Phoebe [BWAM]

20❀

     My blood runs cold.

     "Please stop calling me. I don't have a mother." I quickly hang up the phone and run to my room.

     "Baby?" I hear Zameer call out before I slam my bedroom door shut.

     I begin to hyperventilate before tears roll down my cheeks.

     Man, this woman just never gives up.

     My phone begins to ring again as I just decline it.

     And then it rings again.

     And again.

      And aga- you get my point.

     I grab my phone and pick up.

     "What! What do you want from me?" I yell out.

     "Please, I just want to talk."

    "Boohoo. I want a million dollars." I move my finger to hang up before she speaks again.

     "Please. I-I got rid of Marcus. He-he hit me. I should've believed you, I know I should've. I just- I was stupid. I'm so sorry baby. Please just come over for Thanksgiving or something. I really want to meet my grandbaby." She sniffles.

     I freeze and try to read the tone of her voice to see if she was just manipulating me again, but she seemed genuine. Normally I would've hung up, but when she said he hit her, I just couldn't.

     "I'm definitely not coming over for thanksgiving. I'm not letting Echo waste a holiday like that. Maybe sometime next week. Maybe. I still don't trust you. I forgave you a while ago, but not for you. I did it for myself. I'm not gonna let what you did to me dictate my life, but you lost every ounce of trust I ever had in you. I'll think about coming. But it's most likely a no."

     "Oh my god! Thank you so much, baby! I'm glad your even consi-"

     I hang up before she gets to finish. All these years and her voice is still just as annoying.

❀❀❀

     "And are there any questions or concerns you have?" Echo's doctor asks.

     We made it to her doctors' appointment and she's surprisingly behaving like an angel. But she still reaches for me every now and again.

     "Uh yeah actually. She's become overly sensitive to anything and everything, she's very clingy and cries when someone she trusts isn't around her, she never sleeps in her room, she takes being scolded horribly, she consistently asks me if she doing good in normal things like eating and just simply watching TV, and she's always scared that I'm going to leave her. I understand this is probably normal because she is a toddler, but it's just so strange. Like I've seen the way other toddlers act and it's nothing like this. It's like she gets anxiety. Is that normal for a 4-year-old?"