Fingers tapped impatiently on the wall next to the phone as Emily held the handset tensely to her ear. This made the third time today she had attempted to call home, and the previous two attempts had been met with her mother’s message machine. Had she gone out with friends? She had mentioned meeting some people in her support group...
“Hello?” Olivia’s voice came from the other end, causing the scout to leap up and slam her hand against the side of phone body. “Hello?” Olivia repeated,
“Mum!” Emily replied, shaking her hand. “It’s Emily, callin’ from me hostel in Arkansas.” There was a weighted pause on the other side, and Emily could hear her mother clicking her tongue as she tired to piece memories together. Was it really getting that bad? The thought felt like a dagger to the stomach.
“Oh! Oh, sweetie, I thought you would have moved on by now.”
“No, no, I’ll be here for a while,” Emily started curling the cord around her finger. “Things... came up. I’ll be here for the long run, looks like.”
“Ja, things. It’s a really, really long story.” She glanced up at one of the cameras in the corner, and drew her shoulders up in some futile attempt to hide from it. “But listen, are you doin’ alright? Takin’ your meds? Gettin’ plenty of sleep?”
“I’m fine, darling,” Olivia assured gently. “I do get lost sometimes, but fortunately I have my caretaker. Have I introduced you to Charlotte? Lovely girl. Wants to do ballet one day.”
“You haven’t, but I’m glad you’re fine.” Emily coughed faintly, rolled her shoulders, and smoothed out her hair with her free hand. “Listen... Jag älskar dig. Jag saknar dig.”
There was another pause, thankfully not as weighted as the last. “Jag älskar dig med. But why do you sound so upset? You haven’t been away from home that long.”
Emily bit her bottom lip to stop herself from crying. It had been two and a half years since she left Washington. She took a breath to steady her nerves, “right... feels like forever. Distance and all that.” The phone cord felt like it was cutting off her circulation, so she unwound it slightly. “Listen, I should go. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Alright. Good night, sweetie.”
“G’night mum.” Emily put the handset back on the receiver, and kicked the wall in frustration. “Goddamn bloody fucking- rrgh!” She didn’t know who she was angrier at; Mann Co and their bad habit of dropping bomb shells on their employees at the last second, the mastermind behind the robots for attacking the base in the first place, or herself for not filing for early retirement when she had the chance.
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