The Boys and Me

59. I Can Be Real

"This is probably a stupid idea, right?" Todd asked me, for about the tenth time in the short ride from school to his house. I sighed, getting fed up and finally telling him what I thought.

"Todd, I don't know if this is good or not. If you think me talking to your mom is a good idea, then it probably is. Because I don't know a thing about her or her personality" I said and he sighed.

"I'm sorry. I love my mom, you know? I know I pretty much only disappoint but I do love her. I just can't stand her thinking the worst of me so anything to help that" He said, the conversation going way more serious than I could have asked for.

"Todd, I'm sure she's proud of you. Even though you fuck up sometimes. A parent, a real parent, is always gonna be there for you and love you, no matter what" I said and he sighed.

"Shit, I'm sorry" He muttered and I shrugged.

"I guess I've seen something like this coming for a long time, I was never theirs and I knew it was always that way but up until recently I didn't know exactly why" I said and he nodded, pulling into a driveway and turning the car off.

"I should also warn you, I have a younger sister. She's eight and her names Sophia. She reminds me a lot of you because she's fucking nosy" He said and I smiled.

"Might be nice seeing you be affectionate for once, I might actually feel sorry for kicking your ass" I joked and he laughed as we climbed out of the car and walked towards the front door.

"Mom?" Todd called out, footsteps running towards us. A small girl with light skin, light hair and freckles ran out and threw herself at Todd.

"You're home!" She exclaimed as he smiled and pulled her close, kissing her cheek.

"Sophia, this is my friend Alissa" He said, the small girl's eyes meeting mine.

"What happened to her?" She asked, me remembering the black eye and other injuries.

"Remember how mom got mad at me for getting in a fight?" He asked and she nodded.

"Alissa was the one I fought" He said and she looked to him, confused.

"You hit a girl?" She asked and he sighed, nodding.

"That's why mom was so mad." He explained and she nodded.

"Is mom home?" He asked as he put her down, she nodded and ran off somewhere else in the house. He sighed and rolled his eyes, leading me through to the kitchen where his mom was standing, doing something with food.

"Mom?" He asked and she turned to look at us. Well I thought Todd's sister looked nothing like him but holy shit, I think he was the adopted one. His mom had blonde hair and light skin, much like his sister and very much the opposite of Todd.

"I can only assume this is Alissa, because of the black eye" She said, somewhat flustered.

"Yes, this is Alissa. And I brought her here to meet you" He said and she looked to me.

"Is he paying you to tell me something I want to hear?" She accused and I shook my head, my eyebrows raising in complete and utter shock. I mean, given the way Cori was and the way Todd had talked about her, I figured she was at least on my side. Or maybe this was her weird way of showing it.

"No, of course not" I defended and she looked to Todd.

"I don't know what you're trying to do Todd Smith but I'm not going to be made the fool every damn time you scheme" She said and Todd groaned, clearly getting frustrated.

"Hey, relax" I whispered and he looked to me.

"It's bad enough I was mean to you, she has no right to be" He said. Yet again I was faced with a look of genuine concern on Todd's face and I felt something melt inside me, my eyes threatening to pool with tears. I shrugged it off before looking back to Todd and offering a reassuring smile.