Maid For Him

Grand Romantic Gesture

**Zack's P.O.V.**

I saw my mom crying earlier and I didn't know what to do. We hadn't exactly talked about what happened during dinner last night, but all I knew was she was crying and it was all because of me. None of this would've happened if I had just kept quiet and not talked back to that asshole.

What am I supposed to tell Payton? She was actually close to my dad. I just ruined everything. Maybe he didn't like me, but I know he actually cared about my mom and Payton. He might have hurt me physically and my mom emotionally, but he had never hurt Payton. Now she was going to lose her father all because of me.

If I would've just kept my mouth shut, all this could've been avoided. Yeah I probably would've gone back to being his punching bag again, but my mom would still be married and my sister would still have her dad. But now all that is ruined. Payton still didn't come back from her sleepover and I was dreading her coming back home. How were we supposed to explain this to her?

'Oh sorry, while you were at a sleepover, our dad started recently abusing me again and during a dinner gone wrong he spilled that little secret. Mom got mad, kicked him out, and now they're getting a divorce and you will most likely never see him again. But yeah, you didn't miss anything big.'

That would not turn out well. Plus my mom never lies, she's always taught us to tell the truth, no matter what. She tells it like it is, which was something I liked at one point, but I am so not looking forward to it now. Even though Payton is young, my mom will still tell her what is going on and not hide it from her to spare her feelings. I don't want to be here while she does it, but I know I have no choice.

So I get out of bed, take a shower, and head downstairs to get this over with, so I can spend the rest of the day with Ari and pay her back for having to witness that horrendous scene last night. Plus, I need to get her a birthday present for tomorrow. I already have a great present in mind to prove to her once and for all that I'm serious about her. No past exes or crazy family situations will come between us, I'll make sure of that.

I head into the kitchen, finding Alec cooking something. I always forget he works here.

I'm about to ask him if he's seen my mom when he addresses me, "We got off on the wrong foot, but uh sorry for what you had to go through man."

I only give him a brief nod signaling that it's okay, "It wasn't your fault. But have you seen my mom?" I ask changing the subject as soon as I can.

He probably senses I'm done speaking about the issue, so he just shakes his head no indicating he hasn't seen her and goes back to cutting vegetables.

I've never understood why people apologize if something terribly happens to you that they didn't cause. I don't know, maybe it's just me. But I just don't like having people pity me. They have nothing to be sorry for. That bastard is the one that caused me pain all these years, not them. They have no reason to apologize.

I make my way towards the living room and find my mom sitting there with a glass of wine, looking like I've never seen her before. Her hair isn't resting perfectly style on her head, instead it's all over the place. She isn't wearing any makeup, her face looking paler than it usually does. Her eyes have huge bags underneath them, a slight redness about them probably from crying all night. Her lips are cracked, like she hasn't had anything to eat all day which, other than the wine in her hand, I can say she hasn't consumed anything today. She's wearing some sweatpants and a long oversized sweater, something I've never seen her wear. My mother, the one who's always looked perfect whether she was working or not, looks nothing like woman that is sitting on the couch.

"Mom?" I ask hesitantly, not sure if she even wants to talk.

"Z-zack," her voice sounds scratchy like she hasn't talked in a long time,"why didn't you tell me this was going on?"