Drew felt sick.

Like a stomach churning, slick mouth, bile raising, sweaty palms type of sick.

Spring break came quickly- much too quick for Drew's liking- and before he knew it, he was packed and standing in front of his mother's house.

Drew held on tightly to the strap of his bag as he tried to remember to breathe.

Her house still looked the same even after all these years. It was a big Victorian house, no doubt bought with his dad's money after the divorce. It was in a gated community; a quiet neighborhood where the neighborbors lived far enough to have their own space, but close enough to be in each other's business. Drew hated it.

He took a deep breath, walked up to the door and rang the doorbell.

When his mother didn't open the door two minutes later, Drew was pissed. Strike one. It wasn't like he had begged his dad to let him stay with her; she was the one that wanted him there. The least she could do was open the door.

Drew grabbed his bags and turned around to leave but to his disappointment, the door swung open before he could make it down the first step.

"Andrew dear, you're early!"

He turned around to glare at his mom.

Elizabeth Stone used to be a caring, beautiful woman- before she became a gold digging manipulator. Her dark brown hair and blue eyes easily attracted any man, including Drew's father once upon a time. She had pretty pink lips and a perfect white smile. Drew used to think she was the prettiest woman in the world. He used to love being told he looked just like her.

He used to be a fool.

But as she stood in front of him- her hair a mess, her clothes disheveled, and her red lipstick all over the place- Drew couldn't help but look at her in disgust. It was clear that she had been preoccupied before he rang the doorbell.

"And clearly you weren't expecting me." He looked her up and down.

Her olive cheeks burned a bright pink as she straightened her shirt and fixed her hair. She pulled her lips into a smile before reaching for Drew's hand. "At least you're-"

"Don't touch me." Drew quickly pulled his hand back and pushed passed her into the house. He looked around the big entryway. From his spot near the door, he could see the beer bottles that laid on the living room table. He also noticed the unknown man walking down the spiral steps.

He was fixing his pants with a smirk on his face. His hair was a mess and his shirt was disheveled too. When he turned to look at Elizabeth, he noticed Drew's glare. The man gulped nervously and started to walk down the steps slowly. When he stood in front of the two, he avoided Drew's line of fire and turned to Elizabeth.

"Darling," He rubbed his neck awkwardly, "You never told me you were having company."

Elizabeth smiled at the man and kissed him on the cheek. She turned to Drew. "Grant, this is Drew, my son."

Grant held out his hand with a smile on his face, waiting for Drew to shake it. Instead, Drew eyed him and scoffed. This was supposed to be his mom's new boy toy? He laughed to himself. He knew his mother, sadly. The man would be gone by the end of the week.

"I'm going to my room." He pushed passed the two adults with his luggage in tow, climbing the steps two at a time until he reached his room. And when he did, he locked the door behind him and landed face first on the bed with a loud groan.

This is gonna be a long week.

~*~

"Andrew! Come down for brunch!" Elizabeth called out to him.

Drew had been avoiding his mother all day. He busied himself in his room; finding every and any excuse to stay there and not have to talk to her. He had been laying on his bed when he got distracted by the cockdestroyers group chat. There were incoming texts from Jade complaining about her twin brothers wreaking havoc on her. Jasper had texted her to stop blowing up his phone which caused an argument between those two. Sir and Drew were egging them on and Imani was trying to diffuse the whole situation. He stared longingly at the group chat.

Needless to say, he missed his friends.

He was laughing at the texts from Jade when he heard his mother's voice again.

"Andrew Stone! I won't call you again! Come down now!"

Drew groaned as he got up from his bed, making sure to take his phone with him so he could distract himself. He trudged his way down the steps and entered the dining room. His mother was sitting at the head of the long table and had placed Drew's plate in front of the chair beside her. Drew shook his head, taking his plate and dragging it all the way to the other side of the table. It was enough that he had come down for brunch, he wasn't about to indulge his mother any further.

He began to eat and scroll through his phone, hoping that he could eat in silence.

But of course his mother seemed to have other plans.

"How's school going?" Elizabeth took a bite out of her eggs and smiled at Drew.

He didn't even look up from his phone. He would rather eat his left toe than willingly talk to her. She didn't deserve it. And if she thought he was going to forgive her by trying to start unnecessary conversation with him, she was in for a rude awakening.

