Maddox returned to his room without going down to the kitchen. His hunger disappeared amidst the hurtful words he heard. He was no more hungry, no more sleepy. He lied down on his bed, switching his bedside lamp on and off, distressed by his father's words which kept playing back in his head over and over again for the past hour.

"My kids? I already told you before, they are not my kids. They must be their mother's sins!"

"They must be their mother's sins!"

How could he forget these fresh words when he could never forget the harsh ones he heard years back?

"You want me to celebrate this day? That cursed day?"

"I hate the day he was born."

These words which flowed from his father's mouth have haunted his childhood and creeped into his adolescence. They tortured him, ripping his heart apart each time the bitter memories came cascading over him. He freaked out each time a classmate or anyone would wish him on his birthday. Each of his birthdays was like a new scratch to his wound.

Maddox dried his tears, sighed and climbed off his bed attempting to get his mind off his pain. He walked to his work desk and grabbed his laptop. As he logged onto his Facebook account, he saw that Deborah has accepted his friend request. The sullen look on his face was abruptly replaced by a bright smile.

Yet, that smile gave way to a sulk as he wondered whether Deborah would be angry at him after the punch he gave to Angelica's dad.

"She doesn't know I am the one using this Facebook account, maybe that's why she accepted my friend request. I don't know what Deb and Angel will be thinking of me."

Maddox immediately scrolled over Deborah's profile, checking out her photos. Everything there indicated that she was a fun loving and carefree person. Maddox also came to know that Deborah was of the same age as him. He was still exploring her profile when suddenly a message popped up.

"Hello."

It was from Deborah.

In his excitement, Maddox typed "Hi Deborah, Zebra." But then he realised that if he sent that message, she would know that it was him. So, he erased the message and instead typed, "Hi. Thanks for accepting my friend request."

"You are welcome. By the way, aren't cows supposed to be asleep at this time?"

Maddox giggled as he replied, "I'm a cow from a different time zone. It's still daylight here."

The conversation went on until the clock ticked three in the morning.

"Hey, got to go. Have to wake up early tomorrow," Maddox said as he logged out and shut down his laptop.

I wish Deborah knew it was me. I would have known her reaction regarding today's incident. With these thoughts, the teenager fell into a deep sleep which went uninterrupted until loud voices were heard from the kitchen hours later.

As Maddox made efforts to open his eyes, blinking rapidly due to the sun rays illuminating his room, he heard a crashing sound downstairs. He rushed to see what the matter was. Once more, he fell on his father and his stepmother fighting. It was now a common scene to witness in that house but this time, he felt his heart cramp out of pain at the scene.

Maddox saw Lydia sitting down on the floor, amidst pieces of what seemed like a broken glass, her head buried in her hands as she let out muffled sobs.

"Go to hell! You barren woman! If you are not happy just leave! No one needs you here!" Evan shouted as he banged the door and stormed out of the house.

The young boy looked towards Lydia whose hair covered her face, her head still bent down. This pathetic sight moved him to tears as he recalled his own mother sitting on the floor crying after being insulted by his wicked father.

The grief in his heart induced him to walk towards Lydia, forgetting for a moment that she was the woman for whom his father left his mum, and only seeing that she was a woman who has been broken, just like his mother.

He stood in front of Lydia for a few seconds, pondering what was the right thing to do or say. He then knelt down to face her. In front of him was a pale face with streams of tears going down until they dropped on the floor.

Maddox gathered his courage to utter the few words that he had been rephrasing over and over in his mind.

"Mrs Lydia," he uttered.

Lydia looked up, her eyes meeting his, as she quickly wiped off her tears with her fingers and forced a smile on her lips, once more reminding Maddox of Miranda.

"Mrs Lydia, don't... don't cry."

These were the words which led to the first heart to heart conversation between Maddox and his stepmom. A conversation which changed Maddox's feelings. A conversation which was a cure to the bitterness between the stepson and his stepmom.