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Catfished by Mom
Catfished by Mom
Author: P.G. Barlow

Chapter 1

Author: P.G. Barlow
My bedroom door flew open with a single kick, and Mom came storming in with her hair splayed to her face.

"Where's your father? Where did that useless man go?

She grabbed me by the collar of my pajamas and hauled me out of my gaming chair. I pulled off my headphones on cue and put on my best stunned, clueless expression. "Mom, what's wrong? Dad said something came up at work half an hour ago and drove off."

"Don't you dare play dumb with me!" She got right in my face with her teeth clenched, spit flying with every word. "Did you see something last night? Who's the woman? What does she look like? What's her name?"

Her grip was terrifyingly strong, her nails digging in hard enough to break skin.

"I... I don't know what you're talking about. I was doing homework all night. I didn't even leave my room."

Mom stared straight into my eyes, searching for any trace of a lie. She held the stare for a full 30 seconds, then shoved me away. "You're absolutely useless. You can't even keep an eye on the door."

She spun around and stormed back into the living room, snatching her phone off the coffee table. I leaned against the doorframe, watching her retreating back, her whole posture twisted with anger.

She switched back to her main account on the local forum and started typing. Her fingers stabbed at the screen like she was trying to punch through the glass.

[$500 bounty, city-wide!

[Whoever helps me track down and dox this shameless homewrecker in the photo gets the money wired on the spot!

[My husband drives a black Volkswagen, plate ending in 886!]

She paced back and forth across the living room as she posted it. Her chest was heaving, her breathing loud and ragged.

I went back to my desk and pulled open the bottom drawer, fishing out an old backup phone that did not even have a SIM card in it. Once I connected to the neighbor's WiFi, I logged into an alternative account I had registered a long time ago and opened the local forum.

Mom's bounty post had already been bumped to the top of the front page. The locals in the comments were eating it up.

[Holy crap, this guy looks kinda familiar.]

[Look at that couch. Doesn't this place look like Ridgeview?]

I smirked and took my time typing out a reply.

[OP, I just saw that black Volkswagen with the 886 plates parked outside Lucky Deal Card Room on Dalton Road. There was definitely a woman in a trench coat in the passenger seat.]

I hit send.

A heavy, ragged gasp came from the living room.

"Lucky Deal Card Room… You piece of trash, spending my money on your little mistress!"

She grabbed the heavy brass ashtray off the coffee table. Without even changing out of her pajamas, she shoved her feet into a pair of slippers and stormed out.

The moment the front door slammed shut, I walked over and locked it from the inside. Then, I went back to the bedroom and pulled a black laptop out of a hidden compartment under the bed.

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  • Catfished by Mom   Chapter 12

    He checked my acceptance letter and ID with brisk efficiency and handed me a brand new campus card."Your full-ride scholarship was deposited into this account yesterday. Just take it to Building 5 and check in at the front desk."I took the card and thanked him. Then, I found a quiet bench by a fountain and sat down.I pulled the old phone out of my pocket and lit up the screen. The local news feed from my hometown had pushed one final bulletin right on schedule. I tapped it open.The couple who had once lorded over that city had become its most infamous cautionary tale. The article read with the cold, clipped tone of an official report.'Yesterday, the mentally unstable woman known as Pam L., who had been accosting pedestrians and grabbing young men on the street for weeks, was forcibly committed to Greymont Psychiatric Hospital by police for involuntary treatment.'According to medical staff, the patient's condition is severe. She refuses to sleep in her bed, choosing instead

  • Catfished by Mom   Chapter 11

    Mr. Osgood clapped me on the shoulder, his eyes going red at the rims. "You really weren't going to tell us, were you? If I hadn't gone to the registrar's office and looked up your train time, you would've just slipped away on your own."A few of my classmates crowded around."Seriously! That's cold!""Don't forget to send us a postcard when you get there!"In the middle of the warm send-off, a strange rustling came from the thick hedgerow beside us.The next second, a dark figure reeking of something sour and rotten launched out of the bushes. It moved fast and with terrifying focus."Mine! He's mine!"The figure lunged straight at me with outstretched hands, blackened and calloused, and latched onto my silver suitcase with an iron grip.The travelers nearby screamed and scattered, their faces twisting with disgust as they backed away.It was Mom.She looked worse than she had in the video. Her eye sockets had sunk deep, her cheekbones jutted out sharply, and a thread of dro

