tick as the minutes went by. My ankles were crossed and my hands laid flat against my stomach.

I was brought out of trance when my phone began to ring. Debating on whether to answer it or not, my eyes slid back to the clock.

It rang again. I sighed and shut my eyes, reaching over bringing the phone to my face. When I opened my eyes, I noticed it was my mother calling me. My mother always called me but she would always say it was the last time and that she wasn't going to bother me again. But of course, she did. I never complained because that was my mother.

Sliding the bar over on my screen, I pressed the speaker phone button and laid the phone on my stomach.

"Hey Ma."

"Mina, how dare you!" She shouted, getting straight to the point.

I frowned and mentally rolled my eyes. What did I do this time?

"How dare I what Ma?" I mutter, very confused.

She huffed on the other side of the line and I could that she was pouting. She always pouted. She pouted when she didn't understand something, when something didn't go her way or like now when she's mad. My mother was always pouting.

"You came home and you didn't even come see me. Did you not want to stay with me?" She asked, making me feel bad as usual.

It wasn't like that. But when I was with my mother, she would always convince me to stay home or move back but my life wasn't in New Orleans anymore. It was in New York. As many times as I'd offered for her to come stay with me there, she would refuse and say that she wanted to stay close my father. He was buried here. I understood her logic but I was her daughter and I was still here and I wanted her to come with me. But we had family here to keep her company, maybe that was the real reason she wouldn't move. But my question was, how did she know I was back in town?

"Mom, I'd planned to come see you when I completed my story. I'm in hurry and I have only another full week to get this assignment finished. I promise, I wasn't going back to New York without telling you or letting you see my face." That was true, I was going home once I solved this but not before. I couldn't bare to have her worrying about all of this.

There was a brief silence on the other end before she spoke again. I could tell that she was thinking about what to say next.

"Well I wouldn't have to worry about all of this if you would just move back home." She spoke like a bratty child.

I knew it was coming, "And I wouldn't have to worry about it either if you would just move to New York with me."

I could tell she was sending daggers through the phone at me. Smirking, I shifted on the bed and waited for her to speak next. There was nothing much that she could say because deep down I knew that she knew I was right.