Survival Mode

One on One

|Rhea's POV|

The look on my dad's face when I told him I had been talking to my mom was priceless. I don't talk to her much, but she has been texting me since the holidays. She said she's doing better, she misses me, and wants to see me.

"How long has it been since you've been in contact with your mom, Rhea?" dad quizzed.

I just stood there. Beth didn't say anything. I looked between the two of them. If anyone could calm dad down when he was angry, she could. He didn't take his eyes off me.

"How long, Rhea?" he said through gritted teeth.

"None of your business," I replied in a snarky tone.

My mouth usually got ahead of me and this was one of those times. He looked from me to my nightstand. There was my phone on the charger. Oh no. Before I could run and grab it, he already pocketed it.

"Give me my phone!" I yelled.

He ignored me and walked out of my room. Before I could follow him, Beth blocked my path.

"You need to finish what you were doing."

"Beth, he took my phone," I whined.

"I know he did. You've been keeping secrets, Rhea."

I folded my arms.

"What's the big deal about me speaking to my mom?"

"Sweetheart, it's not about you speaking to your mother. Yes, the custody battle between your parents has been tumultuous, but your father would never close that door. He'd give you the choice. He'll always give you a choice. The issue is you listening to whatever your mother told you and using it as a vice against your father when you don't get your way. You were rude and utterly disrespectful in how you just spoke to him."

"Whatever. Of course you'd take his side," I muttered, putting my head down.

"Look at me, Rhea," she stated, lifting my chin.

I slowly lifted my head, locking eyes with Beth.

"This is not about taking sides. When you're right, I stand by you. When you're wrong, I'll call you out on it and still stand by you to correct your behavior. If something your father or I did bothered you or you felt offended, even hurt by it, we'd want you to come to us. That's what true communication is, Rhea. We want to be as open as possible with you and give you the space to speak your mind, but you don't have to have so much angst when you do. There's no need to keep secrets either. We're here, we're listening, and we want to help you in any way we can."

Beth always had a way with words and I hated it when she made sense. In the time I've known her, she's always had my back.

"Do you think it's wrong for me to talk to my mom?"

She sat on my bed and patted for me to sit next to her.

"Are you okay talking to your mom?" she countered.

I shrugged.

"I mean... I know she has her moments, but..."

"You miss her, don't you. It's okay if you do. No one faults you for it."

"I shouldn't," I whispered.

"She's still your mom, Rhea. It's normal for you to miss her."

"It's not normal how she treated me. A mom shouldn't do that. A mom shouldn't just pass her kid off or keep them from their dad. I have friends that don't have a relationship with their dads like I have with mine and she kept me from him. I just... I shouldn't have said what I said to dad. She's texted and I've barely responded. We don't really speak. I just thought it would be rude not to reply to her text wishing me a Merry Christmas."