Egan had been in his room the whole time his mom and Greg were fighting, he couldn't come outside to help so he wouldn't be a victim like his mom.
"Never, I mean never in your life ask me or tell me what to do with my life," Greg said climbing back up the stairs on the way to his room.
Egan came out of his room to comfort his mother, she sustained a couple of bruises and scratches as a result of the fall, she also sprained her ankle.
"Are you ok Mom?" Egan asked.
"Yes, honey I'm fine nothing serious," Clara said struggling to get to her feet. Egan tried to help her find her way to the sofa,
"Ouch," Clara winced in pain as they she struggled to get to the sofa with the help of Egan.
Clara opted to sleep on the couch in the living room because she couldn't afford to sleep in the same room with Greg that night. Egan got her a spare pillow from his room and a blanket too. The next day was a Saturday and being the weekend Greg didn't go to work that day, he stayed home instead. After the alcohol wore off from his eyes he realized what he had done and went to apologize to Clara for what he did, Egan was in his as usual because he didn't want anything to do with Greg.
The only thing Clara could do was cry, she hugged Greg as he promised never to drink again but it was only temporary as the worst was yet to happen. Over time Greg became worst, he began to drink heavily and when he came back home Clara was always a victim of his physical abuse, whenever Egan jumped into the defense of his mother he would chase Egan around the house but being unable to catch the boy he would give up. It continued like this for months and during those months Clara ended up in the hospital about five times with each attack almost claiming her life.
During those fights, the neighbors have always wanted to call the police but Clara vehemently warned them not to and told them to stay out of her business. Egan couldn't understand why his mother dissuaded the neighbors from calling the police on his stepdad, he just couldn't understand.
"Mom, why do you always stop the neighbors from calling the police on my stepdad? He always hurts but why don't you let them help you?" Egan asked his mother one day when she got back from the hospital.
Clara sobbed, she sobbed so hard before straightening up to talk to her son.
"I wish it were that easy, how I wish," Clara said.
"Mom I don't understand, tell me what happened, why isn't it easy for you?" Egan quizzed.
Clara heaved a deep sigh.
"You know, before your father died I was seeing Greg and during those times Greg spent a fortune on me, we went to all the fun places together," Clara said, remembering the days when things were rosy between her and Greg.
"I never knew that Greg was a horrible person, he used to drink back then but not as much as he does now," Clara continued.
"My greed and foolishness led me to this mess I'm in right now. I should've stuck with your father but I felt what he did for me wasn't enough because of my selfish desires." Clara said tearfully.
Egan reached for a pair of handkerchiefs in the laundry basket and gave it to her which she used to dry her eyes.
"Mom, you still haven't told me why it's hard to leave this place," Egan said, sounding serious this time.
Clara looked at the boy, he was grown already, old enough to know the truth of why she couldn't leave Greg just yet.
"You see, I can't leave Greg because I owe him a lot of money, if I tell him I'm leaving I'll have no place to go and he'll ask me to pay him back all the money he's spent on me for sure and you don't wanna cross a man like Greg because he's an absolute monster," Clara said.
It all made sense now, no wonder the mother could do nothing to save herself, she depended on Greg for almost everything so he was literally like her master while she was the servant. Egan was 15 years old at the time, and his father's insurance covered his school tuition so meaning he didn't owe Greg anything.
Clara wasn't herself after the way Greg's been treating her, over time she became an alcoholic. Being an alcoholic all of a sudden made Greg draw close to her a little bit not in a positive way but as an alcoholic companion, she forgot all her motherly duties. Together they did drugs, took alcohol, and smoked weed.