One call after another. Every single one met with the same robotic voicemail prompt. Mom laughed from sheer fury, her chest heaving.
"Fine, Eudora. You've really grown bold!"
"You had the nerve to write something like this, and now you're pulling the silent treatment? Trying to make me feel guilty? Trying to make me worry?"
Beside her, Aileen tugged gently at her sleeve, her voice trembling.
"Mom, I'm so scared... She wouldn't really strangle me, would she? It's all my fault. Please don't blame her. Maybe... maybe I should just leave home. Once I'm gone, she'll calm down, and you won't be stuck in the middle anymore."
Mom looked at Aileen, cowering and self-sacrificing at her side, then glanced up at the strangers whispering around them.
All that remained in her heart was bottomless irritation and rage.
And in that moment, she made the decision that would jolt her awake in the middle of the night for the rest of her life.
"We're not going home tonight."
"She loves that house so much? Then let her stay in it by herself!"
She helped Aileen to her feet.