"Have you seen me? I'm less about what's in now, and what's okay to be washed when it's covered in flour." Which isn't exactly true; she wants to look better, sometimes. Sometimes, there's people for her to dress up for, maybe, but...
That's sort of a different conversation.
"But... I'll definitely look, thank you. I'm- I mean, you maybe have been able to tell, but I'm not the girliest girl in the world." But maybe she'd be a little more dresses and that kind of thing if she had the chance.
Raleigh looks down at the phone in her hand when he offers to make her cocoa, and she actually considers it - calling her mom while he's gone, so it's over with, but she shakes her head. "I'm okay," and she's not okay, she has to do this and it's something that scares her, but what else is she going to do? What other option does she have?
She can't live in fear of the unknown for the rest of her life. Taking a deep breath, Raleigh dials the number from memory, and she shifts as the phone rings, moving from sitting cross-legged to having her knees up against her chest as she looks over at Spencer.
Hello, you've reached Emily Gregson, If you'd like, you can leave a message at the beep...
She can't help the sigh of relief that slips from her lips. and she clears her throat, finally speaking after the tone. Her voice sounds raw, but at least she's saying something, right?
"Mom? It's... It's Raleigh, I- I should have called you sooner, but things-"
What she doesn't expect is the sudden sound of the phone getting picked up, of her mother's frantic voice. Raleigh?! Baby, is that you?
Her eyes flick to Spencer's before welling with tears, and she covers them with a hand as she closes them tightly. "Yeah, Mom. It's me. I-" She's interrupted by a slew of questions - first, if she's alright, if she's safe, but after Raleigh reassures her, it shifts to a rather sharp Where have you been? I've been worried sick.
"I'm- Some stuff happened at school, I- I had to leave, and I'm in Maine-"
Maine?! Spencer can hear her mother through the phone; the speaker makes her voice tinny, but it's loud enough that Raleigh winces, and she can't help the way she rubs in between her eyebrows. Her mom (corrrectly) assumes that her dad's involved. She asks where, she gets specifics because she pushes for them, but what she doesn't expect - of course she doesn't expect it, is-
I'm coming up there to bring you home. "What? Mom, you don't- You don't have to do that. You don't have to come up here, and I'm-"
She can't say that. Not now, not after everything she's done, how much she didn't tell her mother. The woman thought she was dead, how can she tell her that she's not coming home?
"Things are going really well for me, right now. I'm- I'm actually sort of starting a business?" She paused, and then- Spencer's never heard her sound more tired. "... I'm not really cut out for med school, Mom. And I left before finals, anyway, I didn't finish-"
There's another pause. ".... Okay. Okay, I guess- I mean, of course. Of course you can come up here, and no- No, I promise, I'm not being 'held up here'. Daddy's not here, okay? ... And yeah, this is my new number. Yeah. You can call me any time."
She's curled herself into a tiny ball on the couch - even more pulled in than she was before, and her accent's getting thicker with every word, and she's just sort of trying to figure out what to say, when- "I know, Mom. I know, I'm sorry I didn't call you, I didn't-" Her voice cracked. "I can't explain. I can't. There's no explanation, I just- I couldn't, and then- I'm sorry. I'm sorry, okay? I'm alright now, I promise, and I'm sorry I didn't call. I'm sorry."
It's impossible to say enough, and her voice is thick with emotion. "Yeah. Yeah, Mom, I know. I know, I'm sorry. I- I love you, too. And yeah, I'll text you the address, okay? And we'll- we'll figure out when. Listen, I- I have to go, okay? I know, I just- The oven's- Yeah. Yeah. I love you. I'll call you tomorrow, okay? Okay. Bye."
Hanging up the phone, she looks over at Spencer, and her eyes are shiny with tears. "So apparently my mom's coming to visit and try to take me home." She does a good job managing the words, managing all of the words before her face sort of twists and she starts to cry, her hand shaking as she presses it to her mouth. She held it together while she was on the phone, but she just... can't, anymore.
no subject
That's sort of a different conversation.
"But... I'll definitely look, thank you. I'm- I mean, you maybe have been able to tell, but I'm not the girliest girl in the world." But maybe she'd be a little more dresses and that kind of thing if she had the chance.
Raleigh looks down at the phone in her hand when he offers to make her cocoa, and she actually considers it - calling her mom while he's gone, so it's over with, but she shakes her head. "I'm okay," and she's not okay, she has to do this and it's something that scares her, but what else is she going to do? What other option does she have?
She can't live in fear of the unknown for the rest of her life. Taking a deep breath, Raleigh dials the number from memory, and she shifts as the phone rings, moving from sitting cross-legged to having her knees up against her chest as she looks over at Spencer.
Hello, you've reached Emily Gregson, If you'd like, you can leave a message at the beep...
She can't help the sigh of relief that slips from her lips. and she clears her throat, finally speaking after the tone. Her voice sounds raw, but at least she's saying something, right?
"Mom? It's... It's Raleigh, I- I should have called you sooner, but things-"
What she doesn't expect is the sudden sound of the phone getting picked up, of her mother's frantic voice. Raleigh?! Baby, is that you?
Her eyes flick to Spencer's before welling with tears, and she covers them with a hand as she closes them tightly. "Yeah, Mom. It's me. I-" She's interrupted by a slew of questions - first, if she's alright, if she's safe, but after Raleigh reassures her, it shifts to a rather sharp Where have you been? I've been worried sick.
"I'm- Some stuff happened at school, I- I had to leave, and I'm in Maine-"
Maine?! Spencer can hear her mother through the phone; the speaker makes her voice tinny, but it's loud enough that Raleigh winces, and she can't help the way she rubs in between her eyebrows. Her mom (corrrectly) assumes that her dad's involved. She asks where, she gets specifics because she pushes for them, but what she doesn't expect - of course she doesn't expect it, is-
I'm coming up there to bring you home. "What? Mom, you don't- You don't have to do that. You don't have to come up here, and I'm-"
She can't say that. Not now, not after everything she's done, how much she didn't tell her mother. The woman thought she was dead, how can she tell her that she's not coming home?
"Things are going really well for me, right now. I'm- I'm actually sort of starting a business?" She paused, and then- Spencer's never heard her sound more tired. "... I'm not really cut out for med school, Mom. And I left before finals, anyway, I didn't finish-"
There's another pause. ".... Okay. Okay, I guess- I mean, of course. Of course you can come up here, and no- No, I promise, I'm not being 'held up here'. Daddy's not here, okay? ... And yeah, this is my new number. Yeah. You can call me any time."
She's curled herself into a tiny ball on the couch - even more pulled in than she was before, and her accent's getting thicker with every word, and she's just sort of trying to figure out what to say, when- "I know, Mom. I know, I'm sorry I didn't call you, I didn't-" Her voice cracked. "I can't explain. I can't. There's no explanation, I just- I couldn't, and then- I'm sorry. I'm sorry, okay? I'm alright now, I promise, and I'm sorry I didn't call. I'm sorry."
It's impossible to say enough, and her voice is thick with emotion. "Yeah. Yeah, Mom, I know. I know, I'm sorry. I- I love you, too. And yeah, I'll text you the address, okay? And we'll- we'll figure out when. Listen, I- I have to go, okay? I know, I just- The oven's- Yeah. Yeah. I love you. I'll call you tomorrow, okay? Okay. Bye."
Hanging up the phone, she looks over at Spencer, and her eyes are shiny with tears. "So apparently my mom's coming to visit and try to take me home." She does a good job managing the words, managing all of the words before her face sort of twists and she starts to cry, her hand shaking as she presses it to her mouth. She held it together while she was on the phone, but she just... can't, anymore.