Tanpopo meowed at Daphne with great urgency as she finished chopping up his cat food. “I’m sorry, Tanpopo,” she said. “I made you wait so long to eat.”

  Her own stomach twisted up at the thought of her sweet cat having waited for her to come home, only for her to come late, as usual, and have his food delayed even longer because of an unexpected visit from her mother.

  She sighed and looked down at him, his pink mouth and closing with his hungry sounds. Surely he’ll forgive me, won’t he?

  She grabbed the bowl off the counter and placed it down in the center of the room, and Tanpopo quickly began to chow down on its contents. She let out another heavy breath, and sank down next the cat, gently petting him as he ate. She winced a little at the cat food scent, as the smell wafted over to her a bit from his ravenous eating.

  Her mother’s words from Viola’s accident when Daphne was twelve echoed again in her mind. “I wish I had never given birth to a such a worthless, incompetent being. I should have aborted you while I could.”

  Daphne’s heart ached in her chest, the memory fresh in her mind, as if it had just happened all over again, only moments before. Daphne closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. “Why would I even tell her in the first place that I would consider going to the family dinner?” Daphne wondered aloud. “I’m such a fool to even entertain the idea.”

  She gently patted Tanpopo’s back as he licked every single inch of his bowl, making sure he had every single granule of cat food. “Have I lost my goddamn mind?” Daphne asked him. If he was a human, she imagined that he would tell her that she had.

  Daphne chewed on her lip. “Or do I just lose my resolve when she cries?” Daphne sighed, knowing it was most certainly the case. Her chin trembled, and she laid her head down on her legs. When will I stop longing for a person who doesn’t exist? Will she have to die before I can fully move on? Will I never be able to stop wishing she’s something she’s not?

  A few tears squeezed out of Daphne’s eyes and she sniffed as she felt Tanpopo curl around her, wrapping his tail around her legs.

  “Tanpopo, you should have been my mom,” she croaked, looking at him and meeting his yellow green eyes. She reached down to pet him, and reached his head up to her head so that he could receive her pet a moment earlier.

  Daphne choked on her emotions from the affection Tanpopo gave her. “A cat can be more affectionate towards me than the woman whose body I came out of.”

  Though Daphne knew that it was not fault of her own that her mother did not love her, feeling the warmth of Tanpopo’s love made her feel like there may not be something wrong with her after all.

  Daphne sniffled and then started scratching under Tanpopo’s chin. He gladly let her, closing his eyes, his face filled with pure enjoyment. She couldn’t help but smile through her tears at his expression.

  Her phone started vibrating in her pants pocket, suggesting she might be getting a call. Surely, it’s not Mother. I’m pretty sure I still have her blocked.

  She fished her phone out of her pocket, to see that it was Maggie who was calling her.

  “Hello?” she answered.

  “Daphne?” Maggie’s voice said on the other side.

  “Yes?”

  “Oh my God, I’m so sorry.”

  Daphne’s heart dropped into her gut. Was I too confident in Maggie? Did she actually give Mother my address?

  Daphne swallowed hard. “Why are you sorry?” she asked, trying to keep her voice as steady as possible. Her stomach was doing flip flops.

  “I just found out that Mother visited your apartment,” Maggie replied with a heavy sigh.

  Daphne chewed on the inside of her cheek and squeezed her eyes shut. Please don’t let her have betrayed me.

  “Yes, she was here,” Daphne confirmed, struggling a bit to talk with the growing lump in her throat. She cleared her throat and then continued. “I didn’t let her inside. She was standing in front of my door when I got home.”

  “Fuck, damn it!” Maggie exclaimed.

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Daphne felt her eyes go a bit wide, as she wasn’t quite sure she’d ever heard her older sister cuss before.

  “What?” Daphne asked, her heart skipping a beat.

  “I’m so sorry,” Maggie said again. “I made an offhanded comment about you, and I had gotten drinks the other night to Mom.”

  Daphne let out an audible groan. I think I already know where this story is going to go.

  “I was firm with Mom,” Maggie continued. “You know how she is. She immediately asked a thousand questions. I told her I wasn’t going to go into detail, so whatever she told you I said while she was there is probably not true.”

  Daphne let out a breath she didn’t even know she had been holding. Maggie didn’t betray me.

  “Thank you, Maggie,” Daphne said.

  “Of course,” Maggie replied brightly. Daphne was sure that the other side of the phone, her sister was smiling. “I know how serious you are about not talking to Mom. I’ve been doing everything I can to make it as easy as possible for you to spend time without me without having to worry about her.”

  “I appreciate it.”

