Chapter 3

“That’s easy for you to say,” I said, turning to her. My voice shook as I demanded, “Pay it back to me now. Pay me back $100,000.”

Things got even more tense with that.

The next thing I knew, a heavy slap landed on my face. My ears rang, and my cheek stung.

“How dare you talk to me like that?!” Mom’s expression was thunderous. “I’m the head of this household, and you will learn that lesson tonight.”

Mom took her phone out and poked at it furiously.

A few seconds later, my phone started vibrating.

Messages kept popping up in the family WhatsApp group.

Mom’s voice blared through the voice notes in the group chat. “Come look at what kind of son I’ve raised! He went to the big city and forgot his roots! He’s home on Christmas asking us for money. I only spent a bit of his money, but he wants me to pay it back! I wasted all those years raising him, and this is what he does!”

Our relatives’ responses started popping up. They were all either furiously scolding me or advising me.

I sat on the floor and covered my face.

Tyler leaned down and made a show of pulling me back up in concern. I shook him off violently.

“Don’t touch me!” My voice was soft, but Tyler and Mom both heard me.

Mom stopped yelling into her phone and looked at me in disbelief.

I slowly stood up and dug through the trash bags and found my ID and bank card.

This time, I did not look back.

“Where are you going?” asked Mom from behind. There was a hint of panic in her voice.

I did not answer.

The street felt even colder this time, and my cheek stung painfully.

I took out my phone and called the customer service line for my bank. “Hello, I’d like to cancel a card and end all shared family card services.”

It was late at night, and I lay down on the long plastic seat of the bus station lobby, listening to the updates from the PA system.

I opened my bank’s app and looked at the fixed deposit account.

There was $200,000 in there. Three days were left for it to finally mature.

This was money I had originally intended to give to Mom so she could keep it safe for when we finally needed it.

Three years ago, she said she wanted to help me manage my finances, claiming that I spent money carelessly and needed monitoring.

I had agreed and set this fixed deposit to mature in three years, thinking that I would hand the money over once it did.

I thought that this would prove how obedient I was or that I was a son worthy of her love.

Somehow, this money had become my last hope.

I did not sleep all night.

At 6 a.m., I bought a ticket for the earliest bus out of town.

When I stepped out of the bus station, two police officers stopped me.

“Are you Mr. Skyler Posner?” one of them asked. “Your mother has reported you missing. She’s very worried about you.”

I scoffed to myself.

At the police precinct, I heard Mom crying the second I went through the door.

“Sky, oh my Skyler!” She lunged and hugged me. “Where were you? I looked for you all through the night! I was so worried!”

Mom’s hair was a mess, and her eyes were swollen and red. She looked like she had not slept all night.

I stood rooted to the spot and let her hold me.

“Thank you, officers. Thank you so much!” Mom turned to the police officers with tears streaming down her face. “Every mother loves her son. Skyler is my precious baby! We had a small tiff, and he ran off because of his temper. I looked for him all night and got so cold out there. My head’s a little floaty…”

As she spoke, she suddenly started coughing violently. Her body convulsed so hard that she was doubled over.

I subconsciously reached out to help her up. When I touched her arm, I was shocked.

“Mom, you have a fever.”

“I’m fine. I’m fine.” She waved a hand and coughed again. “It’s more important that I found you. Let’s go home.”

Seeing this, the police officers said, “Ma’am, you should go to a hospital and get yourself checked.” Then, they turned to me. “Take good care of your mother, Mr. Posner. You should talk things out with your family instead of running off.”