The rest of my time spent at the Sullivan house is filled with awkward silence and the occasional clink of a fork on a plate.

At one point Chris left the table and I didn't see him again. He had just said that he needed to take care of something, but I know it was because of what Connor had just revealed.

It hurt to learn that Connors mom left his family, but it hurt even more that he thought he couldn't tell me that.

Connor gets up and grabs his plate and mine, clearing up the table. He places them in the sink and stands there for a moment, looking out the window.

"I should probably take you home Nova," he sighs.

"No! Don't leave yet! I have to pack up your cookies!" Jenny exclaims as she jumps out of her chair.

I smile. "You can pack up the cookies while I go pack up all of my own stuff. Don't worry Jenny, I won't leave here without those cookies."

I get up from the table and go back into the living room to pack up my notebooks and other random things that I had taken out.

After I pack up everything, I look around the living room and notice new things. None of the pictures include Connors mom, which I should have noticed before I created this whole mess.

I go back into the kitchen and Jenny is holding a container along with another smaller bag, filled with cookies.

"There is one big container for all of your friends but I added this extra bag for Jasper because I remember that you said that he liked them the most," Jenny explains.

"I'm sure he will love that. Thank you."

Before I take them from her hands, she sets them down on the counter and quickly hugs me. I hug her back and she tilts her head up to whisper something in my ear.

"Please don't hate him. He needs you."

I smile and whisper back, "I won't, don't you worry."

I release her from our hug and grab the cookies off of the counter. I look at Connor who is standing by the door, with a blank look on his face.

I wave goodbye to Jenny and follow Connor out the door and into his car.

We drive in silence, neither of us really sure what to say. I keep wanting to say something but everything that comes to my mind just doesn't seem right.

Soon we cross back into Eastwood and the familiarity of the town brings a little more comfort to me.

Connor suddenly makes a turn that is not the way to my house.

I look at him curiously, "Where are we going?"

He glances at me but doesn't say anything else. He just stays completely silent.

We continue to drive for a little longer until I finally realize where he is taking me.

He soon pulls up and parks next to the park where we agreed that we would be friends. He gets out of the car and nods towards the bench where we sat and I follow him.

The sun is just setting so I can see some of the stars in the sky as I walk over to join him.

When I sit down next to him, I expect him to say something but all I get is more silence.

Frustrated, I finally speak up. "Are you going to say something? I can't take this silence anymore."

"What do you want me to say?" He sighs.

"I don't know Connor. Maybe I want some kind of explanation, like why didn't you tell me this before? Why did this have to be a secret?"

"I was embarrassed. It's not something that you just casually throw into a conversation. Like, 'Hey just to let you all know, my mom left us to go be with some other guy! Now how about that math test?'" Connor remarks.

I look over at him and I can tell that he is getting frustrated.

"She left you guys to be with someone else?" I ask.

Pain floods his face and he slumps down.

"Yeah. This past summer actually. She gave no warning whatsoever, all we got was a note that she was gone. It destroyed us, it destroyed my dad. He's been depressed ever since, tonight was actually a really good night, but I think he was just putting up a good front for your sake," Connor explains.

I think back to tonight and try to remember if Chris had given off any signs to his mental issues, but I can't remember anything.

I guess that just shows that you never truly know if someone is hurting. People always hide behind a smiling face.

"I'm so sorry that you had to deal with all of that alone Connor. You should have been able to trust me enough to tell me that though. Don't you trust me?"

He looks at me now. "Of course I trust you Nova. I just didn't want to tell you yet. You all had just started to accept me as one of your friends and I didn't want to get any pity from you guys," he mutters.

"Connor, not everyone has a perfect family life. We all understand that, some of us more than others."

"But you guys never talk about things like that. You guys never talk about real life things, it's like you guys try to live in some fairytale world!" He says angrily.

Not expecting that comment from him, I get angry. I start to feel tears sting at my eyes and I know that if I open my mouth they will start to fall, but I don't care.

"You don't get to come in and talk about how we work as friends, you barely know us! I was trying to show you that I'm supportive and that you can trust me, but then you take a dig at my friends? This isn't about them, this is about you!" I yell, tears now streaming down my face.

Noticing my tears, his expression softens. "Why are you crying?"

"Because I'm fucking angry Connor! I was just starting to trust you and this whole time you didn't even trust me," I shout.

Shocked by my outburst, I cover my mouth and look around the neighborhood to make sure that I didn't draw any attention to us.

I cover my face and just cry. I hate getting angry and I never wanted to yell at Connor. I'm sure he never wants to talk to me about anything ever again after how badly I reacted.

"I'm sorry, I overreacted," I mumble through my hands.

I feel a hand on my back and it starts to move in slow circles. I'm still a little upset so I feel like I should swat it away, but there is something very soothing about his presence.

"I actually think you reacted pretty normal. You shouldn't be sorry, I should. You and your friends have really accepted me and I shouldn't have said anything about them. You were right, this isn't about them. This is about me and my own issues," Connor says.

I wipe away my tears and take a deep breath. "You need to be able to open up to people. All of us will listen to you and be there for you if you need it. That is how we are as friends. You just have to be willing enough to see that."

Connor takes his hand away from my back and holds it in his lap. "I really am sorry. Sometimes I don't think through what I'm saying until it's too late. I never wanted to make you cry."

I sniffle my nose and give a small smile. "I don't think many people want to make others cry. That would just be cruel. Also, we both said some shitty things a moment ago and I think it would be best if we just forget that that ever happened."