  “Yeah, I know you do,” Maggie said. “And it’s not like I don’t understand why you want nothing to do with her,” Maggie sighed.

  “So, what do you think happened then?” Daphne asked. “Any ideas?”

  “I’m fairly certain that Mom looked up your apartment address or something like that,” Maggie said, “I think she figured that if you and I are talking and spending more time together than we have in the past, that it must mean you’re interested in mending the bridge with the entire family.” Maggie sighed heavily. “I suspect this was the twisted logic she was using because while she was driving home from your apartment, she called me.”

  “What did she say?” Daphne asked, her guts twisting around. All of the things that Maggie was saying sounded in character for their mother. It was making Daphne feel even more foolish that she had entertained her mother’s request to come to the family dinner.

  “She was bragging that she went and saw you at your apartment, and that you had agreed to come to the family dinner this weekend,” Maggie scoffed. “She had the nerve to tell me that next time she needed something from you, she ought to just ask you herself since I never seem to be able to get you to come to family events.”

  Daphne’s heart dropped in her chest. “She said that I said I was going?” she asked.

  “She did,” Maggie confirmed. “What did you say?”

  “I said I’d consider it,” Daphne replied.

  “Typical Mom,” Maggie said with a small growl. “No respect for boundaries and twisting the truth to suit her needs.”

  Daphne sighed heavily. “Always,” she said. “Those are like her signature moves.”

  The phone fell silent for a moment. “Well,” Maggie said. “I’d advise you to make up your mind and let her know really quick what you’re going to do for the family dinner then. You know how she is. She’s going to tell everyone. So, if you wait too long, the whole town is going to think you’re a terrible daughter if you say no.”

  Daphne felt her face scrunch up, and she rubbed her forehead with the back of her hand. “You’re right,” she said. “And suddenly the ‘truth’ will be that I backed out at the last possible moment, even though I never agreed to it in the first place.” Daphne snorted at the absurdity of it all.

  “Yep,” Maggie replied firmly.

  “Will you, Michael, and the girls be there?” Daphne asked, trying to figure out if the dinner was even worth going to in the first place.

  “Unfortunately,” Maggie grumbled. “We are not looking forward to it at all.”

  What if…What if the answer to my problems lies in my mother’s house? With work I have been running away from confrontation. Daphne winced at the memory of having to tell Gary she could no longer pay him. It had been hard to do, but it had allowed her to see what kind of person Gary was. She got to see that he had been using her for money all along.

  What if the reason I’m not happy is because I’ve been running away from my problems instead of facing them head on? For years, I have been sweeping things under the rug, with anything, but most of all, with Mom. What if the key to my happiness is to run through the pain rather than away from it?

  Daphne chewed on her lip, knowing that her mother’s house likely held more secrets than she could even fathom a single person could have. The image of the headlights coming towards her, and the weight of the truck on her body flashed through her mind again.

  It’s at least somewhere to start. I don’t know if my death was related to my family, but I’ve got no leads, and I can always walk away if I don’t find anything.

  Her guts twisted around in her belly, but her intuition was impossible to ignore. If my mother was a bad person to her own children, she likely was shitty to someone else, too.

  “Daphne?” Maggie’s voice asked in her cellphone, bringing Daphne back down to Earth.

  “Sorry, what did you say?” she asked, not even trying to feign that she had been paying attention to her sister.

  Maggie huffed a little at her. “I asked if you would be willing to text Mom your answer,” she said.

  “Yep, I’ll text her that I’ll be there,” Daphne said.

  Maggie gasped through the phone. “You’re going to go?” she asked. “Why? Why would you subjugate yourself to our mother’s painful world again?”

  I should be dead. I’ve spent my whole life running away from everything, only to die unhappy and alone. Just like the twelve-year-old child I was getting screamed at by Mother, I just curled up into a ball and let myself be trampled to death.

  “Well,” Daphne said, trying to keep her voice sounding optimistic. “I think I have some unfinished business with Mom.”

  The phone call fell silent. Finally, Maggie said, “I understand.” She sighed. “Just remember that Mom fights dirty, okay? I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

  Daphne couldn’t help but chuckle a little. “I know,” she said. “But don’t worry too much. I don’t intend to attack Mom. Directly, at least.”

  Maggie paused again. “Okay,” she said, sounding hesitant. “Well then, let me know if you need any help with anything. Otherwise, I’ll see you this weekend.”

  “See you this weekend,” Daphne said before hanging up the phone.

  Tanpopo had long since left her, but the tears his warmth had caused were still damp on her face. She wiped them away, and felt something inside of her strengthen in a way it never had before.

  This time I will be happy. I swear it.