"You okay?" Tom looked at you before looking back out at the road as he drove.
You closed your eyes, thinking over the night again. "I don't know what I'm doing wrong. No matter what I do I mess something up."
Tom put his hand on your leg to try and comfort you. "(Y/n), you're not doing anything wrong. I've only met your mum tonight, but it's clear she had a specific way of how she wanted you to live your life. It wasn't how you wanted to live, which is why she probably gets annoyed. She isn't controlling you. You're doing what you want at your own pace. You're doing what is making you happy."
"But I want her to be happy as well. She's my mom. I want her to celebrate with me instead of judging me. I want her to get excited when I tell her good news. I don't want to have to fight every time we speak." You looked at Tom defeated.
He looked like he was thinking hard as he stopped at a red light. He had a look of pity with a mix of anger. He wished he knew how to fix you and your mother's relationship, but he didn't know what to do.
You thought about how good it started out. You were laughing, having a good time with your brother. You talked about old memories you haven't even thought about in years. Then it all went sour. Your mom brought up you using a different last name. She talked about you as a child, calling your ungrateful. And to top it off, you were in last place for daughter of the year.
It wasn't really a surprise. You couldn't remember the last time you and your mother actually got along. But it still hurt. It doesn't matter how you feel, sometimes you just shouldn't say things.
"What was that by the way?" You looked at Tom thinking over him standing up to your mother.
"What are you talking about?"
"What you said to my mom."
Tom seemed confused by your question. "What about it?"
"You can't just do that. You can't just stand up and tell her what to do. Did you not see how embarrassing that was? My dad and my brother were there. People were looking at us."
Tom grew even more confused. "Did you not hear what your mother was saying to you?"
"I'm not deaf, Tom. I heard every word."
"Then you should know that I was defending you, (y/n)."
You scuffed. "I don't need you to defend me."
Tom pulled up to the inn you were staying at. He parked on the side of the road before turning to look at you. "So what? You're mad because I didn't stay silent as she berated you?"
"No. I'm mad that you didn't let me handle it myself."
Tom looked outside as he mumbled underneath his breath. "Yeah because it looked like you were doing a great job at that."
"Excuse me?"
"(Y/n), you said people were looking at us when I stood up from the table. Well, they were already watching the fine argument you were having with your mother."
You looked outside at the street lamps lighting up the sidewalk. You had enough so you got out of the car and slammed the door shut. Tom followed as you were both now standing right outside the inn.
"I was just trying to help you. What she was saying to you was wrong. I wasn't just going to keep on listening to something that was making me angry when I could do something about it."
"Why were you angry, Tom? It had nothing to do with you."
"But it had everything to do with you."
"So?"
Tom laughed in disbelief. He was getting more and more irritated over this stupid argument. "So? You deserve better, (y/n). I couldn't believe that a mother, your mother, would treat you like that. Your bother and your father weren't going to do anything about it. So yes, I was pissed. I didn't want to see you get hurt anymore, especially by someone who is your family."
"Tom! You are not my boyfriend! We've slept together once. I don't need you to be standing up to my mother."
Tom looked to the side and nodded his head. He let out a small laugh before looking you in the eyes. "Well, if I'm not your boyfriend then I have no obligation being here, do I? Have a good night (y/n)."
He got in his car, slamming the door shut. He didn't look at you as he drove off, but you watched him drive until you couldn't see him anymore. He was gone.
Tears started to fall down your cheeks as you looked up at the dark sky. You squatted down, hugging your knees. You let it all out as you sat there by yourself. Luckily, no one was around to witness your break down on the sidewalk.
After calming yourself down, you went inside to your room. You grabbed your phone out of your purse and kicked off your heels. You went underneath the bed to hide as you dialed Hannah's number.
"Hello?" It sounded pretty busy on her side of the phone.
You sniffed and wiped your eyes before speaking. "Hey."
You heard some rustling before everything went quiet. "What's wrong?"
You opened your mouth to speak before crying again. You closed your eyes and moved the phone away from your ear.
"(Y/n), what's going on?"
You bit your lip as you put the phone back to your ear. "I heard a lot of noise on your end. Are you busy?"
"I'm setting up for a party tonight."
"Oh, I'm sorry." Your voice broke. "I'll let you go."
"(Y/n) (y/m/n) (y/l/n), you are going to stay on this phone with me and tell me what's going on."
"I went to dinner with my family and Tom."
"I'm assuming it wasn't pretty or you would be in bed with Tom right now and not calling me. What happened?"
More tears fell down as she mentioned Tom. She was right. If everything would have went fine, you would have been with Tom all happy and in his arms. He would be holding you tight, kissing you. Instead, you're hiding under a bed calling your best friend.
"It was good, at first. I saw Ian for the first time in years."
"How is that hunk? I haven't seen him in so long. Is he still as handsome as the last time I saw him?"
"He's getting engaged."
Hannah gasped. "Cheater."
You chuckled. "You two never dated."
"Still, he's cheating on me in a different reality where we are together." Her voice drew away from being playful and back to serious. "Then what happened?"
"My mom. She started talking about my acting. She said she's my mother and she knows what's best for me, not considering my feelings about it as a child. Then she called me ungrateful when I told her I didn't want it back then. Apparently, I'm just an overall awful daughter. My brother and father just watched us not saying a word. I didn't expect them to, but it was not how I wanted things to go down."
"Ugh. That bitch! I'm sorry but I can't stand her. If I was there I would've went crazy all over her ass."
"Will you be home tomorrow?"
"Yeah."
"Could you come over?"
"You're coming home?" Hannah sounded surprised.
"Yeah. I think I'm gonna catch a plane tonight if there's any available seats open."
"Why? I thought this was about your mother not Tom. Why would you be leaving London over her? What happened with Tom?"
You closed your eyes as more tears started to come back. "I'm just getting homesick. I need to come home. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow."
You hung up the phone before Hannah could say anything else. You knew she wasn't going to believe you on being homesick. You travel all the time and could be away for months and it wouldn't bother you. But you didn't want to talk about Tom right now.
You crawled up into a ball and laid there until having the strength to get up and pack your bag. You told the front desk that you were leaving and took a cab to the airport. You bought a one way ticket back to California and boarded the plane within the hour. You looked out the window and watched as you flew away from London.