Hold My Hand

Four

He gently wiped his mouth with a napkin when his eyes wandered to the other end of the long table, looking at the empty space. This has been going on since he was 12, so secretly hoping to have his mother accompany him during meals came as a surprise even to him. He sighed, pushing back the chair to stand.

"Did mother already go to the company?" Josh asked his butler, Alex, who is close to his heels as he made his way to the foyer to get ready to go to school.

"Uh, no, sir," Alex said, rather hesitantly. "She's outside with sir Chad."

Josh frowned. What the hell is that man doing at their house this early morning? Of course, it would only be because of his mother, and it angers him that the man still isn't giving up.

The housekeepers opened the double doors for him and he realized he is briskly walking through their mansion until the scene greeted him.

There, Chad is admiring the latest Bentley model, his hands all over it while Josh's mother stood by it, hands clasped.

"You like it?" she asked.

The man held her by the waist and murmured against her lips. "I love it," he said before planting her a chaste kiss. "Thank you."

"Anytime, honey."

Josh descended the steps, making his presence known in front of his mother and her latest boyfriend.

"Oh, good morning, darling!" His beautiful mother turned to him and took his face between her hands, planting a smooch on his cheek.

His mother is unlike other women in their circle who own a multi-billion corporation and whom thousands of employees depend on. She is young, beautiful, and too carefree –which raised many eyebrows in their social circle. She balances work and play, a good CEO by day and a party animal at night, like she's a young adult just discovering life. Not to mention the string of men she had relationships with (mostly younger than her), which created a lot of buzz when it started right after his father died. Other than that, the society got tired of the same, old news, and because the company is thriving, they just let her be.

Josh didn't care; he stopped caring when his father died. Now, his mother is on her nth (he lost count already) boyfriend, and if he breaks her heart like the many men before him, now that's where it matters. That's the only thing he cared about. He is so sick of seeing his mother cry and get drunk in their in-house bar, shattering wine glasses and bottles everywhere. 

Good thing he isn't the same fragile, little boy anymore.

"Good morning, Joshua," the man said, holding a hand up to greet him, and Josh could only glare. He didn't want anyone to call him that.

His mom gave him a warning look and he took a deep, calming breath. He wanted to ask why she gave him a lavish gift, why she always do that to her lovers when all they do is suck money out of her and leave her a broken heart in the process. He wondered how much of his mother's heart is left of her.

"I'm going to school," he said.

"Okay, darling. Let Chad take you there," his mother offered.

"No need," Josh said stoically. More than anything, he didn't want to be alone with his mother's future heartbreaker.

"Oh, I insist. Besides, you'll be the first passenger of this baby," Chad laughed heartily, his hands running over the car's hood.

"I told you, no need. Who knows you'll get me into an accident –"

"Joshua!" his mother gasped. Josh rolled his eyes. But as usual, his mother's gaze automatically forces him to do something out of his will. He sighed.