When Landon stepped into his door, he was met with a hug so tight it was painful. He had to catch the wind knocked out of him before he could even begin to tell Rafael where he had been. 
“You found your mom?” Rafael asked incredulously when Landon finished his story.
“Yeah, I tracked her all the way to Georgia, to the coffee shop where she works.” Landon smiled at the memory of the first time he walked in there before he actually remembered what came next. “Just for her to lie to me and say she doesn’t have kids.”
“It’s probably not something she just tells to strangers, Lan.” 
Landon began pacing again, all the nervous energy from when he was telling his story coming back. “I thought about telling her who I was and just …” He trailed off, shaking his head. “But then I thought maybe I’d rather not know.”
“That’s probably for the best -”
Rafael was cut off by a knock at their door. Landon turned and swung the door open, freezing when he saw Hope standing there. 
Her eyes shifted smoothly from him to where Rafael stood behind him, almost like she’d never seen Landon in the first place.
“I see you’re busy, Raf,” Hope said pointedly. “My talk can wait. I’m going to go hit in the gym for a bit if you want to join me later.”
“Uh …” Rafael glanced between the back of Landon’s head and Hope’s face. Landon just kept staring at her with wide eyes. “Sure, Hope,” Rafael said finally, giving her a quick smile.
Hope glanced back at Landon, her eyes betraying her for just a fraction of a second. “Then I’ll see you later, Raf.” 
As soon as she was gone off in the direction of the gym, Rafael stepped up next to Landon. “Dude, she is pissed at you.”