A Mothers Woe

A/N: I remembered the contents of this chapter, so I typed it out to satiate y'all till the PC is fixed. Haven't heard back from the repair store yet, which is shit. This chapter will have POV shifts, and slightly more of an emotional section for MC. Bear with the cringe, as it's needed for later. Check out my other novel too.

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Arriving home, Gabriel parked the car quickly as he noticed sounds coming from inside the house. Storming in, he found a woman seated with a glass of wine in her hand, watching TV.

Dropping his bag, Gabriel gaped in momentary shock as he recognized the familiar face from his memories.

"Mom?" His alarmed voice drew her attention. Swiveling her head, she placed the wineglass down and clapped her hands in happiness.

Standing up, she looked at him with a gentle smile.

Anastasia Hudson was a woman who could be described as a beauty. Her auburn hair cascaded down her back, ending slightly above her waist. She had a gentle face that showed almost no signs of aging and a smile that could light up a room.

Despite her age, their different sizes made Gabriel and Anastasia look like siblings to anyone seeing them from a distance.

"Oh, honey! I missed you so much," she exclaimed, pulling him into a hug and slowly rubbing his back.

'This isn't the woman from my memories… what the heck is going on?' Gabriel panicked inwardly at her unexpected closeness.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, pulling away from the hug and taking a step back, something she noticed as her eyes dimmed slightly.

Sighing softly, she moved back and crossed her arms. "After the phone call, I realized something," she said, her face downcast.

"Your father and I have been neglecting you, Gabe. I knew for a while that you were becoming more detached from us, and it hurts my heart." Her voice shook with emotion, but Gabriel did nothing to soothe her. Instead, a sense of anger welled up deep inside him, confusing him.

'Are these repressed emotions from the "me" before I took over this body?'

"You mean, you hadn't realized that I saw my babysitters as closer parental figures than either of you?" he said, the anger somehow winning the internal tug-of-war.

They both stared at one another, filling the room with silence.

Gabriel did his best to contain the anger that had momentarily escaped, while Anastasia tried to control her tears.

His words were true, as she had almost never been home. Spending most of her life outside, working and performing for the masses, was an escape from her fear of not being an excellent mother.

Unfortunately, she realized too late that her actions had made her son loathe her instead of protecting him.

"If you came here to see if I was fine, you've done your obligation for the year. I've made friends, and they care about me." Gabriel turned his back to her. He picked up his bag and walked out of the living room, but his mother pulled his arm.

"Please," she begged, her voice almost a whisper as her body shook. "I'm not leaving this time, Gabe. I spoke to your father, and I'm done for a while."

Gabriel paused, his mind racing as he thought about spending time with a woman he could only equate to a phone call once every month or two. Turning his head, he watched tears trickle down her cheek in a silent sob.

Sighing, he turned around completely.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you, but you need to see it from my perspective. Do you know how many times I've seen you in the past two years?" He stopped talking, the silence in the room growing louder.

"Twice. Once because Dad thought someone had broken into the house and stolen his 'treasures,' and the second when you both uprooted my life here."

Anastasia couldn't utter a word because he was right. They had both failed their son, and it was time to mend the relationship if that was possible.

"Though I will thank you for one thing," Gabriel said, and for the first time since he saw her in the house, he had a gentle smile on his face. "You chose the right town for us to move to."

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The mother and son duo sat at the dining room table as Anastasia spoke about her latest tour.

Though she seemed apprehensive about explaining the reason she was never home, Gabriel at least attempted to show interest.

"And then, after I hung up on you, I went to my last show. I saw a mother and son sitting in the front row, and I could barely keep my composure," she said, wiping a tear from her eyes.

"I thought about everything I had missed in your life, from the first time you rode a bike, your first swimming lesson, even when you lost your first tooth. I missed it all… I missed my son's life."

It had become a constant in their brief conversation; every time they reached a lull in the story, Anastasia almost broke down completely again.

"At the end of the day, you're my mother," Gabriel said, handing her another tissue. "I'm not saying I can ever forgive you for missing my childhood… but I can't fault you, either. None of us are perfect, and I would be hypocritical if I didn't give you a chance."

Hearing his words, Anna had a sad smile on her face as she looked at him. Her son had grown into such a fine man. He looked nothing like his portly father, and he carried himself with such confidence, along with the words he spoke, a wisdom she didn't know was possible for someone his age.

"Oh," she laughed as tears ran down her face.

