ight and she wanted to make sure she delivered them in the best possible way.
“Gina, she is,” she halted for a few more seconds. “She is gone, Zay. I am so so sorry. I should have never pushed you towards her like that. This is all my fault!”
“What is your fault? What do you mean she’s gone?” I stood up from my chair, just to make the whole act seem more genuine. “Did she go back home for a bit?”
“No,” she said sounding upset. “She’s gone. Forever. I am so sorry, Zay. She said that she is in love with someone else and she was only staying with you for my sake and it wasn’t fair to anybody. I thought she was joking at first.” She was breathing heavily. “But then… but then…”
“Mom, sit down,” I said, holding her by the shoulders. “Take a deep breath and tell me everything. What did Gina say to you?”
“That she is,” she covered her face in her hands and started crying hysterically. “She is in love with someone else and she thought she could do this for me but she really couldn’t, and to tell you she’s sorry.”
“She didn’t even have the decency to tell me so herself?” I asked, pretending to look disappointed. “And that’s the girl you thought was perfect for me?”
The crying grew louder, and a sinister part of me felt good about the fact that I had managed to manipulate the master manipulator. I was, after all, her son. All that stress she gave me from trying to kill herself; this was but a small payback. And she could never threaten to pull that shit again; as far as she knew, she had caused me great grief by bringing Gina back into my life.
“I am so, so sorry, Zayden. I really thought – I thought she loved you and she would be good for you. I never would have suggested she come back into your life if I knew she would bail on you like this.”
“Just when I was beginning to accept her back into my life too,” I said dolefully. “What have I done to deserve this shit?”
“Nothing,” she said looking up finally. “Nothing at all. This is all my fault, Zay. From now on I will never try to interfere in your life again. I want to be there for you and I have realized that the best way to do so is to leave you be. I am leaving to go back West over the weekend. Unless,” she looked at me hopefully. “Unless I can be there for you in some way by staying? Help you get through the heartbreak.”
“I think you have done enough,” I said. “You meant well and I really appreciate it. But I am hurt right now and need some time alone to recuperate. Is that okay with you?” I added the last bit trying to seem as earnest as possible.
“Of course, but if you need anything at all, I am just a phone call away,” she exclaimed, and hugged me tight.
“I know that, Mom.” I grinned behind her back.
For the first time in my entire life, I had managed to outsmart my mother. And in some ways, I had Aria to thank for it. I was now the ultimate manipulator.
---
Now that most of the issue was taken care of, I began to fully appreciate the situation I was in; it was, in fact, perfect! There were only two days until the next payment needed to be made on Aria’s mother’s hospital bill, and she still did not know whether I was going to make it or not. In other words, I had complete and utter control over how our dynamic proceeded once again. And man, had I missed being in this position.
When I went into work the next day, I didn’t even so much glance at Aria because I wanted to let her continue believing that I was done with her. If she wanted things to be different, she would have to come to me this time. Maybe I would even make her beg… after all, I did suffer a great deal for her sake, and she needed to not only know that, but appreciate it fully so that she would never try and make things difficult for me again.
The few times I did look up towards her booth, I caught her staring at my office, to my great satisfaction. She obviously wanted to run in here and ask me what was going on, especially since I never even replied to her email. Well, she was free to walk in any minute; she just wouldn’t get any prodding from my end.
To my great surprise, she never came in the whole day, and when I saw her begin to leave from work that evening, I almost reached out to her myself. But I had to have better restraint, if things were going to go my way from now on. I couldn’t let my need to talk to her overcome me, since I was trying hard to never show another sign of weakness. Thankfully, I didn’t have to test myself for much longer, because soon after she left the bank, my phone rang. It was her, so I thumbed the Talk button.
“You have decided to speak to me then,” I answered the phone.
She didn’t speak for what felt like almost a whole minute, after which she said, “I sent you an email!”
“How thoughtful,” I said sardonically. “I sit 10 feet away from you.”
“You never wrote back,” she said softly.
“I had nothing to say. What did you want me to say?”
“I don’t know. Our contract. What is going on, Zayden? Just tell me, are we still doing this?”
“Last I remember, you wanted desperately to get out of this contract,” I scoffed. Perhaps I should have stopped; I had already given her enough of a scare, but there was something about the feeling of being powerful that I just could not pass up on.
“That’s not true,” she snapped. “Obviously, if I emailed you asking where you stand on the contract, it means I’m still in.”
“I think,” I said with a triumphant smile. “I think you need to revisit the dictionary in reference to what constitutes the word ‘obvious.’ In no way have you said to me that you want to continue the contract. You need to, I mean.”
“Look, I know what you’re trying to do and I’m not biting. Just skip the games, Zayden. Do you want this or not?”