Remember Me This Way

Chapter Thirty

"Aren't you going to let me in Nick?"

Nick and Leighanne stepped back, to make room for Jane Carter. She looked around the place with an air of disdain as Nick shut the door. He watched her, saying nothing. Nick knew what was coming, and from past experience he knew the best thing was to just let her say it before even attempting to say anything himself.

"Hello Mrs. Carter." Leighanne said tightly. Nick was suddenly amused, there wasn't much that truly got to her like that. Then again, he always knew his mother had a knack for that.

Jane Carter glanced around the place, patting her bleached blonde hair. She turned back to Nick as he watched her. Leighanne stood there, and Nick felt bad. She probably felt awkward. Nick took a deep breath, readying himself. The two stared at each other, eye to eye, mother and son.

"I can't believe you."

He scoffed in disbelief. "Me? You can't believe...me."

"Yes! The fact you care so little about us that you couldn't even tell us before you announced it on National TV!"

Nick rolled his eyes at her. "Couldn't? How about you wouldn't let me? You want to know when I originally planned to tell you? New Years Fucking Eve! Yeah, that's right. But ohhhh no, instead you guys wanted to fight about how awful I am. I even tried to get back in touch with you guys before this. But no. You asked for money and then hung the hell up when I said no!"

Jane stared at him, her eyes wide with shock. "That's ridiculous! I am your mother and-"

"You're my mother? No. You haven't been my mother in nineteen years. All you've seen me as is a fucking ATM and it's about damn time I told you so flat out!"

"I can't believe this, I am absolutely outraged!"

"You shouldn't be!"

"I should be! You're a disgrace Nickolas Gene! You've done nothing but make me ashamed I'm your mother. Between the drugs, the problems, and the therapy..."

"You know what caused all that? Wondering why you and dad did the shit you did! Never thinking I'm good enough! You know who fucked me up so bad it took me years to try and fix it? You! You and your money obsessed bullshit! I've fucking had it!"

"Money obsessed?" She scoffed. "You owe it to me! Who drove you to all the auditions? Who put your career before everything else?!"

"Who paid all the damn bills because dad couldn't keep a damn job? It wasn't you! If I owed you anything I paid it all off before I even hit eighteen!"

Leighanne stepped between them, eyeing Nick carefully. "Okay, I think that's enough. Everyone needs to calm down, sit, and try talking this out, okay?"

Jane looked at her hauntingly. "I don't need some self-righteous religious nut trying to come between me and Nicky!"

"Don't talk to her that way! And don't fucking call me Nicky! I hate being called Nicky! I'm not Nicky! I'm Nick! And another thing! Don't talk to me this way in my fucking house! You can leave if this is what you're gonna do!"

His face was red, he hated saying all this. Even though all of it was true, he had never been able to bring himself to this level of honesty with his mother. But now, it was as if the floodgates holding all of this inside him had finally been released. "This is exactly why I didn't fucking tell you! Because of this! Why, why do you gotta be like this?! Why am I just dollar signs to you mom?"

Jane stared at him at a loss for words. "I...I..."

His tone lowered, wavered with emotion. "You try to trick me for money; you try to "bond" as a way to scam money out of me. Why, why is money always more important to you than me? I'm your son...why don't you see me as that?"