Dedicated to @-chanel for the cover at the top! Thank you!!! 💖

Cruel by Zayn? Girl Talk Boys by 5sos? Luke Robert Hemmings birthday?

Chapter Twenty Eight: "Talk."

"YOU GUYS DON'T talk anymore?" Wesley asked me through the phone.

"We kind of avoid each other well I'm avoiding him." I told him, rolling over to my stomach on my bed and thinking about how I was at his house twice and he wasn't there.

It was Wednesday and Lucas and I haven't spoken to each other since Monday considering what had happened. I did avoid him. I could see him walk down the hallway with Devin and I would automatically go through a different hallway. Plus I would actually arrive at school at least three minutes before the bell would ring so he hasn't come to my locker also I would practically run out of third to steer clear of him.

So yeah, I was avoiding him.

Wesley groaned. "I'm sorry I still can't get other the fact that he didn't say anything. What a dick."

I was about to retort and tell Wesley not to call Lucas a dick but held myself back, rolling again to look up at my ceiling. "Whatever. It's whatever."

"C'mon Sid. I know it's not whatever. You actually like this guy, it's not a middle school crush, it was- it is the real deal. You like him a lot."

"Thanks for reminding me." I blew out air before sitting up and looking over at the window. It was getting cold seeing as it was November and I wore a sweater despite the heater being turned on in the house. It was actually so cold that at school everyone that was in the quad relocated to the cafeteria including the little group I was part of and Joey and Lydia's group of friends.

"He's an idiot."

"He's not an idiot." I sighed.

"Yes he is. You're my best friend Sid. If that guy can't realize what a great person you are then he's an idiot and doesn't deserve you."

There was a moment of silence between the two of us and I forcefully changed the subject. "How's school?"

"How are you?"

"I asked you a question Wes." I almost whined.

"I'm not answering the question like you're my mom Sid." 

"I'm not answering your question like you're my therapist Wesley." I muttered back.

"So clearly by my observation this has affected you more than I thought it would."

"You know how you liked Grace for like four years?" I asked him. Grace was a girl Wesley had spent half of high school and elementary school stuck over. He was practically in love with her. But then when he finally tried going after her, he got shut down. Badly. But he was over it now.

"Yeah."

"I'm possibly feeling exactly how you felt in grade ten."

"Oh shit."

"Yeah." I clipped out, tracing the windowsill with my finger.

Wesley sighed and I heard voices in the background. "Sydney, I'll call you in a bit, my mom's calling me out. Just hang in there okay."

"I'm holding on, talk to you later." I told him, leaning my head against the window and hanging up.

I got up looking at the shelf my mom had put up somehow was now over my desk. I had put the big trophies on there, including the three National trophies I had won from my solos. Even with some small trophies and medals on the shelf, not all could fit and were stuffed in a box in my closet.

I escaped my room and walked over to the living room, settling on the couch upside down, my feet hanging over the back.

My mom sat down beside me. "No homework?"

"Finished." I answered, opening up my phone when suddenly the door knocked.

I took my eyes off of the screen as my mom opened the door without looking through the peephole distracted by her own phone. "Who is..."

Dad.

Shit, it was my dad.

I got off of the couch quickly, looking over to make sure it was actually him. It was.

He had a cap on his head like always, his black hair disappearing. He was taller than my mom and reached my height at 5'8. They always said I might get taller than my dad because my mom's brother was tall and my grandpa was near his height too but I doubted it.

Anyway, dad had his black winter jacket on, his blue worn out gloves over his hands.

He looked the same.

Like nothing changed.

He looked past my mother and over at me. "Sydney."

I didn't say anything. I could only stare at him. This was the man who made my mom suffer so much heartbreak over the past months. Who made her move out of the city so that she would never see him again. But here he was. In our very home.

I looked at my mom to see her staring at him with an empty look in her eyes. Like she wasn't sure it was him. But I knew that would change. Suddenly her eyes were ignited with anger. "Why are you here?"

"Ella, just let me come in and speak to my daughter. I haven't seen her in months."

"No."

"Ella-"

"I said no Joshua, no."

"Mom," I murmured. "Let him in or else you'll cause a scene." I gave her a certain look reminding her that we had neighbors all over the place and that we lived in an apartment now, not a house.

She glared at him before stepping to the side. My dad stepped in, walking over to me to wrap me in an embrace. I couldn't help but hug him back, inhaling the familiar scent of him and tobacco and I knew he must've smoked before he came here. I always hated it when he smoked that cancer stick but he never did it around me. 

I let go first and he cupped my face in his hands. "Sydney how are you? How is school?"

