Connor was at an impasse. He could talk to Evan's mom about his concerns – he knew she'd appreciate it and it would be simple, he had her number. Doing so, however, would likely shatter the trust between the two. What else could Connor do, though? He knew Evan needed help and that he couldn't be the person to do that. It appeared he didn't need to tell anyone when his phone went off.
Heidi
Connor?
I'm concerned about Evan
Connor
thank god
They spoke very vaguely about their concerns, Connor not mentioning Evan's eating habits or weight once. The conversation ended with Heidi insisting she had a potential solution but never fully explaining it to Connor. A week had passed and Connor was sitting on Evan's bed laughing about an inside joke when they heard the door unlock.
"I thought your mom had the night shift." Connor whined as Evan stood to go investigate.
"I thought so, too." Evan shrugged, opening his bedroom door and making his way downstairs, Connor following closely behind. Suddenly, Evan stopped dead in his tracks, breath hitched in his throat, causing Connor to look up. There was a man who looked to be in his early forties stood in the kitchen, resting their spare key on the counter.
"Dad?" Evan stammered, visibly shocked.
"Hey, Ev, " the man smiled at Evan before spotting Connor, "who's this?"
When Evan didn't speak, Connor figured it'd be best for him to just introduce himself, "I'm Connor, Evan's friend."
Evan made sure to choose his words and actions carefully, not possessing much trust for the man that had left him and his mother for ten years without bothering to call or even send a Christmas card. His father seemed to have nothing but good intentions, and maybe it was childish, but Evan had fantasized about the day his father returned for years. He just wanted a happy family.
"We have some catching up to do." Evan's father smiled, grabbing Evan's coat from the hook by the front door. "I was thinking we could go out for dinner."
"Oh..." Evan mentally debated in his head, looking between Connor and his dad before responding, "Connor just got here, and we were really looking f-forward to hanging out."
"Connor can tag along. A friend of Evan's is a friend of mine."
Evan couldn't help but feel slightly cautious as the three of them left the house. Ten years. Ten years his father had been gone, leaving Evan and Heidi to fend for themselves, a single mother raising a handful of a child. Ten years of his father raising a perfectly happy and healthy set of perfect twins with his perfect wife in their perfect house, probably with a perfect dog, and now he was here, waltzing back into Evan's life as if he'd never left. That was not normal.
Evan elected to sit in the back with Connor, causing his father to raise his eyebrows in confusion but not push the issue. He silently started the car, an uncomfortable silence hanging over the group.
"So..." Connor began, his voice cutting the silence, "where are we going?"
"There's a small family-owned diner down the street from where I used to live." Evan's father began, "I figured I could take Evan there. The owner is a good friend of mine that hasn't seen him since he was a kid–"
"Since you left." Evan corrected, shocking himself.
"Anyways," his father shook it off, shooting a glare Evan's way, "she'd love to see you."
Evan dug his nails into his palm and bit his lip. He never added to conversations, let alone anything rude or passive-aggressive. Connor pulled his hand away from the other, holding it while rubbing his thumb over it softly when Evan's phone went off.
Con :-)
you're okay
Evan smiled to himself as he squeezed Connor's hand as a silent thank you. The rest of the ride was silent – uncomfortably so. The entire drive consisted of Evan racking his brain for something to bring up, before deciding on, "S-so how's your family?"
"They're good." Evan watched as a smile involuntarily spread over his father's face, wondering if that same smile appeared whenever Evan was the topic of conversation – if he was ever the topic of conversation. "The twins are top of their class – God, that school is expensive – and Sara and I have another on the way."
"Y-you're having another kid?" Evan asked in bewilderment.
"Yup, a baby boy. I finally get another man in the house."
Evan wanted so badly to speak up. He wanted to point out that he would already have another man in the house if he hadn't left. He wanted to ask why his new kids got the luxury if private school when he never did. He wanted to ask if he was proud of him for being well on his way to graduating, but the question that stuck out most in his mind was the one that he couldn't prevent from coming out.
"Why did you leave?"