"Yeah, I agree that we shouldn't say those things again, but that is a part of conversation. We both need to be comfortable talking about things that are uncomfortable. Personally, I don't want to forget that this conversation ever happened because I think both of us really needed it," Connor says and then looks up into the night sky.

I think about what he said and I find myself agreeing with him. We can't forget that this conversation ever happened, because if we did then we would both be back right where we started.

As much as I hate to admit it, I know that my conversation skills need work. I have a hard time saying what I truly feel and for once I was actually able to do that tonight, even if it was in anger.

"You're right. Let's agree to not be afraid of the tough conversations and that we can both come to each other whenever we need to," I offer.

I look over at him and see a big grin on his face. He turns and sees that I'm looking at him, and the grin turns into a full smile.

"Look at us. Making another agreement at this bench. First it was to be friends and now it's to become better people. I wonder what else will happen here," he muses.

I shake my head and smile. "Only good things. Let's try to not bring any more negativity here. This can be our happy place."

"I would really like that Superstar."

I lean against his shoulder and look up at the night sky. The stars are really beautiful tonight.

After a few minutes of us staring at the sky, Connor clears his throat and I sit up.

"I probably should actually take you home now. We might have a presentation to give tomorrow," he says.

"Ugh. Don't remind me," I groan.

We walk back to his car and this time while we are driving, there is still silence, but it is now comfortable.

Connor pulls into my driveway and I feel like I need to say something.

"Uh- thank you. Thank you for being honest with me," I say.

"Thank you for accepting me. And don't worry, I will tell everyone about my... situation. I won't keep it a secret anymore."

"I'm glad," I say as I get out of the car.

Just as I'm about to close the door I quickly say, "Tell your dad it was great meeting him. I can't wait to see him again. Jenny too."

He smiles and nods his head. I watch as he pulls out of the driveway and then head inside. When I get inside my parents are sitting on the couch watching a show.

When I walk in, their attention turns to me and my dad pauses the show, indicating that he wants to talk.

Great, more talking.

"Where were you Nova?" my dad asks.

Shit, I never texted them where I was going.

"I was at Connors house, we had to work on a project for school. I stayed there for dinner and then he drove me home. I'm sorry I didn't text you guys, I forgot," I say quickly.

My mom sighs. "It's fine sweetie, just try to remember next time. We would just like to know where you are."

I nod my head. "It won't happen again, I promise."

"Before you go up to your room we just wanted to ask you something else," my dad says just as I started to walk away.

As soon as he said that, everything I've ever done starts to cross through my mind and I'm scared to hear what my dad has to ask.

"Do you know what is going on with Greyson?" He asks.

I sigh and then remember that he was in a bad mood today after school.

"No I don't. I tried to ask him after school but he didn't want to talk about it. Do you guys have any idea?"

My mom looks at me sadly. "No we don't. I'm assuming it probably has something to do with Lila but I really doubt that they broke up or anything."

I know I joked about being okay with Lila breaking up with my brother, but if that actually happened I might have to kick her ass.

"I'll try to talk to him again," I say as I walk up to my room.

I quickly drop off all of my things in my room and then walk down the hall to Greysons door. I give a light knock and hear a grunt, which I assume means that I can come in.

I slowly open his door and see him lying on his bed with his headphones on. I walk over and sit on the edge of his bed and he takes his headphones off.

"What do you want Nova?" He grumbles.

"I just wanted to know if you are ready to talk about what happened yet. Something is clearly bothering you," I say softly.

He sits up and crosses his arms. "Why do you care so much?"

"Because I'm your sister and I want to help. I know you might not want to talk about it, but trust me, we need to be able to have tough conversations. I should know, my day has been full of them," I mutter.

He just scowls and looks away from me. I guess I'm going to have to go into interrogation mode.

"Did something happen with Lila? Did you guys break up?"

His eyes widen. "No! Why would you ask that?"

"Well I don't know what could have you this upset! I'm just trying to figure out what's going on with you," I say heatedly.

"Fine. Something did happen with Lila, but we didn't break up. But honestly, she should after what I did," he grumbles.

My mind starts to race with all of the possibilities of what Greyson could have done. Each idea I come up with just seems worse than the last. I decide to just wait and let him talk before I start blabbing with my own thoughts.

"One of my friends said something about her and I didn't say anything back. I just listened and even laughed along with them," he continues.

"What did they say?" I ask hesitantly.

"I don't really want to get into the specifics but it was bad Nova. They said some racist thing about her and how she should be thankful that she's dating me. And I just stood there and listened to them," he mutters as he curls up on his bed.

I was not expecting him to say that and I try to think of how I can help him. Unfortunately, racism is still very relevant even in our small town.

"You know, Lila really likes you for who you are. I think the best thing you can do is tell her what happened, a relationship needs to be built on honesty. Talk to her about it and see what she says," I suggest.

He uncurls and sits back up on his bed. "You don't think she is going to break up with me?"

"I don't think she will, as long as you two talk," I say as a I stand up.

Just as I'm about to leave his room I turn back around. "Oh and make sure to tell a teacher who the kid was. Or at least beat him up when nobody's looking. He's not your friend anymore."

Greyson smiles, "Thanks Nova."

I walk out of his room and then flop back down on my own bed.

Today has been a long day and I feel like I've talked more today than I have in my entire life.

But every conversation that I had today was needed. It's hard to talk about complicated things, but it needs to happen.

Thinking about how crazy today had been, I wonder how the rest of the week is going to go.

And it's only Monday.

***

Thank you so much for reading!

I'm not going to lie, this chapter kind of hurt to write. I don't like seeing my characters upset! But sadly it needs to happen.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please comment and vote, I would really appreciate it.

Love you all!❤️