"Alex Baker. Phone call for Alex Baker."
Couldn't he scream it louder? I thought to myself while getting up from my chair. I reached out my hand.
"It's.. Lisa-Lucy-something.", the man said while he handed me the phone.
"Melissa.", I replied with a short tone. I already knew who it was. I always knew.

I knew how this conversation would go. It would go as every other phone call I got from her once a month. She would ask me how I was doing and if I felt well - even though we both knew how little she actually cared about the truth - and then she would proceed with how happy she was and how beautiful Spain was, or Greece, or India, or wherever she was visiting at the time.
She would ramble about the daily activities she had done and how once I got out I just Had to try them out with her. She would take me to all the places she had been to - even though we both knew that it would never happen - and she would show me only but the most beautiful places, so that I didn't needed to waste any time seeing the less interest things. Then she would continue telling me how much Mike helped her get around in the area, or Adam, or John, or whomever she was dating at the time.
She was always in love, insisting that the previous guy was nothing but a douchebag but this one was completely different. This was love, she had never felt like this before with anyone. I just Had to trust her on this one. And I definitely had to meet him once I got out.
After that she would rush the conversation to its end. Our phone calls where never longer than 15 minutes at tops. She always found an excuse to end our talk as fast as possible. She had to run to the bus, the love of her life wanted to talk to her, the food just arrived or her battery were about to die. We never talked about anything too personal and she would always squeeze in a quick "I miss you, wish you where here, I love you" before hanging up in my ear.
Then I wouldn't hear from her until next month. She had done her monthly deed by calling me, and she could now let go off whatever pressure I could possible give her by still being alive.

I took a deep breath before putting the phone by my ear.
"Hi Mom.", I said without a single effort of sounding excited to hear from her.
She wouldn't notice anyway. She never did.