This Has To Stop
By Sunday, Mari still hadn’t responded to Joe again. He had tried sending her more messages, but she simply opened them without replying. He felt entirely helpless. He knew that Alina was having a difficult time handling it. She had been quiet, often staring blankly at nothing.
Ultimately, Joe decided that this had to stop. It was unjustified for his mom to simply disregard him all the time, so he phoned her.