My Ex's Best Friend / d.h.

Chapter Sixteen

Frankie's P.O.V.

Even though I didn't want to, I slowly started walking back out of my room and making my way back into my living room to see my mom looking at the portrait of Ally that hung on Becca and I's wall. "I didn't know you had a boyfriend," she said to me and walked away from the portrait. She crossed her arms and looked at me.

Technically, we didn't make it official, but I didn't need to explain that to my mom. "We went on our first date last night if you must know," I said to her. "He is a great guy, mom. Unlike the other one I was dating before."

"Right, the guy you moved in with, right?" she asked me. I crossed my eyes and looked away from her. "At least he was better looking than what you're dating now." I shot a look at her and she just shook her head at me. "Oh come on. You know it's true. I saw pictures of the guy, Frankie. He was as definitely good looking, but Damien..."

"My god, do you ever stop being judgmental?" I asked her. "There's literally nothing wrong with Damien, but you always have to pick at every little thing. Damien is a very attractive man and I don't care what you think about him."

"Well I'm aware of that since you've never cared about what I've thought about for you," she said.

"What? Like going to college?" I asked her. She looked away from me and I clenched my fists. "God dammit, mom. Let it go. I've worked my ass off at a job that I actually make good money at. I work at a job with people I can actually stand and I'm working at a relationship that I actually want. A relationship I didn't force myself into since I didn't just move into this ones house."

"Where do you work?" she asked me and making eye contact with me again.

"At Abby's Diner," I replied. She snorted and chuckled. "Mom, why are you here? If you are just going to keep criticizing me and Damien, then you can just..."

"I'm here because I..." she paused and uncrossed her arms. She put her hands on her waist and sighed. "I'm here because I missed you. I hate that you and I aren't talking and when we do, it's an argument."

"Arguments that you create," I pointed out. She shook her head and just looked at me. "Mom, my boyfriend wasn't even in here for two seconds and you were already saying shit about him. You walk in and say something about my hair. There's only an argument because you always find a way to put me down."

"I'm just giving my..."

"Opinion, I know," I said to her. "But fuck, mom. You don't realize how bad your opinions really are. How bad they've messed me up over the years. My self esteem was so low back then and I never thought I'd ever make friends. I thought Austin would always be my only friend because you never pushed me into making friends. You didn't care unless you wanted to care, and the only time you cared was to get me out of the house and go to college because it was better for me. How would you know what was better for me?

"You were never there, mom, when I needed you the most. Losing dad was one of the hardest things for me and where were you? Finding ways of getting over him and that's where Stewart comes into the picture." Tears started filling up in my eyes. I never had a mother. I just had someone who was apart of my life, but not really in it.

"I had to find someway to make us money, Francesca," she stated. "Stewart saw how bad we were struggling and took us in when he didn't have too. As much as you want to say I was using him, I wasn't. He offered to help us out and since then, he has helped all of us out. Hell, he paid a bit of money to send Austin to the college of his dreams." He went to Georgia?

"I'm not saying you used him in the beginning, but mom, you still don't even have a fucking job," I stated. "You dress like this business woman, but in reality, you're just a woman who is spending her husbands money."