The Call.

Moments come and moments go, which leave a person in their most vulnerable period.

That was me, 6 months ago.

It hadn't been long since my father passed away, when my mother suddenly fell ill. It hit even harder when she had to be admitted to the hospital and we further learnt how serious the situation was. I felt alone, I was alone and it felt like I was thrown into a big storm.

The situation seemed out of my control and I was left both vulnerable and confused. I felt small, facing a huge mountain infront of me. At the very same time, I had to dig deep within and search for some kind of remaining strength I had left.

One thing I knew not to do, was to give up. I could not afford to, the situation simply didn't allow for me to.

Battles came on each side and as I tried to conquer each one, fate decided then, to bring about a witness in the name of William Myers.

Until today, I keep on asking, why him? It shouldn't have been him, the one cut out from my life.

From past experience alone, I knew how messy it got whenever he involved himself in my business. I had enough reason to warn him to stay away, to not get involved but I should have known better than to believe he would listen.

William Myers ignored all of that.

At one time, I blamed fate for playing such a dirty game, making him reappear in my life again.

Now my life has gotten complicated.

Him knowing about my situation further pushed him to not leave my life, like he did years ago.

William Myers is now part of the secrets I've kept hidden.

A way to sum up everything, is by saying a night of recklessness placed me in a tight position. Now I'm caught in a bind, where I must honour a commitment for 6 long months.

Two months have passed already.

Gosh, I fell into a trap and I've been grasping on straws, trying to get out of it. One thing I can't run away from, is that I failed my mother.

I haven't committed to what she's heavily emphasized on, in my growing years and that is, honesty.

I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't been the most honest around her, yet she trusts me so much. This knowledge caused a sense of distance between us, and it's all my doing. I've done all I can to withdraw from any sort of deep conversation.

Fear has gripped on me time and time again, because the possibility of mistakenly letting something slip is high at times.

If anything were to come out, I would be done for.

Overhearing the conversation between my mother and Mrs Hudson, one of our neighbours, reminds me to be thankful that she doesn't know anything. Everything had unfolded far away from home.

Our neighbour is the kind to receive information and run with it. No one is safe when your business lands at her doorstep, whether true or false, she takes what she gets and makes a mountain hill with it.

There is no doubt in me that Mrs Hudson would have exaggerated everything to my mother, had she known something. Her exaggerations and assumptions have caused trouble in the past, which I want to avoid now.

The most annoying part about our neighbour, is her, never confirming anything before spreading it to the world. I've done my best to distance myself from anything rumour related, especially coming from Mrs Hudson.

I wonder how her family handles her sometimes, because in the past, her eyes have deceived her and with that, she deceived with her tongue.

It's crazy how much work needs to be put into making her, be at your level of understanding and seeing things. I've had to question my mother's level of patience when it came to our dear neighbour and her visits. Her good nature has opened the door for many to turn our way. I can't say I blame them of course, my mother is truly welcoming.

However, that does not take away from the fact that she can be quite strict. The loss of my dad had hit us hard no doubt, now many assumed that my mother would change but she proved them wrong.

She still remained as she was.

It's pained me alot to witness the hurt my mother was subjected to. It felt like there was a storm of emotions that were a challenge for me to be in control of.

After my father's passing, we only held onto each others hands, with the promise of never letting go.

Responsibility instantly took over me, after I realized that my mother would depend on me in some sense. Her, not being as vocal about it has not made me notice less. There have been hints of her dependency on me and from then, I've never viewed myself as an individual but us being a team.

It had sunk in then, that I have people to look out for, no matter what. Lia, my cousin is another example. While we may be a year apart, none made a difference, especially to Lia. It took quite a while for me to see that she liked acting older than I am, wanting to claim the big sister card and protect me. Those around us had taken notice too.

We are both the only children to our parents and throughout the years, we've grown much closer. We found more of a sister in each other, rather than a cousin. A sister seems more real and wholesome to me, than just the recognition of being cousins.

