The slow click of silver cutlery against ceramic plates irked Leo to no end. His beautiful girlfriend was in the hospital while he had to endure dinner with the person who attempted to murder her.

"Leo," Kendall's mom said. "Are you not enjoying the meal? You've hardly touched your plate."

"It's a little hard to stomach food down right now," Leo muttered.

His mother glanced at him from the corner of her eyes with worry. "Did something happen?"

Something did alright. Davina still hadn't woken up for past five days. Leo's hand clenched around his fork. Despite the fact he was still grounded, he had spent every waking minute around her, reading, staring, talking to her, praying.

He had even let his mom take away all the privileges he had managed to get back during the past weeks. He came home at nine everyday and stumbled to his bed without eating dinner. His mom hadn't yelled at him once.

Kendall's nails gently grazed his arm and she looked at him with a worried expression. Leo was ashamed to say that he would have fallen for her innocent act, had Rose not captured one of Kendall's minions and forced the truth out of her.

Kendall's mom smiled. "Leo, why don't you go with Kendall? I'm sure a little time spent together, like when you were kids, would clear your–"

"I have a girlfriend," Leo blurted. All eyes fixed on him.

"W-What?" his father spluttered.

"She's the most quirky person in the world. You could never tell what she's about to say next. One minute, she's acting confused and the next minute, she's acting all coy. She's easily the most beautiful person in the room when she's wearing a skirt and smiling. But she doesn't smile often...She hasn't smiled recently, for about a week now..."

Venessa's hand closing over his offered him silent support. He let out a breath and looked his shocked mother in the eyes. "She's been in the hospital for five days now. I–"

"Five days ago?" his mother whispered. "That's when you started coming home so late. Oh, you should have told me."

"How was he supposed to tell you that Kendall is the one that landed his girlfriend in the hospital?" Venessa spat with hatred.

Everyone stopped eating. Leo's mom tilted her head to the side. "Sorry?"

Venessa pulled out her phone from her pocket and after scrolling to something, slipped it to their mom. "That's one of Kendall's friends confessing to what Kendall did."

Leo's mom didn't play the video and looked at Kendall with a blank look. This was something she always did—give people one last chance for her to trust them. "Is this true, Kendall?"

Kendall's mom flew up in a rage. "How can you accuse my daughter of something like that? You know her better than anyone."

"Addison, I didn't say anything to you," Leo's mom said, slipping into her business mode. Her sharp eyes fixed on Kendall again. "Did you do this, Kendall?"

"Of course not," Kendall protested. "I would never do such to anyone."

Venessa stifled a groan. "I'm sure if we pull up the school's security camera footage, you'll see Kendall coming out of the bathroom right before Davina was found with her head bleeding. But the school's too scared to do anything because Kendall's dad is a politician."

Kendall's mom fixed venomous eyes on Venessa. "Those are baseless accusations. Why would Kendall hit her classmate against a mirror?"

Venessa smirked. In that moment, she seems even fiercer than their mom. "I never said anything about a mirror."

Kendall's mom reeled back. "W-What?"

"No one except Davina's family, Leo, Jaiyana, Val, Damian, Rose and I know what exactly happened. Your school has been closed since the incident so there was no way for the rumors to spread. The only way to know the detail about a mirror is if you were at the scene of the crime."

The ticking of the clock seemed to echo in the large dining room. Everyone held their breath, waiting for the next person to talk. Leo's mom broke the silence. She stood and her chair creaked against the floor. "It seems our friendship is long overdue, Addison."

Kendall's mom reached for Leo's mom. "Tori, w-wait. You don't really believe all that, do you? Our kids have been friends since they were little. You know–"

"Mom, remember that time my feet got burned when I was five," Venessa interrupted. "That was Kendall. She was responsible for every 'accident' that happened whenever she was over. The only person she was ever nice to was Leo."

"You seemed abnormally happy when they moved," Leo's dad said.

"It's no surprise. The last school she went to, she landed another person in the hospital and all but threatened them with her dad's position not to press charges. Give it a week or two and she'd have done the same to Davina."

Kendall stared at Venessa with wide, fearful eyes. "Y-You don't know what you're saying."

"You threatened who with what?" Kendall's dad said in a low voice. Congressman Luther was a guy that Leo had feared since he was little. Not only was he larger than the average man but he had a deep voice that could vibrate all of Leo's insides. When Kendall didn't respond, he stood. "Please, Frederick, Josephine. Could you leave us for a moment?"

