lxxviii. reality and avoiding my mother

I was walking up the driveway to my house. I glanced up at the treehouse. Dad really needed to fix it. The floor always creaked when I crawled around in there and the windows choked me with dust when I opened them. A few repairs could probably fix that though.

I opened the door. Nobody was home. I went back to my room to start my homework, but I heard the phone ringing. Dad always told me not to answer the phone when I was home alone, but curiosity got the best of me. I checked the caller ID. It was my mother. I didn't answer the phone. Why would Mom want to call us now when she hadn't wanted to talk to us at all in almost a year?

I waited, and the phone rang again. I didn't want to do it, but I answered it.

"Hello?" Mom said.

"Hi, it's McKenna," I said.

"Is your father home?" she asked.

Why would Mom want to talk to Dad? I thought they hated each other. "No," I said.

"Oh okay," Mom said. "Why haven't you been visiting me lately? Noah visits sometimes, but I never see you."

"I've been...busy," I lied.

"What have you been doing?"

"Bowling," I said, even though bowling was over now.

"How are your grades?"

"Alright," I said. That was true. I didn't have anything lower than a B+.

"Alright? I think you can do a little better than alright. Have you made any new friends?"

"No," I said.

"Work on that," Mom said. "You need to have some friends."

"I have friends!" I shouted. Mom needed to stop trying to interfere in my life. I didn't need more friends or better grades, and I definitely didn't want to visit her more often.

"I don't believe you," Mom said.

"Well, if you don't believe me, then I guess I'll talk to you later," I said as I hung up. This was my life now. I didn't need or want Mom in my life and she would have to deal with that. I dug through my backpack and pulled out my homework. That was the one thing I did agree with. I did sort of need to keep my grades up. I didn't want to be like Mom. I couldn't do that to myself.