The Fear of Letting Go (BoyXBoy)

Chapter Thirteen; The Unperfect End to the Perfect Date

"More like hoped."

My mother rolled her eyes at that and looked to Mindy and Blake.

"And he wonders why we hardly speak. Do you see the way that he speaks to me? Such disrespect."

"Hey, I treat you with as much respect as I feel that you deserve," I stated simply. I looked her up and down, pursing my lips. "Which is none."

Her lip twitched irritably as she turned her attention back to me. "Liam, I am your mother and I deserve to be treated with respect. If you keep talking to me like that then I swear, I'll-,"

"You'll what?" I scoffed, genuinely curious. What could this woman possibly to do me that is any worse than what she's already done? She narrowed her eyes at me and I could see the gears turning behind her eyes. I gave a heave of my shoulders.

"Okay, I'll make you a deal," I ground out, flashing her a smile. I narrowed my eyes at her. "I'll start treating you with respect when you start actually acting like a mother."

Her jaw tightened at that and she raised a hand. There was a loud crack as she leaned across the island and her hand connected with my cheek. I heard Mindy squeal at my side in shock and Blake's eyes widened. My head snapped to the side and my cheek instantly stung. I reached up and touched it tenderly, gritting my teeth. I refused to even comment on it, even if it hurt. I won't give her the satisfaction of thinking that that had affected me in any way. It's okay. It wasn't the first time she slapped me and I'm sure that it won't be the last. Sucking in a deep breath, I turned back to her, the stinging feeling of her hand still lingering on my cheek.

"I think you should come back with me, Liam," My mother began calmly, sitting back in her seat. "I don't think being here has benefited you whatsoever. If anything, I think that mouth of yours has gotten even worse."

"Cassidy, may-maybe you should take a minute to think about all of this. We're all just getting a little too worked up right now-," Mindy began, holding out her hands. She looked between us, a quivering smile on her face in an attempt to calm my mother and me down. I kept my eyes trained on my mother, who, although she tried to hide it, was breathing raggedly.

"Oh, don't worry, Mindy, she isn't really going to take me home," I drawled bitterly, curling my lip into a scowl. "She can't even be in the same country as me for more than an hour, let alone a house. She knows that."

"Oh, you're not going home, Liam," My mother started, her eyes locking with mine. I blinked in surprise, honestly slightly taken aback. My mother shook her head, holding up a finger. Although she spoke to Mindy, her eyes weren't budging from mine. "Do you see how he speaks to me? Such a vulgar child. As if I could take you home like this. No. No, no. You're going somewhere else. Somewhere that you can learn some respect."

I swallowed roughly, trying not to let her see that she had fazed me. I scoffed, trying hard to hold my ground. "Yeah? And where is that? You want to try boarding school again? Military school, maybe? You remember how well that went last time."

"I'll find somewhere," She breathed coolly, peering down at her polished nails. Her eyes cut to me and she looked me up and down, with a look so cold that it gave me chills. "Somewhere that even you won't be able to worm your way out of."

With that, I felt myself just snap and my temper start to spike. I ground my teeth together.

"What the hell does it matter to you how I act?" I spat, throwing my arms up. "You're never around me anyway, so why should you care?"

"You are my son, Liam, whether you like it or not!" My mother shouted, breaking that cool composure of hers. "We have a reputation to uphold and I will not have you ruining it! I gave you a free pass before but you're getting older now, Liam. It's time for you to stop acting like a child. I will not have you making a mockery of our family by continuing to be such an embarrassment!"