Hazy Love: A Treebros Fic

Chapter 14: Evan and Larry

A/N: OMG GUYS!!! THANK YOU SO SO MUCH FOR 1,000+ READS!!! I AM BEYOND GRATEFUL!!! I hope you guys are all doing great, and to show my love, I give you an extra-long chapter! Enjoy!! Because it's gonna go downhill pretty quickly...

-

A total silence filled the room, and Connor's heart rate increased, he breathed heavily. Why was no one saying anything?! WHY WOULDN'T THEY SAY ANYTHING?! He felt tears prick the corners of his eyes, and he bit his lip hard enough to draw a small amount of blood as his breathing increased. He was brought back to reality by four things:

1) Evan had extended his hand, placing it on Connor's thigh, watching Connor in concern. Once Connor saw him, his heart melted at the soft, kind smile Evan gave him and he smiled back weakly. He placed his left hand over Evan's, grabbing it and squeezing it gently.

2) Cynthia had started to cry, smiling wide, proud of her son. Connor was startled when she reached out to hug him, and he hesitated before giving her a tight, quick hug. At least he had some support...

3) Zoe's shocked, almost relieved expression; it was almost as if she didn't want to let herself believe that things may get better. Could she get her brother back? She didn't know.

4) A loud slam coming from the opposite end of the dinner table...

-

Larry had quickly jumped up, retreating to the garage. He radiated anger. He turned, reaching the door. He swung it open before shouting at Connor:

"WE. HAVE. DISCUSSED. THIS. BEFORE. IT IS IN YOUR HEAD CONNOR. YOU'RE LETTING IT BEAT YOU, JUST LIKE YOU ALWAYS DO! I'M NOT SPENDING MONEY ON SOMETHING THAT I CAN'T FIX."

Larry then stormed out, slamming the door so hard the whole house practically shook. Everyone was still, watching the door with shocked expressions. Connor was shaking, and he whimpered. Evan whipped around, realizing that Connor was about to breakdown. He quickly threw his arms around Connor, but he was pushed away.

Connor ran up the stairs, refusing to let anyone see him cry. Evan was about to go after him, but Zoe stopped him.

"Connor... I-it's best to leave him alone for now." She watched the stairs sadly, longingly, taking a shaky breath. Evan was going to protest, but he was cut off by Cynthia, who murmured a tired agreement with Zoe's words.

Evan felt totally, utterly helpless. He racked his brain for something, ANYTHING, he could do. Suddenly, it clicked; he had to talk to Larry. Maybe, just maybe, Larry would listen to him? He had to at least try.

He rushed to the garage door, hearing the protests from both Cynthia and her daughter, but he did not care. He needed to make things right. He couldn't sit on the sides while everything fell apart. He placed his hand on the doorknob, and took a shaky breath before plunging into the unknown.

-

Larry quickly whipped around when he heard the creak of the garage door opening, and he made to yell at whoever had come. He stopped when he saw Evan standing there. He grunted, turning away, looking at something in front of him.

"What are you doing here?" Larry's soft voice surprised Evan. He sounded so... tired. Defeated. Evan gulped, opening his mouth to speak, but no words came up. He closed his eyes, trying to summon up Confident Evan. He could use the assistance of some self-esteem right about now.

"I-I, um, C-Connor... he..." Evan whimpered, unable to thing of something to say. Evan looked up in surprise when he heard a light chuckle. It was soft, almost somber, but there was no humor to it. Larry turned around, holding a picture of a young boy who was grinning, his top teeth missing. He held a baseball in one hand, and the other was wrapped around what looked to be a younger Larry.

"Connor was, what, seven when this was taken? It's been so long... anyways, he used to think I was the best thing ever then. He was a great kid, Evan. What did I do? What DIDN'T I do? It's just..." He looked up at Evan, eyes tired and brimming with tears. He smiled slightly at the memory, "Where did my son go?"

Evan had no words. He was left utterly confused, unable to come up with anything. Here was a man he assumed was always Connor's enemy, crying and grieving over the old Connor: the Connor that was there before everything. The innocent little boy. He swallowed hard, mouth dry as he approached Larry.

"I... I don't k-know s-sir? B-but... but I k-know that C-Connor needs you. I... I know i-it's scary. It's h-hard, b-but C-Connor needs you t-to be s-supportive. He needs a d-dad who cares. I... my d-dad left when I was r-really young, and he w-was never th-there for me. I-it's one of the r-reasons I'm l-like this n-now. Y-you need t-to show h-him you c-care." Evan was avoiding Larry's eyes, tears streaming down his reddened cheeks. It was Larry's turn to be shocked now. He looked at the picture of his son again; his son...

Larry walked over to Evan, placing a hand on the teenage boy's shoulder. Evan flinched a bit, but looked up at Larry nonetheless. Larry gave Evan a small smile, patting his shoulder, "You... you're right. I'm just- I feel like I failed him. I feel like, if I can't help him, I don't... I don't know what to do..."

"W-well, y-you can s-start by a-apologizing to h-him. A-and, um, letting him go to rehab? Y-you may n-not be able t-to fix a-all of h-his p-problems, b-but you can s-send him to people w-who CAN h-help." Evan looked up at Larry, pleading to him with his blue eyes. Larry, sighed, and walked away from Evan, "W-what..."

"You're right. I need to make things right for him." Larry looked at Evan with renewed determination, and Evan smiled, rushing to Larry, giving him a hug. He quickly realized what he had just done, and quickly pulled away from Larry, thoroughly embarrassed. He was bright red yet again as he coughed into his hand.

"S-sorry, um, I meant, uh, th-thank you? F-for helping C-Connor. He- he means a lot to me." Larry chuckled, and quickly gave Evan a hug.

"I should be thanking you, Evan. Thank you for saving my son. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for you." Larry smiled a genuine smile, and Evan smiled back, relishing in the moment. Once it was over, they both walked to the door, ready to face the family.

-

Cynthia and Zoe were both equally surprised when Larry and Evan came out together, both seeming incredibly determined. Larry explained that he wanted to help Connor, and Cynthia cried, so proud of her husband, giving him a tight hug. He returned the hug, and Zoe mouthed a 'thank you' to Evan before joining the hug, also crying tears of joy.

Evan was overjoyed, but he felt invasive watching the intimate family moment; he was out of place. So, he decided to go tell Connor the good news. Evan bounded up the stairs, his smile seeming permanently attached. He approached Connor's door, which had a large 'KEEP OUT' sign on the door. He called out, before opening the door slowly, "C-Con? I have some-"

He let out a shocked gasp, cut off by a terrible sinking feeling in his throat.

Connor was gone.

-

A/N: MUAHAHA!! SUSPENSE!! See ya guys soon >:)