TIFFIN

80

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As we both were escorted and pushed out onto the gravel parking lot, I realized that I had been driven here. 

"Jo," I said, "Did you by chance, drive here?"

Josephine looked down at her feet in embarrassment. "No... Niall offered me a ride."

I sighed. God, we were both so stupid and blind. I stood, staring around the parking lot at a loss of what to do. My phone was still in Hero's car.

I may as well say goodbye to that. 

"I can try to call an Uber," Josephine said, brandishing her cell. "I have my phone on me,"

I gasped, relieved that one of us thought quick on our feet. 

"Wait- no need. I know it's not the best decision, but I'll dial my parents. They'll take us back to the dorm."

Josephine looked up with a worried expression. "Are you sure that's the best decision?"

I sighed. "Probably not but what other choice do we have?"

After pondering on her choices and taking another look around the lot, Josephine nodded.

"Okay."

Before I could begin to type in my mother's contact, I had an unknown number coming through.

A wave of confusion hit before I  recognized it immediately. I didn't refrain from answering, though I was a bit uncomfortable by how they knew Jo's number. 

"Dorinda," I began. 

"Hmm," Dorinda responded from the other end, "I'm quite surprised that you decided to accept my call after our scuffle."

Actually, lady, we didn't really have a scuffle. I tried mending things and you ended up slapping me. 

I took a deep breath, willing to look past this. 

"All it is is water under the bridge," I said. 

It took Dorinda a long minute to reply.

"I'm sure. Kristina, I'll be the adult here and apologize for my behavior. What I did was out of line and doing that to a complete stranger is not respectful."

I wanted to roll my eyes at this. It wasn't the best apology, but at least it was something.

"Thank you."

"With that said," Dorinda went on, "Let me say what I called you for. Everything that you think you know, isn't what it seems. My mother and I grew up in very different times. She knew what I could handle and I trusted her with that. Anything that happens with her and my son, is strictly a family matter. It is not for you to dabble in. Do we understand each other?"

I held on tight to my phone, not liking what I was hearing.

"Dorinda... will all the respect in the world, I'm sure someone knows the difference between molestation and discipline."

"He was young!" Dorinda screamed through the receiver. "He didn't know what was happening!"

I scoffed, ready to fight back on this.

Despite everything, I was still ready to protect the boy that was once too weak to fend for himself.

"Ten years old isn't that young! How can you be saying things like this? I took a good look at Diedre. I know women like her- she will not stop! She believes she can get what she is owed!"

"You don't know anything about my family." Dorinda urged. "After everything that I've worked so hard to build, I'm not going to let someone like you stumble in and mess it up. Hero was just fine doing whatever he was in his life and we had communication! If I have to, I will get a restraining order! If you know what's good for you, you'll stay away!"

"Wait- can't we talk about this-?"

Before I could get an answer, the line went dead. I slowly lowered my phone, zoning out for a moment. There were a few things I'd learned in my parent's line of work, many things that they had to face.

Legally, Hero was old enough to make his own decisions. Without his consent, Hero's mother couldn't force an order on me. 
There were things one person with more money than God could do, but forcing your adult son to do something wasn't one of them. 

Would Dorinda never face up to the abuse Hero suffered? Would Hero never conquer above it? Has he ever considered counseling? 

Why was I even thinking about things like this? It didn't concern me. Hero and I had broken up, again, and I wasn't sure how long it would last.

This was recurring and I wasn't sure if I could stop it. Over the years, I wouldn't had ever thought that I'd be in a crazy relationship with the boy that tried so hard to push me over the edge. 

I knew it wasn't healthy to keep leaving and coming back, but I couldn't imagine my life without him. He was my first for a lot of things and the chaos is all I've known for the past few months. The only way I was going to successfully break this off was if Hero left out of my life. To another state perhaps. 

Realizing how long I'd been spacing out, I dialed my mother's number, waiting for her to pick up. She usually accepted after the second ring so when I hit the second round of rings, I became nervous. 

Eventually, I heard a crisp voice.

"Mother?" I asked. 

"Kristina." She responded, sounding as disapproving as ever. 

"Is... Father with you...?"

I was still confused on whether I should have called that man my father still. 

My mother sighed through the other end. "Yes. What is it that you want?"

I gasped, surprised at her tone. "I'm stuck at the event center here in Chico. Do you think you could take me back to the dorms? My friend Josephine is with me."

My mother took a long minute to reply. "Is that boy with you?"

"No," I lied, "I'm here to celebrate with Josephine. Her... boyfriend had a family function."

After hearing her whisper something to who I guessed was my father, she responded. 

"Okay. I'm out the door now."

I smiled. "Thank you, mother. I love-"

Once again, I was hung up on without explanation.

You're all amazing!!

Let me be the one to say it. Dorinda is crazy.

Haha. That's all for now!