Best of Women

Pippa

A/N: #1 Lippa wooaaahhh!! Thanks! I have a new fic up called Rise Up. Please read!

Rio had told me he thought he was gay. I had no idea why he'd decided to tell me instead of his dad, but he had. Lin would absolutely accept it without a second thought. He wouldn't question his son or try to convince him he wasn't gay. He'd be totally cool with it. I'm not sure why Rio thought any different. His father actively supported gay rights.

Rio made me promise not to tell his dad and I swore I wouldn't. I told him he should just tell his dad, but Rio still seemed hesitant. It was like he thought Lin would think less of him. I tried to assure him his feelings were perfectly fine. Everyone in his family would accept him and love him no matter what.

I'd told Lin not to worry. I knew it wouldn't be a big deal to him. He just needed to wait for Rio to be ready to tell him. Apparently, that's one of the things the boys at school had been teasing him about. That's why he'd been so unwilling to open up to Lin. It broke my heart.

I stayed the night and helped the kids get ready for school the next morning. I'd been thinking about Lin's offer for me to move in. Truthfully, I practically lived there already. I stayed there at least three nights a week. The kids didn't seem to think anything of it, but I did. It was a big deal to me. Moving in would make it official. I loved Lin, but I hadn't told him that yet. Did he feel the same?

Eva approached me when her father was out of the room. She dug around in her backpack and pulled out a paper. A science test with a 'D-' written on it.

"Pippa? Can you sign this for me?" she asked quietly. I picked it up and scanned it.

"Why do I need to sign it?"

"Because it needs a signature from an adult," she said, biting her lip nervously.

"Eva, I can't sign this," I told her. "You need to show it to your dad."

"Dad will kill me," she explained, pushing the paper towards me. "Please?"

I sighed, seeing the desperate look on her face. "Just this once," I told her, grabbing a pen. She immediately looked relieved. I quickly scribbled my signature and she stuffed it in her backpack. "Can you get help with it? Like a tutor?"

"They have tutors after school sometimes, but I can't stay," she told me. "Thanks, Pippa!"

She disappeared out the door before I could ask any more questions. Lin walked back in and I immediately felt guilty. Why were Lin's children confiding in me? I was starting to feel like I was being taken advantage of. Not by Rio, but with Sebastian and Eva. They'd been putting me in awkward positions and I didn't like it.

"You okay?" Lin asked me, noticing the look on my face. I forced a smile.

"Fine," I said. "I'll take out the trash on my way out."

"Thanks," he said, kissing me on the cheek.

Rio appeared, pulling his backpack on. I leaned down and lowered my voice. "Think about what I said last night. Your father will not think any less of you. In fact, he'll be relieved. He's afraid you're depressed."

"I'll think about it," he told me, then disappeared quickly. Mia and Sebastian were running late, so Lin hurried them along. I slipped out the front door with the trash, depositing it down the chute on the way out.

I walked down the street, my mind reeling from all the secrets I was keeping. Rio was gay. Eva was probably failing science and somehow I'd been roped in to covering for her. Life was a lot easier when I just had to worry about me.

That evening, I was pretty quiet at dinner and afterwards. After I'd helped with the dishes, I dried my hands and took a deep breath.

"Lin, I think I'm gonna head home," I told him from where he was helping Rio with his homework. He looked at me, confused.

"Really?" he asked. I nodded. He set a paper down and walked over to me in the kitchen as I fiddled with something in my purse. He was in front of me.

"Hey," he said gently, moving his face so he could look in my eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine. Why?"

"You seem a little jumpy today," he told me, putting his hands on my hips. God, why did he have to touch me?

"Sorry," I told him.

"You don't have to apologize," he said gently. "I just want to make sure you're okay."

"I am. Really," I told him. I gave him a quick kiss and shouted goodbye to Rio, then I was out. I hurried home to my empty house where I had a chance to think. When I was away, I turned the heating down so the apartment was cold. I turned it up and crawled onto the couch with a blanket to have a good think.

Why was it that Lin's kids were telling me these things? Why didn't they feel like they could approach him? Lin tried to make it very clear that they could always come to him no matter what. With Rio, I think it would just be a matter of time before he told his dad and everything would be fine. With Eva, I'm pretty sure she would keep asking me to do similar things as long as I let her. She was being manipulative. I got it - she was worried how Lin would react. He might ground her, but it's not like he would be angry. He'd be angrier that she'd kept it from him.

Did Eva ask me to sign her paper because she trusted me as a parental figure, or because she thought I was weak?

I pulled out my phone and texted her.

Eva, I think you need to tell your dad you need extra help with science.

No way.

He won't be mad. He'll just want to get you help.

He'll make me skip gymnastics.

School is more important than gymnastics. Plus you're only doing bar.

I did beam too. Don't tell dad.

There it was again. Don't tell dad. I didn't like keeping her secrets.

You have two days to tell your dad. If not, I'm telling him.

Won't he be mad you signed your name on my test?

I felt my stomach churn. Was she trying to blackmail me? She was!

I think he'll be angrier you asked me to.

She didn't respond back. If Lin was mad at me, I'd take responsibility. I would admit that I had signed it in a moment of weakness. I certainly wasn't going to do it again without also telling Lin.