“Jesus, mom. You don't have to talk like that.”

"And you don't have to talk to her!" Emma was losing the battle and her voice was rising.

“And you won't, ever again!"

“Whoa, I'm twenty years old. I'm a man now. I'll talk to who I want."

"Oh, is that so?" Emma pointed down to him.

"Newsflash, men don't live with their mother. Men have enough back bone not to humiliate themselves and go crawling back to a cheating bitch just because she cries."

"I stayed with you because you and dad wanted me to go to school in town. I stayed with you after dad because you needed me." He snapped back.

"And I came here with you to shitsville because it's what you wanted. I left everything..

“Knock it off! You left nothing because you turned your back on your entire life and because of this girl that now all of a sudden you want to talk to!"

"Mom, listen..." Eric rose from the couch as he spoke.

"No, you listen you ungrateful jerk," Emma stepped up to him and pointed in his face.

"I left behind the home I built with your father, and a great job and my friends and everything I knew because you were so upset you couldn't deal with seeing anyone who knew what she did to you...and that was everyone!"

"Bullshit." He yelled back at her.

“You wanted to leave too! You brought it up, so don't push this on me, mom. You couldn't handle all the things you said I can't and now you want to use me as an excuse that you moved?"

He leaned closer and snorted angrily.

“Get off your cross, mom.

You're no martyr...

"How dare you!" Emma shouted directly in his face.

"I've done everything I could for you your entire life. I tried to help you when dad was sick and passed. I tried to help when she broke your heart and you wouldn't even talk to me! So I make this decision and now you want to act like an injured party?"

"Fine, know what?" Eric softened his tone.

"We're both goddamn losers who ran from their problems. That better?"

Emma closed her eyes and took several deep breaths.

"Yeah," she answered, her voice lowering as well.

"I can't argue that."

"And I don't want to fight with you, mom." Eric put his hands on her shoulders.

"I love you."

"I love you too, honey." Emma put her hands over his.

"And I feel horrible about what I told you. Talk about being a loser I...well you know what I did."

Emma resisted the urge to ask him if he'd only done what he'd said or had he gone as far as he'd said when the under the influence of the stone.

"You don't remember what you said after that?"