Breaking Through Walls

Asher’s POV

I walked into the empty diner. When my mom sent me an invitation for dinner earlier, I knew instantly that something was up. It was uncharacteristic of us to hang out alone together. I had an idea of what she wanted to speak about already.

It wasn’t hard to spot her. Besides the fact that the diner was practically empty, surely on my mother’s orders, she was the only person who showed up at a fancy diner wearing a business suit, her hair tied back and put in a bun, making her look serious.

She was tapping on her phone when I approached her. “Mom,”

She looked up at me with those dull brown eyes. “Asher?” she managed a small smile.

Over the years, I learned quickly that this was the most affection I’d get from my mother. It was hard to come to terms with it because, unlike my father, her stoicism felt forced. Like she was playing a character, I could always see the struggle in her eyes, her holding back, but maybe it was all in my head, and I was overthinking it. Maybe. As a