She cleared her throat. "Okay. Have you met any new people at school? Made any friends? I would love to meet them."

Why? Drew scoffed at his mother, continuing to ignore her.

All of a sudden, he heard her fork clatter against her plate loudly. Drew looked up to see her red in the face and her arms crossed in front of her chest. She was pissed.

She sighed dramatically and stared Drew in the eyes. "Why do you hate me so much Andrew? I'm trying."

It was Drew's turn to drop his fork and glare. "Oh? And what exactly have you done besides making dad and I miserable?"

Drew remembered how in love his dad had been with her. There was nothing he wouldn't do for her and his mother knew that. She was always pushing him to get her whatever she wanted, even when they were poor. And when his dad finally got rich off his company, she would toy with his emotions and threaten to leave him if she didn't get what she wanted. In her mind, it was always about her. She didn't care who the hell got hurt.

Elizabeth was taken aback by his words and pressed her lips into a straight line. Drew crossed his arms over his own chest. He was angry. There was nothing that she could ever do to make up for the fact that she was the cause of so much pain in his life. Nothing.

He watched her eyes glaze over with fake tears and he had to force himself to not roll his eyes at her. "I love you Andrew."

"Do you? Because to me, it seems like the only person you've ever loved is yourself."

"Hey! I'm trying here."

"And you're too many years too late." Drew shook his head.

He could still recall the days when his dad would come home, exhausted but still managing a smile on his face for Drew. He was pushing himself so hard just to satisfy Elizabeth because he had loved her. At least until he found out she had been cheating on him for years. Soon, his parents were thinking about divorce, arguing day and night. And when things didn't go her way, she took it out on Drew.

His scars and bruises could heal but her abuse had cost him his happiness and he could never forgive her for that.

"Why do you insist on antagonizing me when I just want to see you again? I have the right to see my son." Elizabeth stood up from her seat making her way towards Drew.

Drew got up from his seat too. "Son? Antagonizing? You abused me when I was little and you knew I would never tell dad because of everything that was-"

"Shut up." His mother cut him off and avoided his eyes.

Drew growled. "No! You beat the hell outta me till I was purple and blue just because you didn't get your way. You knew that if I told dad he would have never forgave you or given you a fucking dime of his money. I wouldn't even be here if he hadn't told me to come here."

"Shut up. You know nothing!" She yelled.

The lid was off and Drew wasn't going to hold back. He was so tired of his mother and the bullshit that she came along with her. He was going to get everything off his chest and she was going to listen.

"You are not my mom and you will never be. A real mother would've protected me. A real mother would've loved me-"

"Andrew Stone, you will stop this instant."

"I will never forgive you for what you did. You are a manipulative liar and I hate-"

"SHUT UP!"

The silence that rang through the house was deafening. The only sound that could be heard was the impact from Elizabeth's hand against Drew's cheek. Drew crouched down as he held the side of his face tightly. His mother had really slapped him. It stung like a bitch.

He looked at his hands. Blood. His blood. Her rings had cut into his skin.

He looked at his mother with fire in his eyes. She had tears in hers as she sucked in a breath and glared at Drew.

"This is all your fault. You should've shut up when I told you to."

Drew just stared at her. What did he expect? That she would feel some remorse? That she would apologize to him? He knew better. And she knew that he would never hit her back because as much as he hated her, she still gave birth to him.

Drew started to laugh. He laughed at his mother who looked at him like he had gone crazy. He was beginning to think he was. He shook his head.

"You will never change."

He turned around to walk towards the door, ignoring his mothers pleas and crocodile tears as she begged him to stay. He felt disgusted as she followed him, pleading with him as he walked.

"I wouldn't have hit you if you stopped talking."

"Andrew, I'm still your mother."

"Andrew, I'm sorry."

He ignored her and grabbed the door knob.

"Andrew Stone!" His mother grabbed his hand. Drew flinched at her touch before tearing his hand from hers. It was like he had burned his hand. He looked at her.

"Don't. Touch. Me." Drew said calmly as he felt his blood trickle down his cheek. He walked out the door, not bothering to look back at his mother as she wailed and asked him to come back. He didn't stop walking until he was convinced he could no longer hear her fake cries.

Drew hated her.

But more than anything he hated the part of him that still loved her. The part that expected her to change. The part that wanted her to.

He hated that part of himself the most.

~*~
yeah............😔👀