Tyler
I woke up with sweat dripping down my face. I held my stomach, feeling nausea rise in my throat.
The room was dark, so I turned on the lights. The dark room made me remember the darkest fears and guilt in my heart.
The poor light throughout the room helped me see my way to the bathroom, and before I knew it, I fell next to the toilet, spilling everything out of my gut. My stomach kept clamping up while the back of my throat burned.
Thankfully, I didn't have any hair, so I wasn't too worried.
The bathroom stank of my vomit, so I closed the lid, flushed the toilet, and closed my eyes, listening to the flushing sound.
I leaned my back against the cold toilet, trying to stop thinking about the nightmare I had—all the terrible things I said to my mom, every word that spilled from my mouth.
When I opened my eyes, I saw a paper peeking under the sink.
I furrowed my brow, then wondered how a paper got in my bathroom.
When I opened the folded paper, which looked nearly blackened at the corner, I neatened it until it straightened out.
I read it word for word.
[Tyler, if you are reading this. Then, I must be dead. The very important thing I want you to know is that I love you. You are my sole reason for living. My life. My gift. My strength. My shining light.]
Somehow her words brought me to tears. My mom and I hadn't always gotten along on some days, but she always made sure that I knew she loved me.
[I want to warn you to be careful when you live with Elijah. He's a dangerous man with dangerous secrets. But he's a loyal one. But he has a rough life, so it makes it hard for him to trust people.]
I furrowed my furrow. Why did she end up talking about Elijah?
[There's something I haven't told you for the reasons why we moved so many times. Why did you have to go to different schools and meet different friends? Well, you see, I kind of pissed Elijah off badly since I stole his money. Haha. You're probably thinking what I am talking about?]
My brow kept twitching when I continued reading the letter. My gut kept warning me--something bad was coming.
[Well, I might have taken ten thousand dollars from him, then he hated me ever since, so he wanted to have me arrested ever since. I made up the excuse that you and I must leave immediately. You and I had to leave so many times because of my selfish reasons.]
Before I knew it, my palm slammed on the ground in anger. This woman stole ten thousand dollars from the guy.
[But as long as you behave like a good son to that guy, he'll let you off the hook, believe me when I say he'll like you very much. You remind him of his youth. That's what he said when I was still married to him.]
What was she going to do with the money?
Then she answered my question like she magically heard me.
[Oh, yeah. You're probably wondering what I wanted to do with the ten thousand dollars. Well, there are plenty of things a lady can do. Like going shopping, buying a mansion, or going to a different country.]
[ But don't worry, I haven't used all the cash on myself. I'm not awful. I saved a secret for you. When you turn twenty-one, you'll be able to earn all the money on your own. Every single one of them.]
[Doesn't that sound like fun?]
I shake my head at this woman. My woman is seriously crazy. I'm starting to wonder if she should have been in a mental institution a long time ago.
[One more thing, if you're reading things, then that means I died, but not from an ordinary cause.]
I narrowed my eyes.
A bad feeling went through me.
[I'm not certain, but I felt that someone had been following me for months. At first, I thought it was Elijah, but I'm not so certain. But I do know that someone wanted me dead. And son, I mean this, I don't want you seeking revenge. It's stupid. It will lead you to death. I want you to live a normal life, so don't be stupid like 'old' me.
I clenched the paper tightly.
[If things go badly, I want you to go to someone I trust the most. He's the most efficient cop, and he knows how to dig things deep when other cops don't want to go any further.]
[His name is Ant Jones. I know. It's a stupid name. But don't judge him, he's a smart guy, a really smart guy, and he knows how to catch criminals. Sometimes. Haha.]
[Alrighty, that's all I got to say, don't do anything stupid. After all, I gave birth to you. And believe me, it was extremely painful! So painful, I almost wanted to throw you! How dare you almost kill me on your birthday! Lol! 😂 ]
[I love you, son]
I closed the letter when I finished reading. Tears fell out of my eyes. My chest became tight, and the walls around me closed in.
Narrow. Tight.
I got up on my shaky knees. I went to my bedroom, but accidentally knocked over some chairs against the wall. But I ignore it.
I walked to the bed and grabbed my phone to call Nino.
"Hello."
A sleepy voice asked.
I spoke in a rough voice. "Hey, can you come over here? I kind of need you here."
"What's wrong? I'm coming."
I couldn't say a word. My mouth felt trapped; all I could see was my mom in my head. The bold, crazy mom. But she's gone. That realization hurts more than anything in the world.
I clench my teeth, holding back on a choked cry.
I barely hear a concerned voice over the phone, "W—What's wrong with you? Why do you sound like that?"
Before I knew it, the sorrow and anger in my chest became overwhelming. I started knocking over the table to the ground. The lamp. The bed. The TV. Everything shattered.
"What the hell?"
"Tyler... you're worrying me."
"Talk to me, buddy."
I knocked over everything.
The lamp. The bed. The TV.
My hands ached.
My breath came in gasps.
The doorbell rings.