"I-I'm fine dad. I'm fine. School's great and everything."

"Good, good , I missed you anak." I missed hearing that as well.

"I missed you too. But why are you here?"

"Because I wanted to see and talk to you."

I froze at the serious tone in his voice and looked over at my mom who was watching us with crossed arms, not saying a word. "What do you want to talk about?"

He pulled out something from his pocket first and handed it to me. My eyes widened as I stared at the latest iPhone in my hand.

What the actual...

This was a major upgrade from the shitty blackberry that was in my hand. "What? What is this for?"

"It's for you." He said.

I was probably staring at the box like a freak because I haven't felt this much excitement since I got my iPod back in like the eighth grade. "Thank you." I said with gratitude but was also feeling very confused.

"But we need to talk."

"Wha-What do we need to talk about?"

"Well, I know you just said that you're doing well in school and everything but don't you miss home?"

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. Was he honestly asking me what he was thinking?

"Wait," My mother said and we both looked at her. "Are you asking Sydney to go back to Toronto with you?"

My father turned around to look at my mom and it was then that I realized how separate these two really were now. "She's my daughter."

"She's my daughter too." My mother shot back starting to walk towards him.

My eyes widened at what was happening and I felt as if a war was breaking out in front of me. "She needs her father." My dad argued.

"Who she needs is her mother."

"Oh please Ella, what the poor girl needs is a taste of freedom and she won't get it if she lives with you."

"Oh and she needs freedom with you? You're not going to care for her properly. You're going to let her do anything. There are rules in life and I am teaching her how to follow them and become an adult."

"By what? Locking her in this place you call home? She's seventeen."

"She's my daughter."

"Ellie, she's my daughter as well."

By now they were shouting at one another and by now I was sure that the entire floor could hear their argument but I didn't care. I watched my parents fight and I took deep breaths trying to calm down the tears that were forming in my eyes. I felt overwhelmed.

"Don't call me that." My mother yelled at him, referring to when he said her old nickname. "You don't just show up here ready to take my daughter back to Toronto, with you and bribing her with a new phone."

"Our divorce hasn't even been finalized. We haven't decided who has custody of her yet."

"You don't get it. Why would she want to stay with you anyway? You're the one who tore this family apart."

"It was a mistake!"

"Seeing another woman for over a year-for that period of time must not have been a mistake Joshua. Don't come in here and lie to me."

"Our marriage was failing anyway Danielle. I knew it. You knew that."

"We could've fixed it Joshua. We fixed a lot of problems in the past but you caused this one to be unfixable. And now you think Sydney wants to go with you."

By now I felt incredibly uncomfortable and I needed to get out of the room. Out of this apartment. Out of this building. Away from the both of them.

"She does. I know she missed her father."

"Why-"

"STOP IT!" I yelled, feeling my mind and heart going on overload. "Can you both please just stop yelling?"

"Sydney-" My father reached out towards me but I didn't want him nor my mom to touch me.

"I-I can't do this." I threw the phone on the couch and ran out of there. Away from them.

I heard both my mom and dad yelling for me as I ran and took the stairs out of the building, not bothering to go through the elevator. I ran out of the building and kept running, not knowing where the hell I was going. 

I ran where my legs took me, past houses, past buildings, past stores, past the pizza store I worked at for like five minutes. I wiped the tears coming out with the back of my hand before I stopped right in front of Hamilton Academy of the Arts.

I took deep breaths, taking a seat on the stairs before pulling my crappy blackberry out of my pocket. I dialed up a number holding it up to my ear. He picked up on the second ring. "Hey."

"Hi."

"I was-Wait, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"How could you tell?" I asked him, sniffing.

"Because I can. Where are you? Home?"

"N-No, I'm at the school. I ran all the way here."

"Sydney, you ran? It's freezing outside. Do you even have a jacket?"

"No. I'm just wearing a sweater." I became aware of the wind around me and could feel myself freezing up.

"Holy shit. I'm coming to get you Canada girl, hang tight okay?"

"Okay." I whispered, hanging up the phone and crossing my arms.

My gaze was on the railing beside the stairs and I felt my focus shift. All I think about was how dad came out of nowhere and the arguments started. They started and before they never stopped. Usually things were broken and my aunt would come in and break the fight before it got too bad.

I don't know how long I was thinking for but I heard the screech of the car before I saw it. Lucas ran out of the car wearing a windbreaker jacket and carrying one in his hand. He reached me, the frames of his glasses foggy as he quickly took them off. He bent down to the level of where I was sitting, kneeling on the steps.

