TRIGGER WARNING: the F slur is used as are some mentions of being gay in a negative way. They are not my views nor Joyce's, but they are mentioned. Please be advised! (Good comes out of it in the end as Joyce stands up against it. But I wanted to warn everyone ahead of time in case this is something you need to skip. I would understand.) *RL me is part of the LGBTQIA2+ community* Also mentions of abuse!

There had been marital problems between Joyce and Lonnie almost from the start. There had once been a love between the two, but it was long gone. If they'd loved each other after their marriage, it dwindled fast after having their first son. Lonnie began drinking and abusing Joyce. But she stayed with him, thinking it was better for Johnathan. And after having a second son, she definitely felt she needed to stay. He never abused the boys, so Joyce took it thinking it was better for her son's to have their father around. She endured the abuse because she wanted what was best for her kids.

Things only got worse from there though.

Johnathan's tenth birthday, Lonnie had forced him to go hunting and kill a rabbit, which Johnathan hated. This was when the fights got worse. Seeing how upset her son was over that, Joyce told Lonnie to never do that again; Johnathan wasn't meant to be a hunter, and she was okay with that. His response? "The boy needs to man up!" Words that had angered Joyce to her core. Her boys were sweet, sensitive, artistic kids, and she was more than happy with that. As long as they were happy, she was too, no matter what it was that made them happy.

If things between Joyce and Lonnie hadn't already been rocky, they definitely would have been after. Anyone who knew Joyce knew she was protective of her kids. They both meant the world to her. She had always wanted to be a mom, and in her mind, she definitely had the two best kids around. That was the only reason she didn't regret marrying Lonnie. Even if he was a piece of sh*t, he did give her the two most wonderful kids.

It was about two and a half years after Johnathan's tenth birthday that Joyce had caught Lonnie cheating. Even though the love was gone, it had hurt her to find out that he was seeing another woman; a much younger woman. She was debating on how to confront him about it and tell him she knew when Will came into the room, a big smile on his face.

"Mom! Look at my new drawing!" The young eight year old came running to his mom, holding out a picture. "It's my character for Dungeons and Dragons!" Will smiled proudly, holding out a colorful picture for her to see.

Smiling back, Joyce opened her arms for him to come and sit on her lap to show her. He was still small for his age so was able to climb up and sit there easily. She looked over the picture. It had a wizard in purple robes. "It looks really good! Tell me more about them!"

"His name is Will the Wise and he is a Wizard!" The boy started with a big smile on his face. "He is only level one but..."

Will was caught off by a scoff coming from Lonnie who had come into the living room with a beer. Joyce turned to her husband with a glare. "Aren't you too old to be sitting in your mom's lap? Such a mommy's boy," he grumbled, glancing at the picture as he walked behind them towards his chair. "And he's wearin' purple? What is he gay or somethin'?" Lonnie asked with a snicker and shake of his head. "Joyce, I told you not to baby these boys or they would end up queer..."

Will's face scrunched up, tears stinging his eyes before jumping from his moms lap and running to Johnathan's bedroom.

"What the f***, Lonnie?!" Joyce yelled, the anger showing in her voice. "Did you really have to say that?!"

Lonnie just laughed and opened his beer, taking a sip. "I warned you," he shook his head. "I told you I didn't want no f@gg0ts for son's... and just look at 'em!"

This made Joyce's face turn red with fury. It was bad enough the way he treated her, for him to say things like this about the kids? No. She was not putting up with that. "That's it, I've had enough!" She screamed, getting up from the couch. "Get the f*** out of my house! And don't come back!"

Lonnie looked up at her, obviously shocked she was standing up to him. He staggered to his feet, dumping some of his beer on the way. "Watch your mouth when youre talking to me, woman!" He yelled. He lift his hand up as if he was going to slap her but she raised her hands up, put them on his shoulders, and pushed him away from her.

"No. Not anymore. That is the last damn straw! You dont give a sh*t about me, and you obviously don't give a sh*t about them either!" She yelled, shaking her head. "You hit me, you cheat on me, and you treat your sons like sh*t. I've had it! You're free! Take your sh*t and leave! You have fifteen minutes to get out before I call the cops!" She took the wedding ring off her finger and threw it in his face; something she had wanted to do for a long time.

With that she turned on her heel and rushed to check on Will; who had run to Johnathan in tears. Walking into his bedroom she locked the door behind her and rushed to the bed. She wrapped her arms around the two pulling them into a group hug. "Will I'm so sorry. He is leaving. I told him to get out. I won't have him treating you boys like this. I won't stand for it," she said as the tears began to pour from her eyes. She tried not to cry in front of them, but she couldn't help it. Hearing the words Lonnie had said about them was too much. "I love you two more than anything. I won't stand for that."

Lonnie could be heard yelling from the living room before smashing something before stomping down the hall. But Joyce had had enough. She was done. If he wasn't out soon, she would call the cops and have them drag him out if she had to.

Pulling away from the hug, she put one hand on Johnathan's cheek, the other on Will's, looking from one to the other. "Once he is gone things will get better. I should have done this sooner. You two don't deserve the way he treats you. I'm sorry."

Will, still crying, threw his arms around his mom's shoulders. He buried his face in her neck sobbing softly. Her arms moved to hug him tightly, pressing her lips to the top of his head. "Don't ever change who you are for anyone else. You are perfect the way you are," she told him before looking up at Johnathan. "Both of you are. I wouldn't change either of you for the world."

The only good things that came from being married to Lonnie was her kids. If she could change anything she would leave him sooner. But she would never erase him from her life even if possible, because she wouldn't change her kids. She just wished they had a better father.

Before long, he could be heard stomping back down the hall, muttering to himself the whole time; calling Joyce a bitch and throwing more slurs towards his sons. The front door opened and slammed behind him so hard the windows in the room shook. After throwing his bags into his truck, he slammed the door and climbed in. He started the truck and drove off, leaving the house without saying goodbye. Even to his kids.