Fix Me | Phan High School AU

Chapter Thirty-Three

"Mum! What did I say about knocking..." I quickly scooted away from Phil, ignoring the burning sensation in my cheeks.

"I know, I'm sorry. I just thought I should let you two know that Phil's Mum is here."

Phil's POV

The Howells had decided it would be best to give us space, so now the living room was empty except for the lady sitting across from me.

Mum looked the same as she always had. She was tall woman, yet still shorter than me. Her dark hair was tied up in a tight knot on her head, making her grey roots even more noticeable. Premature wrinkles were etched into her skin—they seemed much deeper since I had last seen her—no doubt from the load of stress that had been dropped on her in the past few years. She was dressed in her business attire—a crisp, white blouse paired with a pencil skirt.

"Phil, how are you?" My mum's voice was formal and strangely distant, almost as if she was talking to a complete stranger rather than her own son.

"How am I?" I asked incredulously, "Well, let's see, I suffer from depression and some anxiety issues, my dad abused me horrendously for several years, I've been bullied relentlessly because I'm gay, I—"

"Phil..." My mother sighed wearily, shaking her head, "Let's skip to the real issue, shall we?" Leave it to my mum to talk to her son like he's a client.

I was tempted to make another snarky comment, but held my tongue. "Fine."

"I bought a place in New York, near a branch of the company I work for. There is plenty of room for the both of us and Alex—"

"Alex?" I look at her in confusion.

"Yes, Alex. My boyfriend."

I shook my head, letting out a humorless laugh, "Your husband went to jail only a few months ago and you're already moving on, have you even officially divorced him yet? Then again, that's never stopped you before."

"Phillip Lester, that is quite enough!"

I hadn't realized how angry I was with my Mum until now. "What, are you really going to act like I don't know about all of your affairs? I'm depressed, not stupid."

"You don't understand how hard it was for me to be with that monster! She raised her voice, "do you even know half of the things he did to me?"

A burst of rage raced through my veins. "SHUT UP! Don't try to play the victim here, we both know he cared about you more than me, even before he became dependent on alcohol! Yes, he did treat you horribly, but you don't know what happened when you left on your little 'business trips,' do you?"

"What are you talking about?" Rage and confusion mingled on my mum's face.

"He might have been bad when you were here, but he was worse when you were gone," I twisted my arm around, revealing a smooth, shiny spot on my bicep, "See this? This is where he pressed a hot pan into me because I didn't cook dinner all the way through. And this," I pushed my fringe back, revealing a small white line, "this is where he smashed a plate on my head because he was drunk and I just happened to be there." My voice grew louder and more furious as I continued. "And don't even get me started on all of these," I held my arms out, revealing the scattered scars, "He might not have done this himself, but he was one of the reasons it happened.

"Phil," My mum brought her hands to her mouth, tears beginning to prick her grey-blue eyes. "I had no idea—"

"You had no idea, really? I wonder why? Oh yeah, it's probably because while I was at home being beaten by my drunk bastard of a father, you were in other countries screwing foreigners!" I screamed, panting heavily. The room fell silent, the only audible noise was the blood pounding in my ears.