A Mystery At Ravenscroft

Saying Goodbye.. For Now

Parker

September 20th, 2021

I can hear my mom upstairs packing her things. It's very subtle, but every few moments something slams, falls, or breaks. I want to go and help her out, but I'm sure I'm the last person she wants to see right now.

"I've got to go up there and make things right," I think to myself.

I wipe away any remaining tears off my face and make my way up the stairs. When I come up to the top, all of the rustling from her room stops. I hesitate to enter, but I do. I walk up to the entrance of her room and stare at her. She pretends not to see me, but I can see her chin trembling as she turns to the side to put some tops away in a suitcase. She stops abruptly and turns my way.

"So," she begins. "Have you made your decision?" She says in a low monotone voice that did not belong to her. She sits down on the edge of her bed and stares at me.

I walk over and sit beside her on the bed. The room is so bare now with a lot of her things packed up. I look over her shoulder and see a few paintings shattered on the floor. The majority of her things were packed. I guess you move quickly when you're filled with rage and passion. Or heartbreak. I'm at a loss for words. I'm trying to pick my words carefully, making sure I don't make her upset even more.

"I'm-- I'm still staying...mom," I say. "I have been thinking about this a lot. We have been joined at the hip since birth. Maybe it's time we separated, but only for a little bit. I could visit, I can call you every night if you'd like. I'll find a roommate, I'll get a job, I'll do whatever it takes. If it doesn't work out, I will move in with you immediately pinky promise."

She picks her head up at me and begins shoving more clothes into her suitcase, this time a little more violently.

"Mom," I say, tears welling up in my eyes. "MOM."

"What Parker, what else do you have to say? What else could you possibly say to rectify the situation?"

"I love you," I say with such great intent I hope she senses how deeply I mean it. I get up off of the bed and hug her, with a pair of dress pants dangling from her hands. She doesn't do anything at first, but then she returns the hug. I feel a huge sense of relief and hold on to her for as long as possible then let her go.

"You know, you are just like your father," she says dropping the pants she was holding and sitting back on the bed. "You both are stubborn in your ways, and you won't take no for an answer. But that was one thing I envied about him the most, being able to stand up for himself and not let himself be pushed around." She says as the corner of her mouth flicks upward. "I don't know why I would think you'd be any different." She strokes a piece of hair away from my face and traces her hand around it. "I always knew one day the baby bird would have to leave her nest; I just didn't think it would be so soon."

"I have to stay here well, let's call it unfinished business." I start. "The moment anything goes wrong, I'll fly home to you mom," I say smiling. This seems to calm her down substantially. Her breathing is back to normal, there's no more trembling, no more choked down sobs.

"Even though I'm not 100% on board with this just yet, I'll get there...eventually." She says finally looking me in the eye. "But I do have some stipulations if you're going to be staying here Parker. You will need a roommate; I'm not letting you stay in a three-bedroom house by yourself. Make sure they're clean, reliable. You won't need a job per se; I can help with any money issues. But if you want to get one, by all means, get one." She says eyeing me.

"Of course, I can do all of that and more if needed," I say, letting a wave of relief wash over my entire body.

"Also, I'll be expecting a call from you every night telling me how your day went, thanks for the idea." She says letting out a laugh. We both laugh, and I nod in the midst of our laughter. It felt so good that this tension was gone and that I could finally do what I feel like it was destined for me to do.

"Now will you quit making me watch you grow up so fast and help me finish packing?" She asked.

I get up and help her pack the rest of her things up, which wasn't that much. She just had a few makeup products, some bed sheets and linens, and some other miscellaneous personal items. As she closed off and wrapped up the rest of her things, she looks my way.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," she began. "Since I now work at Ravenscroft Manor, I can enroll you at East Veridian University, free of charge." She said with her eyebrows raised.

"Wait, is that the college in Ravenscroft?" I asked, not knowing anything about it.

"Yeah," she says. "It's very expensive, but the most renowned doctors, writers, actors, you name it, come from East Veridian. So the fact that you can go for free, you're taking this offer, or our deal is off the table. I'm not letting your talents go to waste." She says pointing her finger at me.

"Fine, no that's fine," I say. "When do I start?"

"Tomorrow," she says. "So be prepared." She gives me a kiss on the cheek and starts wheeling her things down the stairs. I help her, of course, and we eventually get all of her things onto the sidewalk. As we stand outside in the darkness with only a few streetlights illuminating our yard, she turns to me and sets a pair of keys in my hand. A set of car keys.

"But how, how can you--"

"These are yours," she says to me. "The Ravenscroft employers have given me a company car to use; I'll be fine." A car with the words Ravenscroft Transit written across the side of it stops in front of our house, well my house. The chauffeur takes all of her things and stuffs them into the back of the vehicle and stands outside the back door to hold it open for my mom. We give each other one last, tight hug and we depart. Before getting into the car she mouths "I love you" to me and I mouth the same back to her. I watch as the man closes the door behind her, and he drives away. I turn around at the house standing before me, all of it seemingly overwhelming. I forget that it's late out and I shouldn't be outside by myself, so I start walking back to the front door when I hear a slight rustling behind me. I freeze, not sure whether to turn around and investigate or if it was just a figment of my imagination. I turn around slowly and do a panoramic of my surroundings. I don't see anyone, and I don't hear anything anymore. I open the door and get inside, closing the door fast behind me. I had a feeling someone was watching me; I could sense it.