Free Minds Chained Hearts | ✔

Part 1 | Chapter 14

He had a scowl on his face while watching me drive away and I couldn't help but just cry again. The sight of him reminded me of what exactly happened and I'm not energized enough to deal with that. He's drained every bit of power in me and surely he knew that.

My grip on the wheel tightened as I focused on the road again, trying to focus on where I was going. I needed to calm down.

I can't believe I just did that. Maybe it was a good thing but with it may come the consequences of me opening-up about everything. By the little information, I have of him, he could turn the tables around and use it to bury me down.

Three days. Three days was all it took for him to brew my anger and release it like a weapon. Three stupid days. People's impact these days is really unpredictable huh?

He is unbelievable. Cruel, mean, egotistical, and opinionated. If I had known that people like him existed then I wouldn't be in this world. Maybe that's a little naive of me to say but I was graced with lovely people and to be smacked with an attitude like his is absolutely despicable.

Angry as I can be, I hit my stirring wheel and felt it's pain just for a moment. I hoped it would ease the frustration but it doesn't. So here I am in the silence of my car, crying because some guy decides to tell me who I am.

But is that really what I'm mad about? Or is the fact that I admitted to him that he was right?

• • •

After driving in circles, too afraid to go back to the dorm, and feel trapped within those four walls, I ended up on an empty gas station at nearly 12 am.

I got out of my car and filled up my tank, not that it needed it, but I needed the air.

The casual swish of cars passing by and the sound of machines working was my only company here. Besides the luminance of the station and the headlights of my car. Having this be by a freeway made it a more private place. No one is here but me. I found peace in that for a while, letting the cold twilight breeze caress my skin while I struggled fo forget.

I paced back and forth contemplating who to call because Lord knows I won't survive by internalizing everything. Usually, a good movie to cry about or a fantastic book would drown out my thoughts but seeing as it where I am right now and the kind of person I'm dealing with- I doubt any of those would be of use.

I paced and paced with a hand on my head, thinking whether I should call Cade or just leave it be. Thinking about it now, I think I'm too embarrassed to even call him tonight, perhaps I can just speak to him tomorrow in class; when I'm calm again.

Sighing, I fished out my phone and found my mother's number. She should be awake, she always works late anyway.

"Eve? Honey, why are you calling so late?" She answered the phone as I looked out into the road, biting my lip while I hold back my tears.

"H...hey mom, I, uh, I just wanted to say- how are you?" I choked and I felt tears already.

"Don't you think it's a little late for that?" She said and I can already hear her strict and commanding voice so clearly that I start to regret calling her.

"Evangeline Jane Collins, what did you do?"

I puckered my brows in disbelief. You have got to be joking.

"What? Mom, no, I didn't do anything."

"Young lady, we both know you wouldn't be calling unless you did something wrong." The conviction in her voice almost reminds me of the reason why I called her in the first place.

I guess she's always been like this. Nothing's ever really changed but she's a good mother, to say the least. She's supportive, smart, and collected. She's definitely a figure to look up to but her temper is a different story.

"Mom, come on, " I sighed, "I didn't do anything. Can't I just call to check up?"

"Not at 12 am." She said and I could already see the anger in her eyes just from the tone of her voice.

"So are you gonna tell me or do I have to wait until you come home this weekend?"

"Mom, I'm not a child anymore we don't-"

"Evangeline!" She yelled and I flinched.
"Obviously you did something stupid again. I expect to hear it when you come home for the weekend. You better have a good explanation for me."

"Mom-"

The call ends and as I looked at my screen hopelessly, I kick my tire in utter frustration.

Mother knows best. Seems to be true for the most part but I would really appreciate it if she didn't think that every time I call then I'm in trouble. I get that it's late and yeah, she might not be entirely wrong but she makes it seem like I'm the bad guy in every scene. Sometimes she wonders why I never tell her about my personal life anymore when she speaks to me like a kid whenever I'm home with her.

I do love her and promised her a life of prosperity once I became the doctor she dreamed of me to be. I love her enough to promise her a new car next year along with my father. She's the best mother but sometimes, like every mother, she tends to be over the top.

Such as on weekends. Now that I live a few miles away from them in Cali, I don't get to see them often some they try and make every weekend a family weekend. Not that every one of them ends up great. Nevertheless, family always comes first.

I just wished that I could confide to my mother like a daughter usually would. I wish.

As I get into my car, the famous words said to me echoes again,

"The girl in chains..."

And I disregard it again, despite agreeing to it.