"Hello."
The toneless voice that answered the call, even after hovering over the flashing screen for a long time, must have triggered something in Mother because her worried voice that I hadn't heard in a while, came through the phone, "Decker. What's wrong?"
The audacity. The gall of this woman to even inuqire that after everything that had happened. A humourless laugh escaped my lips, "Why do you care? I'm no longer your responsibility, or have you forgotten that I am now emancipated?"
"No paper can ever tear you away from me. I will always be your mother. I birthed you, Decker, please... tell mum what's wrong. I'm here."
