Well, this is just a series a drabbles that I thought would be fun to write. I'll probably be updating this as the mood strikes- probably when I feel like I should be updating The Place You're In or All My Life but don't have the time to write something decent.

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When Derek was eleven years old, his life changed forever.

Derek remembered the day perfectly. For the first time ever, he'd scored the winning goal for the hockey team right as the final period ended. His team had lifted him up onto their shoulders in celebration. He'd felt like a hero.

Instead of going out for pizza with the team like usual, Derek was so eager to go home and share his victory that he begged Sam's mom to take him home first. He thanked her for the ride home just like his mom always told him to and swung open the front door and stopped in his tracks, his excited cries dying in his throat.

The scene that he walked into would be burned into his memory forever. The family photos that usually hung over the fireplace were on tossed to the ground, half the books and movies and CDs were torn from their shelves, and a pair of suitcases were overflowing with what he recognized as his mom's clothes.

His parents were standing in the middle of the living room, screaming at each other.

"What the fuck were you thinking Abby?! You're just leaving?"

"I can't stay here any longer, George! I'm not meant to be a mother!"

"We've got three kids Abby! You can't just abandon them! Were you even going to say goodbye to them? To me?"

"It's better this way, George."

"Bullshit!" He screamed back to her. "You're a coward. You wait until we're all out of the house to pack your bags and make your escape. That's fucking bullshit and you know it!"

It was right around then that George noticed his oldest son watching them. Derek felt his dad scoop him into a hug, felt himself being pulled tight into his father's shoulder. That's when Derek realized he'd started crying.

Somehow, through his sobs, he heard the front door slam. He wrenched himself from his dad's arms and ran outside just in time to see his mom's car backing out of the driveway and driving down the street.

He did the first thing he could think of. He took off running after the car, vaguely aware of his dad running after him. But by the time Derek made it to the end of the street, he'd lost sight of the car. Once again, Derek felt himself being swept into his dad's arms as he let the tears come.

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Thanks for reading! I'm currently coughing up a lung from a cold, so send some healthy thoughts my way please!

--MM

(April 2nd, 2009)