Spencer Hotel

Chapter Eight

"Samuel? Can you hear me?" The familiar voice echoed through the low-quality radio speaker.

Startled, Samuel turned his head towards the radio, perplexed at how it had spontaneously powered on without any batteries.

Stepping back over the balcony railing, Samuel cautiously entered the room and reached for the radio resting on the small coffee table.

"Samuel?" The voice persisted.

Recognizing his mother's voice, Samuel timidly responded, "Mum? Is that you?"

"I'm just checking that you are okay." Samuel's mother lovingly said.

Samuel confusingly asked, "How can you hear me?" He completely forgot about the biters in the hallway, who were still desperately bashing on his door.

"I love you, please know that." Samuel's mother responded, ignoring his question.

Samuel's head slowly drooped to the floor, attempting to fight back tears his eyes began to water, blurring his vision.

"I know we don't have the best relationship. But I will always love you Samuel. You know that right?" His mother passionately spoke from her heart.

Samuel collapsed to the ground. Crossing his legs and bowing his head into his lap. With a firm squeeze, he shut his eyes attempting to trap falling tears. Yet, a few tears slipped through, tracing a sluggish path down his cheek.

"If you took your own life. I would take mine. Please, just don't do something stupid." His mother's voice sounded sincere as it crackled over the crappy radio speaker.

Samuel's tightly closed eyes widely opened, allowing tears to rush down his soft red cheeks. Even though Samuel's mother wasn't there, he could still feel her loving presence. Her arm wrapped tightly around his broad shoulders. She rested his sobbing head on her shoulder.

"I know it hurts, but it isn't fair on Brooklyn either. You can't put that kind of burden on her." His mother told him.

"I just can't seem to catch a break. One day it's bad, and the next, it's even worse. It feels like an endless cycle. Everything piles up, and there's never any good." Samuel told his mother.

"You've got to keep fighting. You have so much to experience, so much to see. You're still so young."  His mother whispered in his hear, gently shaking his broad shoulders.

Samuel's face drifted away from his mother's kind shoulder. He gazed around the room, taking in his surroundings. His eyes full of tears, which were flowing down his cheek.

"Was she special?" His mother asked.

Samuel paused for a brief moment. His mind wondered in their lost memories. Mostly full of sorrow and grief from his imprisoned relationship, he managed to find certain happy memories. His lips made a small smirk, then tears began to flow.

Seeking his mother's warm shoulder once more, Samuel bawled his eyes. His shrieks of sadness echoed throughout the small hotel room. Memories of past events flooded his mind, each one contributing to the overwhelming sadness that had consumed him.

Despite the challenges Brooklyn had left him, Samuel had poured his heart and soul into the relationship, hoping it would be his refuge from the other challenges in his life. But instead, it had crumbled, leaving him feeling more isolated and alone than ever.

"It's okay to cry." His mother lovingly whispered.

In that moment of vulnerability, Samuel realized he had been bottling up his emotions for far too long, trying to put on a brave face and portray strength to the world. But now, with the comforting voice of his mother, he allowed himself to be vulnerable, to acknowledge the pain he had been carrying for so long.