The Final Straw?

Michael was released from the hospital that evening after the tests came back in, it was nothing serious and he just needed rest.

Edward was surprised that Elizabeth was helping him the way she did despite them just meeting and knew he had to be cautious of her because he feared that she had ill intentions towards his friend.

She was far too kind for this to just be an act of kindness, there had to be an underlying motive because no one was kind just from the goodness of their heart.

They were dropped off at the house but the area was on high alert as they feared that more explosions could occur with no one knowing that the good guys were responsible for this mayhem, the sun was setting by the time they arrived back in their neighborhood.

Elizabeth, however, didn't enter the same car as them because it was more of a cab than her entourage, she never entered public transport.

"Edward, I spoke to your mother…" Michael started and the look on Edward's face was one he had never seen before, but on second glance he looked completely different prompting him to question what he saw. He might have hit his head harder than usual.

"Hahaha! What did my dear mother say?" Edward asked, the aura around him shifting as he sounded like his usual self.

"She is worried about you… She told me you aren't sleeping at home, when did that start?" Michael asked like an older brother despite being the younger of the two.

"I do sleep at home, just not all the time," Edward responded with that constant smile on his face.

"You promised you would never lie to me, Edward…" Michael said, looking him right in the eyes as he watched the smile on Edward's face fade gradually.

"My life is in danger, Michael," Edward said as his eyes got teary.

"I have no idea what to do…" Edward sobbed, breaking down, dropping to his knees. This was Michael's first time seeing this side of Edward and it wasn't sadness that he felt.

No, Michael couldn't help but smirk at the helpless sight of the person he has known as his pillar of strength, there was something satisfying watching him in this state.

Michael quickly caught himself, returning his face to normal as he bent down to place a hand on Edward's shoulder.

"Edward, I said I would kill for you. I wasn't joking when I said that.." Michael said and this sent a chill down Edward's spine because this didn't feel like Michael.

"I will kill anyone for you, Edward." Michael reiterated but there was something about this that made Edward find comfort in his words.

"Anyone…" Michael muttered, stroking Edward's head in his arms and the look on Michael's face turned to one of pure killing intent.

The intensity of the moment took their relationship further as it entered a new dimension of fanatical loyalty.

Edward didn't approve of it and just needed to know someone had his back at that moment and that was why he didn't speak of it even after he finished sobbing and regaining himself.

But this had awakened something in Michael, he felt the intense need to protect Edward like his parents had failed to protect him.

"Thank you for today, Michael," Edward said, approaching his doorstep but Michael waved it off with a smile because Edward had helped him more, he was the one that called Elizabeth as well.

Michael watched Edward going into his house, to make sure he didn't skip out before he entered his house.

Luckily, the money he had swiped from the table was used to replenish the one he stole so there was no drama with his parents, the household was peaceful by his standard as he walked into it.

The moment he entered, his mother embraced him, something she hadn't done in years and this stunned Michael as he didn't know how to react to the physical touch of his mother.

She was crying, Michael was expecting her to ask for drug money or one of her usual antics.

"Are you hurt!?" She sobbed and Michael couldn't believe what he was hearing.

It took him almost dying for his mother to show concern for him? This moment felt like something pulled straight out of a book.

"I-I'm sorry I haven't been the best mother but I can't lose you too…" His mother sobbed, Michael paused the moment she said this.

"Too? What do you mean too?" Michael asked, looking past his mother to check for his father but couldn't see him.

"Where's father?" Michael asked in a blood-curdling tone, he was angry and irritated that he wasn't the one to draw this reaction from his mother, it was his father.

He was simply a byproduct of her already raging emotion, and he broke free from her embrace.

"You didn't even know where I was, did you?" Michael asked, the realization hitting him hard.

"Your father left me! He left us!" His mother lashed out violently, losing the compassionate tone she had spoken to him moments ago.

"Hahahaha! I keep fucking hoping and hoping that one day you would be the mother I want but each day you remind me why you're a piece of shit." Michael cussed her out for the first time in his life.

"W-What did you just say to me," His mother asked, her eyes dilating in shock and Michael had enough of this 'pretend' family.

"You're a useless waste of space, a stupid junkie that would rather shoot up drugs than take care of her fucking child! Did you know I was in the hospital today!? Of course not, how would you know? I really do hate you…" Michael finally let it off his chest, words he has been holding in for years, and the response this garnered from his mother was a slap across his face. But Michael was done, at that moment, he wondered what his hands would feel like around her neck.