The Investment

Frustration runs through my fingers because my damn key just will not fit in the damn lock. All I want is to tell Isabella all about how Jacob Bennett is the worst person I have ever met but my hands are too fidgety to open a door, apparently. I know she will tell me I’m being dramatic, but I just cannot care right now because this stupid key is supposed to fit and my bag is way too heavy on my shoulder. After what seems like ages but was probably about 20 seconds, I enter the flat and immediately let out a sigh of relief while I lock the door. 

“Isabella!” I yell her name through the obnoxiously large space. Lock secured, I begin to turn around and find my long-lost roommate. “I need to talk to-”

I stop short as my eyes meet not only Isabella’s, but a pair that I never thought I’d see again. A wave of shock runs through my body and I feel my heart stop for a moment. Well. This is not my best day, is it? 

“Mom?” I ask. What a stupid question. Like I wouldn’t recognize her.

“Hi, Raelynn.” I wince at hearing my full name. I haven’t heard that since...well...since she went away. From then on, I became Rae. She forced me to.

“Didn’t you not get my messages?” Isabella tries to interrupt the tension.

“No,” I glance at my phone for a split second. Oh, look at that. 5 missed calls, 3 voicemails, and 20 texts from Isabella alone. “Sorry, I. Uh. Jacob. Don’t worry about it.” I’m too in shock and nervous tears are too close to my eyes for a full run-down of the conversation Jacob Bennett and I just had. “Mom, what are you doing here?”

“Did your father not tell you?”

“Wait, you talked to dad?” The confusion starts to wash away as anger takes its place. “You have no right to be talking to him.”

“Honey, I had to see you. I knew he knew where you were so I reached out to him. I didn’t torture him, don’t worry. You’re acting like I’ve just started a war.”

Little does she know. I make a mental note to call my dad after whatever the hell is going on now. He is most likely mindlessly watching television and has probably tuned out the world around him and now I have to make sure the twins are okay.

“Whatever, I will deal with him.” My words are cold, emotionless. Just like she taught me. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to make sure you are putting my investment to good use. I need to see for myself if it was a good choice to put my own money into this establishment.”

“Wow, what a surprise,” I feel my eyes roll and notice Isabella has left the room It’s me versus you now, mom.

“What do you mean, sweetie?”

“Oh, will you cut this ‘sweetie’ crap?” My tone catches her off guard. Me too, if I’m being honest. “After five years you come back out of the blue without so much as a phone call and all you want is to make sure I’m not partying my way through uni? Are you here to do a life inspection? To monitor all my decisions?”

Her gaze is cold. “I just want to make sure I’m not wasting my money.” She begins to walk around the living room. My living room. “And clearly it’s a good thing I came when I did.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” She raises a mug from the coffee table that clearly still holds the remains of this morning’s coffee.

“Raelynn, you know I love you,” I wince. “But let’s face the facts. Your flat is a complete mess. You struggled with the lock because you were preoccupied by what? A boy? Who is this Jacob? You should be focused. This is not why I sent you here. You are going to work extra hard to keep my investment. Especially after the attitude you just gave me. And I will need a monthly report of your progress. Your grades, your extracurricular activities, everything. I know you will not be happy with that, but that’s the deal.”

It’s crazy how five years can go by and somehow within two minutes I am 13 again.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” I feel the tears glistening my eyes, but I clench my fist instead of letting them fall.

“Excuse me?”

“I said, who do you think you are?” I finally feel the surge of confidence I have been waiting for since she left us. “You spent 13 years condescending me for everything I do. Everything. Nothing I ever did was good enough. And you constantly justified yourself saying you were trying to make me better. Trying to push me. And I believed you. And then one day, you just got up and left. No explanation. You left me and dad and the twins with nothing. Do you know dad didn’t leave the couch for a week? I had to take care of not only the twins but dad too. I was 13 years old. And then I didn’t hear from you for five years until suddenly you want to pay for me to live in a flat that I didn’t even want in the first place. I get it, alright? You have money and we don’t. And now what? You walk back in as though nothing has changed? Expecting a progress report and a hug and a kiss? That’s not how this is going to work, mom. This is my life now. You don’t get to control it.”

I let out a deep, shaky breath. My mom is grinning. That’s unexpected. Or maybe it’s a smirk.

“I had such high hopes for you, Raelynn.” She turns to look for more imperfections around the living room. Her tone is soft and mocking. I turn my gaze to her as she moves, my back toward the door that separates the living room from the kitchen. “You were going to be a magnificent woman. Successful. But yet again, you forget your place. Don’t you see that without me, you are just a rude, back-talking lowlife who is preoccupied with boys and cannot even pick up after herself? For 13 years I had your best interest in mind. I was training you to be a strong young woman. You need me, Raelynn. You need me to be strong.”

I open my mouth to give another heartfelt reply when I am startled by another voice coming from behind me.

“Oh, will you just shut the hell up?” I immediately close my mouth and turn my head to see Isabella standing in the doorway. Has she been listening this whole time? 

“I beg your pa-”

“Save it. With all due respect, you did absolutely nothing for Rae but manipulate her for 13 years. You saw that she was a strong woman already and were threatened by her. So you wanted her to be lower than you. You did not teach her how to be better, but how to live in your shadow. And you would have kept her there her whole life. Rae is the strongest person I know, no thanks to you. Well, actually maybe I should thank you a little bit. Because your leaving was the best thing you could have ever done for her. Besides that, you have done nothing but mess with her mind. Why don’t you do us all a favor and just go?”

My mom and I both stare. It’s not out of character for her, but still. She usually only talks that way to our friends, never to parents or professors or anyone important. 

“Raelynn?” She wants me to tell Isabella off. “Do you have something to say to your flatmate?”

“No, mom. She’s right.” My mom looks away for a moment, anger engraves her forehead. “I think the best thing you can do right now is just go. And if that means you’re taking your money with you then, well… I guess I will just have to figure that out.”

“I see.” She hesitates before inching closer to the door. “Well then. I will go. But you should know I will be talking to the dean of students to see how you are doing with your studies. And I do not want to hear anything about poor behavior. So much as a toe out of line and I can take everything, you know that.”

“Naturally,” I respond, moving to open the door for her.

“And you,” She turns to face Isabella. Oh no. “I see that she means a lot to you. Take care of her for me.”

My heart skips another beat and the tears remind me of their presence for a moment. That is the first ounce of sentiment I have seen from my mom. Ever.

“I will do my best, ma’am, but it is truly her who takes care of me.” I send her a light smile.

With a soft nod in my direction, she closes the door behind her as she leaves and I finally allow the tears to fall. Isabella rushes over, puts her hands on my face, and moves a piece of hair away from my eyes.

“You know it’s not easy for me to do stuff like that, and I’m so sorry for making a scene. She always did bring the worst of me out for everyone to see. Thank you for standing up for me.” I begin one of those ugly cries.

“There is no need to apologize,” She pulls my head into her shoulder. “Besides, it’s good to know that even Rae has a breaking point.” I let out a short laugh in between tears. 

We stay like this for a while. Eventually we make our way to the living room couch and I tell her about the horror that is Jacob Bennett. And for the first time I feel like I have a real home.