He stretched his arms out and enveloped me in his arms. I felt the tears prick in my eyes as I hugged him back, feeling warmer. I let go first and he cupped my face in his hands. "What happened?"

I sighed, feeling the tension around me. I reached up and pulled my hair out my ponytail roughly, not caring about the bobby pins that were falling out, needing to be free of something. "My...my dad came. He wants me to move back to Toronto with him."

Lucas sucked in a breath. "What?"

"Yeah, he came in with a new phone bribing me to go with him. He just expects me to go with him." I huffed, wiping my eyes again. "I'm sorry I know I sound stupid."

"No, no, no," Lucas muttered, taking the jacket and wrapping it around my shoulders before grabbing my hands. "This situation is not stupid and it is completely normal for you to feel this way."

"I'm sorry I just feel overwhelmed. To be honest I never thought I would ever see him again."

"Sydney, stop apologizing. You have nothing to be sorry about, okay?" He sat down next to me, still holding his hand in mine.   

I sniffed and he took his hand off of mine only to throw a comforting arm around me and hold my hand with his other. I leaned my head near the side of his chest and shoulder out of impulse and wasn't sure if he minded. "Hey Canada girl?" He whispered.

"Yeah?"

"Would you go? Back to Toronto?"

His sudden question made me flinch and it made me grip his hand tighter in my hand. "Um...I-I don't know. I had friends and family there but here I understand why my mom left and came here but I have friends here too and.,."

"And what?"

"A-And you're here."

I felt Lucas bury his face in my hair and I could feel his lips quirk up in a smile before mouth shifted into what was probably a frown. Why was he doing this when it was obvious he didn't like me? "But you're still not sure?"

"No...I'm not sure. I think moving here was the right thing to do. Not just for my mom but for me. I like it here."

"But you also like home." Lucas mumbled against my hair.

I sighed. "Of course I like home. I've been there my whole life."

"Okay." He whispered, moving his head away from my hair. I felt the absence of his presence against me before I felt pressure on the side of my head. I moved slightly only to realize that Lucas had kissed the side of my head, almost as if he was assuring me. I didn't care if this action itself like the others sent me mixed signals but I didn't think about it.

I could feel the breeze of the wind hit me again but this time my feet. I came to realize that I left the house wearing my slippers and I swore under my breath.

Lucas noticed and snorted looking down at my feet. "Red nail polish like that-"

I rolled my eyes, the both of us getting up and walking towards his car. "Don't even say anything. It's not like the Canada flag."

He only laughed and I missed our interaction. 

He drove me home and while sitting in his car I looked through the window and up at where the lights to the inside of our apartment were on. "I really hope he left." I whispered.

I turned to Lucas who was already staring at me. "If you need anything, even if it's at 3 AM in the morning, call me okay?"

I nodded and sighed, remembering this is the first time we've talked in two days. "Lucas about the other day, can we just forg-"

He stopped me with the raise of his hand. "Sydney we can talk about it whenever. I think you should honestly talk to your family before anything else. It's more important, trust me."      

I agreed with another nod and closed the door. Lucas gave me a small smile before driving off. By the time I got upstairs, I stood at the door not knowing if I wanted to enter the room or not.

Before I could even make a decision, the door opened itself and my mom stepped out sighing in relief. I could hear the string of Spanish flood out of her mouth, most were curse words but she ended off in English, her hands by my arms as she closed the door. "Where were you? Whose jacket is that? Where did you go-"

"Mom calm down." I told her, gently prying her arms off of me as I took Lucas' jacket off of me. "It's Lucas'. You know one of the Cahill's, the one with glasses?"

"Oh the nice boy."

"Yeah the nice boy." I almost laughed, hugging the jacket to my chest. "He gave me a ride home. I'm here now..." I looked around. "Where is he?"

"He left." My mom mumbled.

I rolled my lips into my mouth and nodded slowly, giving my mm a tight smile. "you know he'll be back."

"He's your father," My mom sighed, tiredness clear on her face. "He loves you so he is going to come back. Our marriage may have fallen apart but he is still your father."

I sighed, not saying anything as my mother looked at me closely. "Go to bed, you had a long day and we have the wedding dinner tomorrow."

I've had a long week, I thought.

I followed her orders, walking towards my room as she gave me a weak smile but I looked back at her. Sure she didn't give me much freedom but she provided me love and a home and everything else some people would be wishing. She was strong. One of the strongest people I knew.

"I'm not going with him. He could buy me a plane, a million phones and I honestly wouldn't go." I said truthfully. Even though I missed living in Toronto, I would miss living with my mom even more.

That weak smile on her face brightened up a little and I returned it before going back to my room.