Terra sat there not speaking for a few minutes. Greg waited patiently, imagining what she would say.

'We've seen the most horrible things, done the most horrible things for boredom, what can she say that's any different than what we--'

Greg's thoughts were cut off by Terra's words.

"My parents aren't married."

"So?" Greg asked, unsure of why that really mattered in this day and age. "Lots of parents aren't."

Terra shook her head.

"You don't understand."

Greg continued to blink blankly for quite a long time before speaking again.

"Did one of your parents change their last name to Louis without traditional marriage?"

"No, and neither did my grandparents," Terra answered on the verge of tears.

She went on to explain how her grandparents were from a small shack in the mountains and about how they eventually gave birth to Cletus and Martha Louis there.

"From the beginning, they had nobody else and seeing their parents do what they did out in plain sight, it was going to happen eventually!" Terra practically sobbed, not sure how Greg would take this.

Terra went on to explain exactly why her parents were the way they were, Cletus being born slow, therefore becoming absolutely obsessed with religion and nothing else, and Martha having to battle a long list of medical problems due to the situation of their conception.

"When their parents died, Cletus made the decision to move away and start a business like he saw in movies, and Martha, unable to take care of herself, blindly followed. Within the first three years, their plans were interrupted by the birth of Hunter, who was born incredibly small and sickly, not to mention with a mental disorder."

"Soon, Cletus found that the pity and charity the church showed them because of this, plus the government and neighbors, was more than anything he could make, so he wanted more children, but Martha had become too sick at that time. Eventually they settled on adoption. That's when I was brought into that mess a year later. I was a bright young girl who grew up without a single medical problem and enrolled in school despite my parents' protests.

"But kids still made fun of me for my clothes, skinny appearance, and the reputation of my parents' shameless acts of attention and begging around town. Middle school wasn't any better. The stress of that plus looking after Hunter who our parents made get a job combined with the job I had, too, was almost too much."

"Suddenly I was offered a program to attend a private high school based on my perfect grades, and life was kinda okay then. The school was amazing, I loved everyone, even the uniform, and even made friends who shared the same interests as me," Terra sniffled, taking a short break to catch her breath.

"So what happened?" Greg asked, actually a little curious for her to go on.

"What makes you think something happened?" Terra answered softly, a bit hesitant to continue.

"You obviously don't seem to be attending that school anymore."

With a long sigh, she eventually continued.

"Cletus figured out how to get access to my school funds."

"It wasn't just for school?" Greg engaged.

"No, it also covered school supplies and anything else school related, and to a man like Cletus, that meant gold watches, big trucks, and fancy food that my brother and I never shared a part in," Terra said with anger raising the volume of her voice. "The program didn't necessarily track what our school money was used for, so all of it was gone before my junior year, and when the school finally looked into the reason why, my parents blamed it all on me and I was ordered to repay the $20,000 spent. I guess I still wore the uniform those first few weeks because I couldn't accept what happened..."

"Where does your uncle come into play?" Greg asked after a long pause.

"My uncle?" Terra said softly, blinking in confusion.

"Yes, your uncle... You didn't really explain where he came from."

"He's...different. Our parents don't really talk about him," she said, even more reluctant about that part. "He was the most affected by their conception, being the third and final child being born from our grandparents. His face and body is deformed, so he was kept hidden away. They basically keep him locked up in the basement, which happens to be my room, too."

Suddenly, Terra's eyes become unfocused, her words barely a whisper as she continued.

"I didn't see anything wrong with it at first. It was always subtle and I never understood the things he tried to do to me or the comments he made."

While Terra told her sad tale, Greg suddenly felt a bit unnerved, remembering something from a long time ago.

Memories of playing at the park...

Memories of playing at the park with a girl...

"I always avoided him for a day or two, but then he would get needy and clingy. I always fought him off, but he just got more forceful," Terra mumbled, Greg almost tuning her out.

"That's enough. You don't need to explain anything else," Greg raised a hand, his own haunting memories still fresh in his mind.

"I-I'm sorry," Terra sniffled, avoiding eye contact. "I've just never felt comfortable enough to tell anyone about all that before."

"Don't be sorry. I think th--"

Suddenly the bedroom door opened and Jack and Brenda walk in, Jack holding his hands over his eyes.

"Everybody decent in here?" he joked, much to his wife's annoyance.

Invited to stay for dinner, Terra and the Matthews' family ate dinner and discussed the typical family dinner topics of conversation, which was a bit awkward after the conversation Greg and Terra just had.

However, this particular family dinner felt different for Greg. Not because of what was just discussed, but because of him not being the only one faking that big happy smile at the dinner table.

Afterwards, the two teenagers walked out onto the porch to say goodnight.

"I had a good time," Terra smiled, silently motioning over towards the closed front door where a lurking shadow could be seen underneath.

"I did too," Greg replied, genuinely thankful for the heads up of eavesdroppers. "Maybe we could hangout again soon."

Both of them leaned in for a kiss, and as they pulled apart Terra whispered.

"We'll both have to work on this act."

Watching Terra walk away, Greg eventually walked inside and was immediately swarmed by his parents.

"So?!" they asked with excitement.

"She'll do," he shrugged, trying to fake a shy excitement.

"Touch dooooooooooown!" Jack instantly shouted before hissing in pain after Brenda smacked him upside the head.

Wanting nothing more of this situation, Greg waved his parents goodnight, and once locked in his room, he thought to himself about his side project, Ashlynn Greene.

"She was sick enough to warrant a detour from the current project, but she was fragile minded enough to kill herself for us. This is a different project, however, something that takes much more planning," he spoke to himself, turning his hammer in his hands.

Terra walked up the sidewalk to her street for the first time not dreading arriving home, but she was so blissful in her thoughts that she didn't see the figure charging towards her until it was too late.