Star-Crossed Rivals || [Keith x Reader]

The visit pt2

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Your mother watched you for a moment- silently, as if she had seen you for the first time. It had been a few years, after all, but still, it made you feel like a stranger.

"Why did you leave?" you forced yourself to ask, before swallowing down the knot that formed in your throat; a suffocating pressure that persisted despite your efforts to force it away.

You repeated the question once more, elaborating, when your mother eyed you with furrowed brows. "When I arrived at the entrance, I saw you. Why did you leave without saying something? Isn't that the respectful thing to do, even if you resent me?"

"Oh," your mother replied, putting her lips into a line. "I'm not sure why I even came. You didn't seem to want me there either, so I left."

You nodded once, letting the words sink in. She didn't deny that she resented you- you weren't sure if that was on purpose.

"Okay," you muttered. You couldn't help biting the inside of your cheek in agitation. The tension here was too uncomfortable, and that guy beside you definitely wasn't helping.

So you decided to address the elephant in the room. "Who is that guy anyway?" you asked, nodding to the man that previously introduced himself as Jack. Did Jack not realize that he wasn't welcome right now? Or maybe it was you who ruined their coffee date. You looked over to the desk, where the two steaming cups were settled.

Something as simple as these cups sent a heat across your chest- you wanted to toss them out and ruin it for them.How come you were the only one to seek her out and she spent her time drinking with some stranger?

"A year after you left for the academy," your mother started talking as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat, "I met Jack in group therapy."

Before you could stop yourself and think twice about it, you shot your mother a look of confusion and slight judgement. It wasn't like you were against these things, but your mother didn't seem like the type to attend group therapy. "What for?"

"To cope with grief," Jack replied before she could. "The both of us lost someone."

He looked over to her, who nodded along, her eyes reflecting her pain as she must have thought back to when your dad was alive.

"Yeah, me too," you added with a deadpan tone. "Thanks for remembering."

That Jack was an inconsiderate asshole. Your mother was ignorant as well.

You took a deep breath, thinking of what to say next. There was only one thing on your mind, but you hesitated to say it. "So you... are you saying you moved on from Dad? Is Jack some sort of replacement?"

"I'm not replacing your father," Jack quickly interjected, raising his hands as if trying to plead innocent. "This," he added, pointing around the whole place, "is simply a new phase of life. Something completely separate from your father. Excuse me for phrasing it like this, but that phase of her life with your father is over, and you wouldn't fault her for seeking a connection in a time like this, right?"