  • Catfished by Mom   Chapter 10

    I threw myself into studying and shut out every last whisper of gossip and drama from the outside world.My phone buzzed on the desk. It was a short video from my seatmate at school.[You have to see this! Your psycho mom is out there making a scene again!]I played the video. The scene was absurd.It had been filmed outside the entrance to the city's biggest farmers' market. Mom was wearing a grimy jacket, her hair a tangled mess. A rough nylon cord hung around her neck, holding up a sign made from a flattened cardboard box.Across it, in crooked red letters, she had scrawled, 'I am the devoted big sister. Give me back my son!'She grabbed at every person who walked by, muttering the same things over and over."Ma'am, have you seen my son? He was stolen from me by monsters on the internet. I was only trying to protect him! He even gave me his bank passwords. He loves his mom more than anyone!"The shoppers gave her a wide berth, covering their noses and cutting around her with

  • Catfished by Mom   Chapter 9

    It was the same woman from the motel parking garage, the one who had fled barefoot that night. The moment she took off her sunglasses, Mom stopped struggling entirely. She stood rooted to the spot as if the ground beneath her had opened up."Nadine?"Mom's eyes went wide with disbelief, her voice shaking. The woman was her cousin, the daughter of a distant uncle on her side of the family. This was also the same woman who showed up at every holiday gathering with gifts in hand with the sweetest smile on her face, calling Mom her favorite cousin.Nadine Trask did not acknowledge Mom's shock. She walked straight up to Dad, pulled a sheet of paper from her bag, and tossed it on the table."Craig, I'm pregnant. Here are the test results. Six weeks along now."Dad blinked. Then, his face split open with wild, delirious joy. He shoved Mom aside and reached for Nadine, ready to help her into a chair. "Really? That's incredible! I'm finally going to have a real son!"Mom's legs gave out.

  • Catfished by Mom   Chapter 8

    She stormed in like she owned the place. "Oh, my poor nephew!"The wailing started the second she walked through the door, loud and theatrical, without a single real tear behind it. She dropped herself onto the edge of the bed, and the sudden weight sent a tearing jolt of pain through the wounds on my back."What do you think you're doing? They're your parents! A little smack here and there is just how parents show they care! You actually called the cops on them? That kind of betrayal comes back around, you know!"Mr. Griffith and Mr. Osgood stood frozen, stunned by the performance.Aunt Cassie did not spare them a glance. She dug a crumpled piece of paper out of her pocket and shoved it into my hands."Hurry up! This is a victim's leniency statement. Just sign it! Once you've signed it, go down to the station and drop the charges. Only then will your mom walk free! You can't actually want to watch your own mother go to prison. Do you even have a conscience?"I looked down at the

  • Catfished by Mom   Chapter 7

    "And every piece of evidence of her installing hidden cameras in the house for her surveillance and control…. Audio recordings, videos… All of it. I organized everything by year."The lead officer accepted the flash drive with visible gravity and gave my shoulder a firm pat. "You've been through a lot, kid. Don't worry. The law is on your side."Dad heard this as he was being led toward the stairwell. He broke down completely, wailing at the top of his lungs. "I'm innocent, officer! I'm always busy with work. I had no idea she was doing any of this, the forum account, the catfishing, the cameras! This was all her! Just arrest her and let me go!"He was trying to wash his hands of everything. Mom heard every word. She whipped her head around and sank her teeth into his shoulder. "You backstabbing lowlife! You're going to let me take the fall alone?"The two of them went at each other again right there in the stairwell. The officers had to physically separate them before dragging the

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