Chapter 25 Righteous Anger

While squeezed tightly in my mother's arms, a million questions ran through my head. Exerting all the willpower I had at my disposal, I lifted my arms and hugged her back. All the while, I was left to wonder why this was happening, how this was happening, and even if it was really happening. Everything about this just seemed so surreal. I couldn't even begin to process the reason behind Mommy actually being here. After all, she had gone missing for quite some time, so much time in fact that I actually worried that she had somehow been killed.

I actually cried when I thought about that. Without any forethought, I squeezed Mommy tighter. My tears came down at a speedier rate, no doubt dampening her outfit. I wanted this moment to last forever. I didn't know how this could be done, but I wanted this moment captured in a little bottle and put on display for me to observe and relive any time I wanted. I never wanted Mommy to go away again. I wanted to stay close, by her side, like I knew she would love.

When we let go, I looked into her eyes with a smile. Thankfully, there was no sign of injury or struggle present on her face or any other part of her body. This told me that she wasn't kidnapped, that there was no third party that decided to fight or beat her into submission. That was certainly a relief to me; however, with that realization came a whole boatload of questions.

"Mommy…" I struggled to speak, having more trouble articulating my thoughts than I had ever experienced before. "How… why…?"

"Shh." Mommy put her finger on my lips, smiling as she did. "It's okay. I'm just glad we're together." She wrinkled her nose and looked at the house I had just exited. "Although, why you were staying at this house is beyond me." She looked me right in the eye. "I told you right in my note that you were supposed to stay at the hotel."

I did a double-take. "A note?" My eyes grew wide. There was a note? Since when? When did she take the time to write one? "Mommy…. I never got a note."

"Oh don't be silly, Albert," Mommy says, all while wearing a smile. "I left it on your nightstand right before I left."

I did my best to grapple with the pounds of disbelief. "Uh, no, you didn't! I searched the room from stem to stern the morning you disappeared! There wasn't any note, on the nightstand, on the bed, or anywhere else for that matter!" I crossed my arms. "Believe me Mommy. I looked. I was desperate to find you; I looked absolutely everywhere."

Mommy's jaw dropped. Her brow furrowed a little bit. "Oh." She scratched the back of her head, looking a little guilty. "I… I guess I forgot to leave the note." She chuckled sheepishly. "Oops."

I almost pulled my hair out. Oops? That was all that she had to say? After all the stress and worry she caused me, oops was the only explanation she could provide? That… that was… GAAHH! If I didn't know any better, I would swear that she didn't care about all of this trouble! I'd swear that she thinks what she did wasn't a big deal!

I shook my head. I tried to tell myself that those thoughts were the truth, that she really did care. Unfortunately, I had a lot of trouble doing so, especially with everything that's happened over the past few days. I looked her right in the eye. "Where did you even go anyway?"

Mommy curled a strand of hair out of her face. As she did, she wore a smile that was all too familiar to me. "Well, one of the clerks that worked at the hotel we were staying at really caught my eye. I ran into him while I was wandering the hotel a few nights back, and…well, he took me to his house. We had a magical time; an absolutely magical time!" She smiled. "If given the opportunity, I would love to go back."

I did another double-take. Wait, seriously? All this happened because Mommy happened to come across a pretty guy? And… okay, on some level, I wasn't surprised. Ever since my parents divorced, Mommy became much more… uh, promiscuous, I guess you could say. Every guy that had a dick between his legs became the perfect candidate for Mommy to jump their bones. I never approved of that, honestly. Even though she and Father weren't together anymore, it still felt as though she was cheating on him, that she was doing him dirty. I hadn't said anything against it though, mostly because it was her life, and (for the most part) she wasn't hurting anybody.

But now? Now, I was at my limit when it came to this stuff. She had disappeared without any warning (she wanting to leave a note didn't matter to me, as she had completely and utterly failed at doing so), and was gone so long that we were forced to deploy police officers to go on the hunt for her. That wasn't exactly harmless. She had caused so much trouble for everyone involved, and honestly? That pissed me off. It seriously pissed me off.

"Mother…!" I glared at her, feeling so much bitterness that a literal bitter flavor flooded my tongue. "You left me! You left me all on my own!" I furrowed my brow. "Do you have any idea how much I worried about you? I was in the biggest tizzy I've ever experienced, all because you wanted to bang a hot clerk!" I shook my head, low growls coming from deep within my throat. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but that was incredibly selfish of you! In fact, EVERY single time you've done this is incredibly selfish!" I glared at her. "Why? Just… why?"

A slight twinge of anger flashed across Mommy's face before it was replaced with guilt. "I'm sorry, honey." She hugged me again. "Look, how about this? When we get home, I'll make you that chocolate pudding you like to make it up to you."

