7 I acted as if I hadn't heard her, silently unpacking my things. My mother straightened up in her wheelchair and fumbled for the reading glasses hanging around her neck She didn't ask what happened; she didn't care. She just launched into her favorite topic: pushing the neighbc 's son on me. "I told you not to punch above your weight. Why would a rich man like him ever be interested in you? You'v got no chest, no ass. Look at you now. He used you for a few years and then kicked you to the curb." "I never liked the look of that Julian anyway. Good thing you didn't have kids. At least you can still get marr ed again." 'I'm going to call Mrs. Peterson and see if her boy is home. Stop unpacking. Go put on some makeup an neet him." She squinted at her old flip phone, painstakingly pressing the buttons. slammed a pile of clothes into a suitcase, my patience finally snapping. "What, do you think I can't liv vithout a man?" I shot back. "If you like Mrs. Peterson's son so much, why don't you marry him!" All you ever talk about is setting me up with him! Anyone would think he's some great catch! Has he ever jotten out of jail yet? You want me to get involved with some deadbeat who can't hold down a job? Am even your daughter?!" My mother's face went dark, her eyes flashing with a look so fierce it felt like she could devour me whole. 'ou should be grateful anyone would even consider you after a divorce!" she shrieked. "You keep being pick ind you'll end up alone! You want to be a burden on me for the rest of my life?!" The words caught in my throat, a suffocating ball of frustration. There was no getting through to her. She couldn't hear anything, her mind sealed shut by outdated, rotten ideas that had seeped into her very bones Even her own daughter had to be sacrificed for them. gave up on unpacking, shoved everything into my room, and slammed the door. I won't be a burden. I'm moving out in a few days." heard the squeak of wheelchair wheels outside, followed by a frantic pounding on the door. My mother screamed at me, telling me I was ungrateful, that I had grown wings and was ready to fly away. 'You can move out, but you're still going on that date!" she yelled. "Your divorce is embarrassing enough! Do you want me to be a complete laughingstock in this neighborhood?!" "And what's so wrong with Michael? Don't listen to rumors. I'm your mother! Would I ever do anything to hurt you...?" I found my earbuds and jammed them in my ears, turning up the volume. Then I opened my phone and start- ed searching for apartments. This house was just as it had always been. A suffocating prison where every second was an eternity. I thought if I could just hide somewhere, wait for Julian to recover, finalize the divorce, then my world would finally be quiet. But life rarely goes according to plan. After another meal I couldn't keep down, I found myself hunched over the toilet. Afterwards, I stared at the pregnancy test in my hand, at the two pink lines that had appeared, my mind going completely blank. Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!