It hurts yet again to admit, that she, along with my mother, has been kept in the dark. To be honest, I've found myself being tempted to be honest about everything, to her rather than my own mother.

Her reaction could go in so many ways, unlike my mother, whose reaction I expect.

I know for certain that mom will most likely want to kill me.

******

Watching the night sky earlier, made me think a little too much and deeply so. I had not prepared for the amount of heavy thinking that would trouble me. I felt overwhelmed, to the point where I shocked myself with my next move. I almost did something that would have made me regret, had I gone through with it.

I almost made the call.

No, I did, but hung up at the sound of the familiar voice.

'Did I make a mistake?' I question myself.

"Milla?" I snap out of my thoughts and turn to my mother.

She's been staring at me, I can tell, but she wears a frown on her face.

'Did I miss something or was I thinking too much?'

"Did you say something mom?" I ask.

" I was asking whether you heard about William or not?"

My heart stops for a few seconds.

'Not again.'

" Oh, Mrs Hudson left already?" I'm surprised that she's left earlier than expected.

I admit that I'm also trying to change the subject.

" She left a while ago, but did you hear what I asked? William."

She won't give up, I fear.

"What about William?"

'Why must I hear about him again?'

" You don't know, do you?"

'I do, but I'm pretending not to.'

"Did you say something?"

" Nothing," I shake my head, dismissing the whole direction of where this conversation might turn to. " So, um, you were saying?"

Her continuous stare makes me nervous.

' Why is she looking at me like that?'

It relieves me when she continues on speaking.

"Well, William Myers is returning."

I bet Mrs Hudson is the carrier of the rumours concerning the Myers, to my mother.

Wait, what did mom just call him?

" You've never called him by his full name before." I point out.

Silence fills the room after what I just said.

Gosh, why did I have to comment? Me and my big mouth.

' It felt a bit weird.' My conscious says.

" He must have grown up alot." I say, trying to break the silence.

"It's been years." She responds but I can't tell what she is responding to.

" His family must be happy." I comment.

" Well ofcourse, who wouldn't be happy hearing that their child is coming back? I know I was the same when you returned home. It felt like you were gone forever."

" Maybe I shouldn't have left." I mumble to myself.

" No don't say that. It was a great opportunity." She says or more like responds to my words.

Words fail me after she says this and instead, I release a small sigh.

" So, the Myers."

" Mom, do we really have to continue talking about them? What they do is none of our business, honestly." I shrug, pretending to be less bothered.

If only she knew how much I've been trying to avoid this topic.

" So you knew that he is coming back?"

I shake my head. " It was a mere rumour until you said something."

I neither confirm nor deny.

" Well, the family will be hosting a welcome home dinner for him, and you know how that will turn out." She says, rising to her feet.

' Their Prince is making a return, of course it will be big.'

Mom stops on her way and turns to face me, as if she heard my thoughts.

" His return might be sooner than you think."

' Don't tell me.....'

" Within this week, maybe.'

' That soon?'

" Yes, that soon."

I definitely need to keep my thoughts to myself.

I shake my head a little, getting rid of any other intruding thoughts.

Glancing at mom, I notice her no longer standing there. The shuffling sound coming from the kitchen, leads me there.

I now have a question of my own.

" Mom?" I call her from the doorway.

" Let's have tea." She suggests without even looking back at me.

" No thank you."

She carries on with whatever she's busy with.

" Mom?" I call her again, after a moment of silence.

" Hmm?"

" I won't make the same mistake again."

" It's a small neighbourhood Milla, remember that."

I leave without a word, in my own way ending this conversation.

I am fully aware that there are concerns and I wish I could ease them, but I can't, not when there is so much more she isn't aware of.

'Why now?'

This is the question that circulates in mind, when I finally settle back into my room.

My breath hitches, when I hear my cellphone ring.

It's him again.