Far From Perfect || Tronnor

18: Strong

Connor came over and sat down on the bed beside me. Tyler and Zoe sat across from us leaving Alfie just standing by the foot of the bed. The phone was lying right in the middle of Tyler, Zoe, Connor, and I. Tyler and Zoe looked worried, but not overly frightened like Connor and me. They were informed that Connor got kicked out; they just didn't know all the details. Alfie, however, was not aware of the situation Connor and his parents were in. That explained why he looked super confused and really lost.

"Let's explain your situation to these guys before answering the call. We can always phone her back," I suggested quietly to Connor. He was sitting with crossed legs, and his elbows were rested on the bed in front of him, his hands over his mouth. He didn't look sad, but he did look stressed. I draped my arm around his back, feeling the warmth of his back on the inside of my arm. I could feel him relax under my touch.

Connor nodded and looked over at the other people in the room. Before speaking, he declined the call, and sat up further into my arm. "It isn't really that complex of a story," He started. I gave his waist a squeeze as if to encourage him to continue. Instead of watching everyone else, Connor turned his face to me. He looked super nervous and scared. That emotion was ironic considering what puppies my friends are. He was looking directly in my eyes, and he whispered, "I can't tell them..."

I turned him to face me, and leaned in and whispered in his ear, "Tell me then." After I leaned back out again, I noticed how red his face had turned due to my proximity. Despite the circumstances, I took pride in making him blush.

He nodded and began to tell me the basics. "My religious parents kicked me out after I came out to them... What was it now? I think it was yesterday..." He said trying to figure out when said incident had taken place. I nodded confirming his words. "So I've been staying with you until something happens," He continued, not once taking his eyes off me. "And now that bitch thinks she can just call me!" His sad face changed to one of anger, which caught me off guard. Honestly, I was proud that Connor was slowly coming out of his self-loathing stage and just generally realizing the situation for who was at fault. His cheeks were splotched red and tears were slowly running down. I still couldn't tell if they were from the hurt he had experienced or if he was actually that pissed at his parents.

I gave Connor a hug, and slowly, everyone else joined the hug. I found it crazy how despite knowing him for less than a day, my friends were already protecting him and comforting him. I didn't quite understand what was happening between Connor and his group of friends, but I figured that was for him to figure out. Until then, I was going to try my best to be there for him.

 "Do you want to call her back?" Alfie, out of all people, asked. We slowly pulled out of the hug, awaiting his answer. He nodded, wiping his eyes with the palm of his hands. I took the sleeves of my jumper and wiped the rest of the tears on his cheeks that he had missed. He gave me and the rest of the group a small smile, which comforted me. That one small action meant so much to me, because it showed that Connor could see the small fraction of hope that the situation had brought us.

"Hey, Connor? Before we do that, do you need some water or something?" I asked. He looked at me with gratefulness written all over his features. We rhetorically got up and headed out the room. Never once did my grip on his waist falter. I could easily tell that he needed me to walk; he was incredibly shaky and weak.

Before we made it to the beginning of the stairway, I heard Tyler say under his breath, "Relationship goals." I almost chuckled at this, but didn't in case Connor would question it.

When Connor and I finally arrived in the kitchen, I encouraged him to sit down at the table. "So," I began. I ran over to the cupboards and grabbed two glasses out and started to fill them with water. "Why is your mom trying to get a hold of you?"