Her phone buzzed. Once, twice, a third time, until she lost count.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she stopped dead on the sidewalk as dread slithered over her. Something had happened. She hadn’t charged her phone, and she hadn’t kept track of Logan’s location, and now something had happened to him and she…
Hello?
Excuse me?
The least you could do is tell me you’re not dead.
This is so selfish, Effie. If you don’t want to help your mother out, then fine, but at least tell me you’re okay.
Logan isn’t picking up. What’s going on?
Effie!
Hello?
Hello?
HELLOOOO
I could call the police, you know.
They would understand my concern.
EFFIE
I’m coming over
She groaned, locking her phone and hitting herself in the head with the glass screen repeatedly as she squeezed her eyes shut.
A hand slipped over her forehead, interfering with her ritualistic self-harm. “Why are you hitting yourself?”
“Trying to kill enough brain cells that I might not notice how miserable I am when my mom is around,” she muttered.
He took the phone from her hand and read the message notifications that scrolled on endlessly. “She is neurotic.”
“Um. A bit.”
“And she raised you?”
“Yeah. Alone, basically, after I turned eight.”
That was when her father had finally reached his limit with her mother. Ophelia had barely seen him before that, busy as he was climbing the corporate ladder. The divorce hadn’t changed much except where he slept at night.
He nodded as though something had clicked into place for him.
“What does that mean?” she asked, snatching her phone back with a frown. “Why are you nodding like that?”
“Your mother appears to be suffering from the same compulsive need for control that drives you. Untreated, I would guess.”
“I-I donothave a compulsive need for control.”
He took her phone back from her hands and held her gaze as he dropped it face down on the pavement.
Her heart stopped.
“What are you doing!” She squatted down to pick it up between two fingers, trying carefully not to touch the sidewalk. Her other hand fished in her pocket for the packet of wipes he’d helped her buy the day before.