I paused for a minute, my mouth watering. However, I immediately stopped thinking with my stomach and transitioned right to thinking with my head, therefore causing my glare to return. "No, Mommy. Nothing you do will make up for what you did. Especially since I know you're gonna pull this sort of nonsense again."

Mommy glared at me. "Wow. I see being around koopas has made you extra snarky." She sighed and took my hand. "Let's go home, Albert. Hopefully you will let go of that snark in time for you to join the royal guard."

I sharply exhaled. With an extra hard tug, I pulled my hand out of my mother's. This caused her to look back at me with eyes as wide as canyons.

"Ally…?"

"Mother, I'm not going with you." I clutched my wallet in my hands. "I'm going down to the jail so I can pay off Roy's bail."

Mother blinked. "Who's…?" Suddenly, realization came across her face. "Wait." Her face filled with the worst, my potent kind of wrath. "Don't tell me it's that koopa who's dating your cousin!"

Under normal circumstances, the strong tone of her voice would make me cower in submission. However, I didn't do that here. I clenched my fist, telling myself that I needed to stand my ground.

"Yes. As a matter of fact."

Mother's jaw dropped before she let out a laugh. "You're joking!"

"No, I am not!" I protested, causing her face to contort into the worst type of surprise. I clenched my wallet tightly, telling myself that now more than ever I needed to keep a good hold on it. "Roy is the sweetest person I've ever met. While you were gone, he went above and beyond in order to make me feel better." I debated whether or not I should tell her about the tulip, knowing that if I did, she definitely wouldn't approve of that. However, I eventually realized that I didn't care about whether she approved or not. I didn't value the opinion of somebody who abandoned me just for a few nights of shallow, loveless sex. "He even got me the most beautiful tulip I have ever seen!"

Mother groaned. "Oh no. Don't tell me who fed you the delusion that you could make it as a florist."

I clenched both my fist and my wallet even tighter. "It's not a delusion Mother! It's a legitimate dream that I have, and he even went so far as to support me and tell me to chase it! Something I know for a fact you never did! Not even once!"

She sharpens her stare into a glare. "Albert…!"

"No! Mother, you were wrong! You were wrong about my dream, and you were wrong about koopas!" I seethed, my breathing coming in at a much more shallow, much more heated rate. Regardless, I wasn't backing down, if not for my sake then for Roy's. "Every single last thing you said about them is wrong! They aren't monsters! Not even close! They're people; just regular people that deserve the same level of respect that we give to humans and Toads!" I glared at her, not turning away or taking my eyes off of her for even one single second. "There's no reason to be afraid of them! Sure, they make mistakes, and sure, there are some awful Koopas in the world. But that can be applied to any species! Just because there are a few bad apples mixed in doesn't mean we should condemn the whole basket! Roy is nice! Uncle Singe is nice! Celia is nice! They are as far away from awful that a person can possibly get!" I stared deep into her shocked and appalled eyes, feeling a certain type of bravery overtake me for what was possibly the first time in my entire life.. "If anything, I think you're the awful one for feeding me all that misinformation about them!"

Mother gasped. She stared at me, not saying anything for what feels like forever. Eventually though, her anger returned. She grit her teeth. "How dare you! I've given you everything I could possibly give, while koopa ls have given nothing to you except hate and lies!" She took a step forward. "In fact, they've done it here! They've turned my precious baby boy against me!" She sniffles]d. "I never wanted you to get brainwashed like this, Ally!"

My face grew warm, and my emotions didn't even allow me to feel sorry for her. "I'm not brainwashed, Mother! There's nothing wrong with Koopas! Absolutely nothing! They didn't turn me against you; they opened my eyes to what is right and wrong!" I exhaled, steam practically shooting out of my nostrils with how heated and angry I feel. "And I don't care what you say or think; I'm going to free Roy from jail." I held my wallet to my chest. "He was falsely accused, and I'm gonna make sure he gets the justice that he deserves! And afterwards, I'm going to follow my own path! I'm going to forge my own way in life, all without you!

Mother gawked. I could see hurt in her eyes, but I didn't care. Her eyes stared at my wallet, a million emotions brewed behind her eyes. Every single one of them was negative and directed at me. She slowly lifted her head to look me in the face again. When she does, I see only the most hate-filled type of determination that a person can feasibly feel.

"You're doing nothing of the sort."

With that, she lunged at me. Thankfully, I managed to dodge, if only barely. I zipped away from her and bolted down the road. All the while, Mother calls out to me.

"GET BACK HERE!"

I didn't stop. I wasn't going to stop. I didn't care if I appeared brainwashed and crazy to her. I was going to be free Roy from jail. I was going to do it if it was the last thing I did.