I couldn’t sleep.Not even a little.The walls of the hotel room felt too close, the sheets too crisp, the air too dry. I’d been lying awake for hours, watching the minutes tick by on the glowing red digits of the bedside clock. My thoughts wouldn’t quiet down. They just kept circling, over and over again, back to one thing: my mother’s call.Why now? Why tonight? Why, after all this time of silence, shame, and everything else we pretended didn’t happen?At 2:06 AM, I sat up, chest tight with frustration. I hated this feeling—this sick, gnawing restlessness that made my skin feel too tight for my body. Before I could second-guess myself, I snatched up my phone from the nightstand and scrolled to the number. It was still there in my recent call log, unmarked. Just a string of digits I didn’t recognize, but somehow, I knew it was her.I hit “call.”The line rang twice before she answered.“Hello?” Her voice was breathy, soft. Hopeful.I hesitated for a beat, then cleared my throat. “Mrs
Last Updated : 2025-07-13 Read more