“You didn’t want anyone to know? Why wouldn’t you spread the word? That was really impressive what you did. You should be proud.”
“I didn’t want anyone to know because of this.” I walked to the front windows and threw open the curtains. The flash of the cameras lit up the living room as reporters yelled their questions. They had been in my front yard for hours with no signs of leaving.
I let the curtains close and turned back to my mother. I was not surprised to see no shame or sadness on her face. My life had been turned into a circus and she was happy about it. Happy about the attention. All I wanted to do was get my family and move away. All she wanted to do was move into my extra bedroom and bask in the attention.
“They shouldn’t be here in the first place. The fact Ryan is gone and missing is not for the media. I can’t search or mourn in peace because I can’t even go out to buy food for my children. Maybe you should start acting like you care instead of acting you want to be on the news for a man you never treated well in the first place.”
My mother’s smirk told me she knew more than she was telling me. Due to the fact I hadn’t called her about Ryan’s seeming disappearance, her showing up told me she knew what happened. And where he was.
Standing Room Only 