Leo's mom's lips stretched into a thin line. "Sure, Luther. We were leaving anyway."

As soon as they walked out of Kendall's house, Leo pulled Venessa into a tight hug. She tapped his back in panic. "You're choking me. You're choking me," she whispered amidst laughter.

He loosened his grip. "Thank you."

Venessa flushed. "I just hate seeing David so sad...and you too. You've been a mess recently."

"David? Why's David sad?" their mom asked.

"David is Davina's brother."

"Davina is your girlfriend?" their dad asked with a wide smile.

The tips of Leo's ears began to turn red. He couldn't believe he had really spoken about her like that in front of his entire family. "I-I want to go to the hospital."

"Woah. Mom, Leo's blushing," Theo said, staring at Leo with wide eyes. "He really has a girlfriend."

Leo lifted him over his shoulder in one fell swoop. "Oh, shut it."

"Why don't we all go? I'm sure she'll be delighted to see you when she wakes up. Besides, I want to meet her."

Leo's mom hadn't smiled that wide in months. If she was this happy about a girlfriend, he could imagine what she would look like when he tells her that he got the highest mark in the summary submission of the senior year projects. "Sure. She mentioned wanting to meet you guys too."

When they arrived at the hospital, Leo's parents began to bounce in excitement. Getting to Davina's room, they heard Dory say, "Davina, you can't leave your bed yet."

Leo's heart clenched. Was she actually awake? Would she want to see him? His steps slowed, hundreds of 'what-ifs' crossing his mind in a split second. His family stopped walking when they noticed he did and returned to his side. "Aren't you going in?" his dad asked.

"Davina, hold on," David said from inside.

"But Leo," she whined. "Where is he?"

Leo's heart began to pound a mile, a minute. She wanted to see him. He creaked open her ward's door and smiled. The scene was heartwarming. Davina had a deep frown on her face and crossed her arms indignantly as her mom whispered reassurances that he would be there soon.

"Hi," Leo whispered.

Davina's eyes snapped to him and brightened. "Leo," she exclaimed and tried to scramble out of the bed, had Leo not rushed to her and held her. Her arms wrapped loosely around his torso. "I missed you. I could hear you talking to me. Sorry I didn't respond."

His chest felt so light that Leo thought he would burst into tears of relief. He patted her head gently. "Don't worry. You needed to heal."

She moved her hand to his head, digging her fingers through his hair. Her eyes dropped to his lips. He smiled and pressed his lips against hers briefly. When he pulled away, she let out a low whine and tried to move closer to him. Leo held her head away whilst laughing. "I would kiss you longer if only you didn't just come off life support."

Davina's eyes strayed behind Leo. Seeing his family standing near the door, she tilted her head. She pointed at Leo's mom. "She looks like a female you, Leo."

Leo slipped his hand around her waist. "Yeah. That's my mom."

Davina nodded. "Oh. Hello, Leo's mom."

Leo's mom beamed and she rushed over to give Davina a hug. "Hi, honey. Call me Josephine."

Davina stilled. When his mom pulled away, she blinked in confusion as her shoulders relaxed slowly. Leo grimaced. "Mom, she doesn't like being touched."

An apologetic look appeared on his mom's face. "I-I didn't know–"

"You're warm like Leo. I like that."

His mom melted. She looked at Leo with an accusatory gaze. "Why didn't you bring her around sooner?"

"You grounded me."

"Can you unground him, Ma'am? I want Leo to visit my house," Davina asked.

His mom beamed. "Of course, dear."

Leo stared at his mom in shock. "You'd wonder who was her own child?" he muttered under his breath.

"Leo," Dory said. "Do you want these snacks? Davina can't eat them because she's on a diet."

Leo smiled and took the large bag from her. "Thanks, Dory."

A hand stuck out between Leo and Davina. "Hi. I'm Frederick, Leo's father. This is Theo and Venessa."

"I know Venessa," Davina said absentmindedly, staring at the chips Leo was munching on. Leo noticed and when Dory wasn't looking, snuck a piece inside Davina's mouth. "Do you know Kendall?" she asked.

"Yes. She's a friend of the family."

"Was a friend of the family," Leo's mom corrected.

"Really? She came here this morning when Mom and David weren't around to tell me that she could make me disappear. Do you know what she meant?"