The spark in the air quickly fades but Topher's eyes remain on his son.

"My apologies. I didn't think she'd leave if I asked her to and I need to speak with you. I'd prefer not to do it while your girlfriend is around."

"Anything you want to say to me you can say in front of Ellie," Liam coldly responds. Topher raises an eyebrow while settling onto the corner of his desk and then folds his arms in front of him. We still have plenty of space between us and a direct line to the door but I don't feel safe.

"I must admit Liam, this is not how I pictured reuniting with you. I've been trying to find you for a long time," Topher admits with a slight shake of his head. The resemblance is uncanny and I still have a hard time looking directly into Topher's eyes.

"You know you wouldn't have had to find me if you hadn't left me to begin with," Liam says with a shoulder shrug. "To be honest I thought you might have been dead, so I never bothered looking for you." He's now slouched in his seat looking far more relaxed than when we first sat down.

"What do you mean dead? Your mother never told you where I was?" Topher asks, after looking like he's been slapped.

"What? Where you were? I didn't think she knew."

"Of course she knew. She never told you why I left?" Topher asks and then adds, "Have you told her about finding me now?" Liam shifts his weight so he's now leaning over the small desk.

"Neither she nor I have mentioned you in years. I hardly have any communication with her as is and she hasn't answered her phone in the past two days so I could inform her that you were in the vicinity," he answers in a casual tone but the disdain for her is there. A puzzling look crosses Topher's face and his arms fall to his sides.

"What do you mean you hardly communicate with her? Didn't you live with her up until a week ago?" Topher snaps, clearly confused since he has no idea what Liam's been putting up with these past ten years.

"I don't know what you'd call the living arrangements mom and I have had since you left. I mean, did we move to the same cities and into one house? Yes. Does that mean we were ever in the same place at the same time? No. That makes communication a bit hard," Liam retorts and his answer makes Topher shake his head.

"Your mom hasn't been taking care of you?" Topher asks, completely flabbergasted that he even has to ask this question. Liam lets out a loud scoff as he hits his hand on the desk which causes me to jolt in my seat.

"I've been taking care of her since you up and left us with nothing!" Liam snaps. The room is silent again and Topher's focus is now on the floor. His legs are extended in front of him while his right foot quickly bobs on top of his left. Liam's knee is rapidly bouncing up and down but he remains hunched over the small desk. There must not be a class in this room after Topher's because no one has tried opening the door since the last student filed out of it.

"She hasn't told you anything?" Topher asks quietly while bringing his gaze back to Liam, "You have no idea where I've been, do you?"

"All mom told me, and everyone else that asked was that you were in Chicago. You got a job in the city and mom didn't want to uproot me in the middle of the school year. Eventually, it turned into you leaving us behind for a better life. That's the story I have been getting for ten years and I've been believing it for about eight."

"That's not true Liam. None of that is true. I can't believe that's what you thought because it's so far from the truth," Topher responds with a much kinder tone, as if he's speaking to the carefree eight-year-old Liam he remembers instead of the jaded eighteen-year-old mystery before him.

"Well, I'm here now so care to enlighten me?" Liam asks, still with a hint of attitude. I don't blame him for keeping his walls up as he has no idea who this man before him really is.

Topher lets out an exasperated breath, "I don't even know where to start Liam, I had no idea you were clueless as to my whereabouts." I can tell he's completely at a loss. I believe Topher's exasperation is genuine and I understand Liam's frustration with the situation. There is still so much tension between them you could cut it with a knife, but Topher seems to be thawing faster than Liam. There is literally so much space between them and the classroom setting for a family reunion is not ideal.

My phone suddenly buzzing in my bag snaps everyone's attention to me. I reach for it and see Harper calling. I quickly hit "decline" and stow my phone back inside my bag. I don't think either of them remembered I was here until my phone went off.

"Can we go somewhere else and speak more privately?" Topher suggests and Liam looks over at me.

"We can go wherever but Ellie is coming with me," Liam responds and Topher nods to the door, clearly giving up any argument he had about me being there. I scoop my backpack up and lead Liam down the rows of seats to the closed door. Topher motions for us to exit first and I focus on keeping my mind closed as we file out.