"When did my son become such a fine man?" Moving her hand, she gently placed it on Gabriel's cheek, ever so softly as to not scare him away, similar to a deer in headlights.

Gabriel nodded slightly at her words. He had memories from a life of neglect, and if his new mother wished to mend their relationship, he hoped he might find a true motherly presence for once.

He began explaining what had happened since the beginning of the move, talking about how school had been, along with the new friends he had made, the vampires and the wolves, though he didn't mention their… colorful existences.

Anastasia looked at him, happily recounting everything that had happened so far, and she wished she had been there to see it all.

As he was closing in on the conversation, Gabriel's phone chimed. It was sitting between the mother and son, and Anastasia had accidentally peeked at the caller ID.

"Who's Rosalie, Gabe?" she questioned, her head cocking to the side slightly.

Coughing, Gabriel wasn't exactly sure what to say. They had only just begun talking, and he didn't feel close enough to explain more about his life, but unfortunately, this situation had arisen.

"My girlfriend, Rosalie Cullen," he said, a gentle look gracing his face at her name. "She's actually on her way here." Scratching his cheek, he looked at his mother awkwardly.

"Oh?"

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**Rosalie's POV**

What happened? Why isn't he answering?

I couldn't understand why Gabriel had gone radio silent since he left school.

He told me to come around 6 PM, but I sent him a message to make sure he still wanted me to come over. Since our relationship had begun, my world had an added vibrancy to it.

No, I wasn't in love. I was actually far from it, but I knew he was the man for me, the person I would spend the rest of eternity with.

He had opened up, exposing his deepest secrets to me and even my family, showing care and consideration for the trauma I couldn't expose to him yet, out of fear of pushing him away.

I am a strong woman, but no matter how strong you are, there is always a deep-seated fear of rejection from the ones you care about.

I would often lose myself in these thoughts, and I think that was the reason people assumed I was cold to others, but in actuality, I struggled to get closer to people and open up.

Once again, I had spiraled, and I hated it.

I left the house and made my way to Gabriel's. I assumed maybe he had forgotten to charge his phone once again, so I just continued with our original plan. It took me seconds to arrive at his front door, but when I arrived, I couldn't help but stop in shock.

I heard a woman talking to him inside, and I knew that voice.

Once, I had left for a hunt, as it was getting close to the time I would need to feed, I had accidentally seen him on the phone with his mother. My heightened hearing allowed little room for privacy, and I listened to their conversation, the bitterness in his voice as he spoke to her.

It hurt seeing someone so lovely being neglected and rejected, but I never mentioned my late-night bump-in to him.

She was crying, talking about how she was sorry for neglecting him, and wishing to start over again.

I fished out my phone, intending to message Gabriel and let him know I could not visit him tonight, but I accidentally dialed his number instead. Great.

Picking up the phone, I heard his velvety voice say my name, something I loved hearing, and before I could answer him, he hung up again.

Then, moments later, the front door opened. He was standing there, smiling at me, like everything was okay. But I could see deep down, he was hurting.

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*General POV*

Gabriel grabbed Rosalie's hand as he pulled her into the house.

He said nothing when he was aware she had arrived over ten minutes ago. If anything, Gabriel had hoped to use Rosalie as a buffer between him and his mother.

They both walked through the main hallway and entered the living room. There stood Anastasia, her eyes on Rosalie, not in hostility, but with silent apprehension at her son's girlfriend.

"Uh, Mom, this is Rose. Rose, this is my mother, Anastasia," Gabriel said. The tension in the room was a mix of awkwardness and resistance.

Rosalie, ever quick-witted, smiled at Anastasia before walking towards her. "Hi, I'm Rosalie. It's a pleasure to meet you." She extended her hand, and Anastasia nodded, shaking it in response.

"It's nice to meet you, Rosalie. Thank you for looking after my son," Anastasia said gently. She was truly thankful Gabriel had found someone he could be vulnerable with. Ever since he was a child, he had been closed off to people because of neglectful parenting.

The three stood in silence, unsure how to proceed from the initial greetings. Gabriel hummed, looking around the room before noticing that his mother had brought no luggage.

"Mom, where are your things?" he asked in confusion.

"Oh, I left everything in Italy the moment I came back… so I'm wearing the only clothes on my back," she said with a sheepish grin, realizing she had completely forgotten.

Smiling, Rosalie stepped between the two. "I don't want to offer help if it's not needed, but would you like to join my sister, my mother, and me in shopping this weekend?"

Gabriel stared at Rosalie, his mouth agape.

'What is she thinking?'