Derek counted every step as he walked the dirt road behind a man that he absolutely hated. To everyone else, this guy seemed like an angel that was meant to come down and sweep his mother off of her feet. After the passing of Derek's father, he did exactly that.

It seemed that right in the midst of Derek's heart break, loneliness, and devastation, Keith showed up with a smile on his face. His mother, being the person that she was, had encouraged Derek to give Keith a fair chance. He knew that was obviously out of the question.

"What could you possibly like about him?" he had pleaded with his mother.

"He's a great guy honey. He reminds me a lot of your father," she replied.

Derek knew that his mother found no interest in Keith because of the kind of guy he was. She was drawn to him for the same reason that every other woman was. Keith had blue eyes, sandy blonde hair, and was in good enough shape to play NBA basketball. He wrote novels, sang love songs, played the piano, and painted beautiful pictures of happiness. Derek knew it was all just a bunch of crap.

Two months after Derek's mother brought Keith through the doors, things took a turn for the worst. Derek looked out of the window and saw Keith's black pickup truck roll into the driveway. In the bed, were all of Keith's possessions.

"What's he doing?" Keith asked as soon as his mom opened the front door.

"Please don't be upset. He's moving in with us." His mother said this as if she was ready for Derek to blow up in her face.

"And you just assumed that I would enjoy his company?"

"This house needs another man."

Without responding, Derek retreated to his room to cry, but there were no tears left. Things around the house changed during the next few weeks. The furniture was completely rearranged and every picture that didn't have Keith in it was stowed away in the attic. Keith implemented a new set of rules that aimed to put Derek on lock down. Other than going to school, Derek was not allowed out of the house and his new bedtime was nine o'clock. Keith ordered a minimum of three hours of homework per night because he seemed to think that Derek's 4.0 GPA wasn't good enough.

Derek hadn't spoken a word in his own house in nearly a month. As far as he was concerned, his mom's boyfriend didn't exist. He knew that this tore his mom to shreds.

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