This was why she’d left. My mother had been tearing her down behind my back. I replayed every interaction, every moment I’d dismissed as harmless.
How blind had I been? It was almost midnight, but I didn’t care. I went to the guest room and banged on the door until Mom opened it.
Her face paled as she scanned the letter. “Ben, listen to me —”
“No!” I cut her off.
“You listen to me. Suzie left because of you. Because you made her feel worthless.
And now she’s gone, and I’m here trying to raise two babies on my own.”
“I only wanted to protect you,” she whispered. “She wasn’t good enough —”
“She’s the mother of my children! You don’t get to decide who’s good enough for me or them.
You’re done here, Mom. Pack your things. Get out.”
Her tears fell freely now.
“I do,” I said, cold as steel. She opened her mouth to argue, but stopped. The look in my eyes must have told her I wasn’t bluffing.
She left an hour later, her car disappearing down the street. The next weeks were hell. Between sleepless nights, dirty diapers, and endless crying (sometimes the babies, sometimes me) I barely had time to think.
But every quiet moment brought Suzie back to my mind. I contacted her friends and family, hoping for any hint of where she might be. None of them had heard from her.
But one, her college friend Sara, hesitated before speaking. “She talked about feeling… trapped,” Sara admitted over the phone. “Not by you, Ben, but by everything.
The pregnancy, your mom. She told me once that Mandy said the twins would be better off without her.”
The knife twisted deeper. “Why didn’t she tell me my mom was saying these things to her?”
“She was scared, Ben.
I should’ve pushed harder.”
“Do you think she’s okay?”Continue reading…
