"Just set the bags on the side." The woman gestured to the spotless marble counters in the kitchen.

We'd just arrived at her house. Speechless was the word I'd use when we approached her driveway.

A beautiful house towered over me, you could tell it was worth lots just by looking at the exterior. There were pretty flowers dotted around the garden in a kaleidoscope of colours. There were apple trees in lines guiding you to the front door, and bushes cut so perfectly, they looked like they were drawn. The house wasn't big, but the effort that went into the exterior was outstanding.
"How come you walked to the shops?" I asked, curiously.

"We do have a car, if that's what you are implying. But we only have one since I hate cars and would rather walk to places. I just wanted to get some groceries so I could make my husband a meal for when he gets back, his days at work are long and stressful." She informed me.

It made me smile, admiring the real love that the two parents shared for each other, unlike mine.

"That's cute." I gushed, grinning at her.

"My name is Katherine, by the way. Oh, and you can just put your backpack on the side if you like."

"Thanks, and 'Katherine', that's such a pretty name."

"Thank you, dear." She beamed.

I shrugged off my backpack and left it on the side, before helping Katherine unpack the bags and holding small talk about her life.

Her and I cooked chicken pasta before she ran off to call down her son.

When she entered the kitchen, she was no longer alone. A tall 6ft boy towered over her and I, looking down upon us as if we were filth, something you find in the trash, something that is worthless, useless, disgusting. I squirmed slightly under his hard gaze, feeling uncomfortable. He was looking right into my soul, trying to decipher me, I hated it.

"Hey Jack, this is my son, Dalton." She laughed as she tried to introduce us to each other.

His gaze never averted from me, however. He kept his cold, emotionless eyes trained into me like he wanted to kill me. Unsettled would be an understatement of how this boy, that I have only met for two minutes, had made me feel.

In an attempt to relieve some of the weirdness I was feeling, I cleared my throat and held my hand out for the boy to shake. I'm not sure why I did that though, because it was almost inevitable what he was going to do next.

Just as I predicted, he ignored my hand gesture and shoved his large frame past me, rolling his eyes as he did.

I looked down in embarrassment and pushed my hands into my jean pockets, silently cursing myself for making me look like an idiot. When I heard harsh sounds of china scraping against the fresh marble tops, I lifted my head, only to see a pissed looking boy carelessly grabbing his plate from the side and storming back upstairs again.

"Are you okay, Sweetie?" Katherine ran to my side and observed me with a worried look plastered on her face.

"Oh, um, yeah, I'm fine. Is he always like that?" I instantly regretted asking that question, I felt like I was stepping out of my boundaries, considering I had known his mother for only around an hour.

She sighed, "Unfortunately, but don't worry about it darling, that's my problem, not yours."

"I'm sorry for asking, but I think he might just be going through a rebellious stage. I went through one too, about a year ago, I ignored my parents, snuck out, didn't come back or answer my phone for days. It worried the hell out of my parents but I got over it." I tried to reassure her.

"Really?" Her voice was full of hope.

I could tell that my words weren't exactly honest. I did go through a rebellious stage, that much was correct. However, I doubt that Dalton is going through a phase. He seems too heartless and cold. But what do I know, I barely even know the boy, I just had a bad feeling about him. He seemed like bad news.

"Yeah, I'm sure he'll change soon." I shrugged, casually, trying to hide the obvious doubt in my voice.

Apparently, it wasn't that obvious since she grinned and pulled me into an embrace. It felt good. It felt so unbelievably good.

My parents did love me, but affection became less common after a few things occurred.

Firstly, I began to argue against my parents when they made comments like 'That's gay' instead of suggesting something was bad or straight up saying 'Ew, he's gay' when we walked past a boy with a flower crown on at a beach. They were massively homophobic and I couldn't just sit there and listen to their negative and hurtful words against people who love a little bit different, it's ridiculous!

Every time I did disagree with my parents about this topic, they would accuse me of being gay, which I denied out of fear of how they'd react.

Those arguments happened frequently and that's what drove a wedge between them and I. It ruined our relationship to the point where we wouldn't talk for days, weeks, sometimes it would go on for a month. They barely cooked anything, always going out for dinner and leaving me in the foodless house to starve.

That's why I started to sneak out in an attempt to get away from the monsters I call my parents. And just when I thought my life couldn't get worse, they found out I was really gay, and they kicked me out without hesitation.

They packed my bag for me and shoved me out of the house carelessly.

I hated my life in the house but after only spending an hour on the streets, I hated my life in the house a little less, it was beginning to look like a privilege.

"Let's eat, shall we?" Katherine pulled me out of my thoughts and guided me to the table in the dining room where three steaming hot plates lay.

She patted on the seat and gestured for me to sit down, which I did. After a short while of small talk, her husband entered the dining room and greeted Katherine with open arms and gentle kisses. He wrapped his arms around her and whispered to her about how much he had missed her. It was adorable.

"Sweetie, this is Jack." She gestured to me and he held his hand out for me to shake, with a large grin on his face.

"Good to meet you, Jack. I'm James." He spoke with a kind and inviting voice.

"Nice to meet you too." I returned the bright smile.

"I invited him over to dinner because he helped me whilst I was at the grocery store." Katherine informed him, which lead to a pleased smile forming on his face.

He sat down at the table and we continued eating. There was a lot of laughter and light jokes being made, it was like I was part of the family, which was a feeling I wasn't too familiar with.

Soon, our chats halted to a rapid stop when the loud thumps of Dalton coming down the stairs echoed through the dining room.