"Leah," my mother greeted, her eyes narrowed upon me and the scene behind me.

Dressed in a black suit with a cream blouse beneath, my mother looked tall for her petite figure in her three inch heels. The old briefcase in her hand told a story about what she had been doing and where.

"What are you doing?" she asked, stepping closer.

"Just a bit of homework," I shrugged; turning my back to her, I tried to focus on my history assignment with the hopes that she would just ignore me.

"This looks like more than a little work, Leah," she said, her voice taking on a hard note.

"Well then, I guess it's more than a little."

Her heels clicked loudly on the tiled floor as she stepped into the kitchen and came around the island to stand in front of me. A frown creased my forehead as I wondered how I could have mistaken her walk for Devon's.

Looking up, I met the stern gaze of my mother as her deep brown eyes narrowed upon me before she glanced down at the papers strewn out in front of us.

"A little homework?" she asked.

"Yup," I answered, popping the p.

Georgia Rhea Mercer was a beautiful woman if you ever saw one. Petite, with a honey brown complexion and flowing black hair. She was a sight to see and a force to be reckoned with, with deep dark brown eyes that could stare into your soul.

Something she was doing right now as she stared at me. Her gaze never broke from mine as I met hers head on, not daring to back down.

The silence stretched on for minutes as we stared at each other. The tension in the room rose with each passing second that neither one of us dared to break until finally with a deep sigh, my mother looked away.

"I see you finally decided to come home, then," she commented as she walked over to the microwave where Devon left her food.

Scoffing at her words, I rolled my eyes. "Well, it's not like I had much of a choice. Someone didn't like me living with people who actually cared for me," I snidely answered.

My mother stiffened at my words as she turned on the microwave. Her slight reaction caused me to swell with a sense of pride at the fact that I could affect her in some way.

"So, are you going to explain yourself?" she asked as the microwave beeped and she took her food out.

"Explain what?"

She raised a brow at me as she took a seat at the island. Moving some of the papers out of the way, she placed her plate down and started eating, watching me closely.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe why, you have so much school work?" she asked, her eyes never once leaving me as she slowly put food in her mouth.

"There's nothing to tell. I have some homework and I'm doing it," I answered with a shrug.

Silence enveloped us again as we sat there, her eating slowly with her eyes trained on me while I tried to focus on my work. Hoping that she didn't notice me writing with my left hand as that would throw a wrench into the whole plan to keep it hidden.

"For once, just tell me the truth, Leah," my mother said in exasperation.

"The truth about what?" I asked with a raised brow, turning to glare at her.

"Everything," she said in a hard tone.

"For what reason? So you can scoff and not believe me again. I think not," I scoffed and rolled my eyes.

My mother narrowed her gaze upon me at the snide comment, "You're lying about your school work," she said in a hard tone.

"Oh am I?"

"Yes, you are," she said, not backing down.

"And how would you know, mother?" I asked with a raised brow. Curious to know where she was going with this accusation though it was accurate.

"Because I know you, Leah," she said, shaking her head. Disappointment shone in her eyes as she did but it didn't hurt me like it used to. The sight of that emotion had stopped having an impact on me years ago, when I learnt that her supposed care for me was nothing but a facade.

I scoffed at her revelation of knowing me because we both knew that it was utter bullshit. She only knew the rumours she heard around the city, which were mostly bad. I mean why would they ever care to say anything good about the person they named the Bad Girl.

"You know nothing mother," I said, "Nothing but the rumours you heard."

"I know you Leah, I know that you skipped school for the past two weeks," she said and I stiffened in my seat at the fact that she actually knew that.

"How?" I asked with a raised brow.

"Because they phoned me to ask me where you were, and why you were missing," she said with a hard look at me.

I sat there and let her words sink in for a second before I burst out into laughter. My sudden outburst caused her to jump slightly as she looked at me with a frown.

"Well good for you," I chuckled, slowly clapping, "For once you know what's going on in the life of one of your kids."

My mother reeled back at my words before she stood from her seat and grabbed her plate. "Everything I do is for you and Devon," she said in a hard tone, "Everything I've done."

"No it's not. You barely even know us, and everything you've done mother is to bring back the Mercer name to its former glory. Something that will never be done," I scoffed with a shake of my head.

"I know you and Devon, Leah," she said in a hard voice, "I know my children," she said softly.

"You don't know me, mother. You don't know me or Devon, you haven't known either of us since he was taken away. You've been nothing but a shell, cut off from the world and from us," I said in a hard voice as I shook my head in disappointment. "We had to take care of ourselves, had to do everything while you pushed yourself into your work and studies, while you tried to make a name for yourself. Forgetting that we existed until that fateful night when everything changed for me," I carried on with a deep sigh, looking away from her.

"I... I was there for you two," she stammered, before pushing through and shaking her head, "I was there," she said again with more conviction.

"No you weren't!" I shouted, shaking my head. "You didn't even come to the hospital, you weren't there," I said slightly softer as I stared at her. I was unsure if I pitied her or not as I took her in. "Devon was there, he sat by my bedside night and day while you were where? Where were you mother?" I asked with a raised brow, knowing the answer without her having to say it.

Her face fell at the mention of the hospital and how she had left me alone but I didn't care. I didn't care how she felt now, as she didn't care how I felt then. She didn't give a damn about me being in the hospital. She didn't give a damn about the assault I went through.

"That night everything changed, I changed," I carried on in a hard tone. "I'm not your little girl anymore and you can't get her back no matter how desperately you try. So accept that fact, I am not your little Rea anymore, I am not your little girl. She is gone, just like you've been," I said in a hard tone, hoping that my voice didn't betray me and shake like I was on the inside.

Sighing in exasperation, I turned and slowly packed up the papers strewn across the island as silence once again enveloped us. I didn't care to look at my mother as I moved slowly while she stood by the sink and stared at me. Her eyes burned a hole into my head but I ignored her.

When I was finally done, I looked up at her for a second. "Like Grandpa did to you, you did to me and Devon. You turned your back on us, something I remember you vowed never to do," I said with a dry chuckle. "Maybe that saying is true though, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

With that said, I turned on my heel with my folder in hand and left the kitchen. Drained from my monologue of pain, and happy that she hadn't noticed my current condition. Walking passed the Grand Piano, my heart pulled slightly from the nostalgic memories of before. Slowly tearing my gaze from it, I left the dining room to find Devon standing near the stairs.

Stopping in my tracks, I looked up at him as he stared back at me. His expression devoid of any emotion as always.

"Night Dev," I said, hoarsely before heading up the stairs slowly.

"Night Rea," Devon said softly, but I still heard it as my heart once again gave a small tug at the name.

Entering my room with little to no energy, I dropped the folder onto the floor near my bed, before climbing into it. And as I lay there looking at the glow in the dark stars on my ceiling, I couldn't help it as a burning sensation pricked the back of my eyes, and soon tears flowed from them.

I cried silently as I lay there, as memories of how it used to be replayed in my mind. Crying myself to sleep as time ticked on.

* * *      * * *

So... That was emotional but now you get why Leah isn't all that caring about her mother and why her parents aren't in the picture much...

Her father isn't there and her mother is a workaholic who pushed her kids away for her own reasons...

I hope you're happy with the answers given here...

Like, Comment, and let me know your thoughts and theories...

- Orlaith