On the verge of failing his senior year of high school, Armando is set up with a tutor to get his grades back up. His tutor, Brian, happens to be the quiet kid that he never knew existed until now. And as the two begin to form a deep connection with...
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Armando Dominguez
After finishing my phone call with my dad, I began to receive a phone call from a number I didn't recognize. I was home alone, since I had the day off and Brian was at school. He wasn't coming back until an hour later.
With no one else to be around me, I pressed the answer button.
"Hello?" I asked. The other line was quiet. "Hello?" I asked again.
There was the sound of breathing on the other end. I was going to hang up until a voice belonging to a woman said, "Armando."
Instead of hanging up, I put the phone next to my ear again. I received a random phone call from an unknown number with someone saying my name.
"Who is this?" I asked.
"Uh, hi, Mando." She said. She used my nickname, something only my family does. Who the hell was the woman?
"Do I know you?" I asked. The woman was sniffling on the other end. She was crying.
"It's me, Mando. It's your mom." She said. I put the phone down and stood up, walking to the other side of the room.
My mind began to go berserk. It's been years since I've heard from my mom. When my dad went to prison, my mom couldn't handle the stress of looking after us and abandoned us. Then Javi was the one that raised us from that point on.
For a long time, I despised my mom. She was the reason we grew up suffering without a parent. But it wasn't until I reconnected with my dad that I began to let go of that hatred. Instead, it was replaced with nothing. I did not think about my mom at all.
I do understand that she was under a lot of stress, having to take care of three kids. But at the same time, she was a mother. The moment she became a parent, that should've been her main priority.
After taking a few deep breaths, I returned to the couch and saw that my mom hadn't hung up. So I figured I'd bite my tongue and see why she's decided to call after so long.
"Mando! Please answer!" I heard my mom say as soon as I put the phone next to my ear.
"What do you want, Marcella?" I asked, preferring to use her first name. I want her to know that I don't see her as a mom. "You haven't spoken to me in years. Why now?"
She was quiet on the other end, only sniffling. "I just wanted to hear the voice of my baby. I miss you and Javi and Rosita."
"To be fair, you were the one who left us. We should be the ones missing you." I spat back.
"Do you... guys miss me?" She asked.
I chuckled loudly. "Honestly, no. Neither of us have thought of you since you left." I replied without any emotion.
I've thought many times what I would say when my mom were to ever contact me. I imagined myself yelling at her and telling her every horrible thing I could think of. But now that she's actually here, I just want to hang up and stop listening to her.
