“She is lying to you,” I said flatly, and Mrs. Gable nodded because she had seen this kind of human nonsense many times before in her career. She had me sign an unauthorized entry notice which meant that security would treat any further attempts as trespassing and involve the police.
I felt my chest tighten at the mention of the police, but she told me that people get respectful very fast when boundaries stop being theoretical. I also updated my emergency contact information to list Sarah instead of my mother because we were the ones co parenting our son.
When I walked back to my apartment, I felt a strange sense of lightheadedness as if I had removed a major structural beam and was waiting for a collapse. That night, my mother called for a mandatory family Zoom meeting where everyone sat on their couches looking concerned and somber.
“We need to be adults about this,” my mother began, but I interrupted her to point out that they had tried to break into my private residence. My father told me to be careful with my tone, but I held up the notice from the building manager and read the lines about law enforcement.