Love Song (LGBTQ+) (COMPLETED)

56. Another

As the sun was beginning to make it's descent, a pair of footsteps could heard and then just as quickly passed us, revealing the two men who came into the room just as we'd been kicked out. With long strides, the two men quickly disappeared. It was written all over their faces, they saw the exact video both Rylee and I saw. What wrote it all over their cold, gray faces wasn't just the tension around them, it was a blatant battle between their morals and what put dinner on their family's table.

Did I feel bad for them? Not at all. They finally got to see exactly what it was they'd been defending for so long. All they did was senselessly blabber Devin's innocence to the media without ever hearing anything other than Devin's wicked tongue. Did I blame them for siding with Devin? They were just taking a job that allowed them to pay their bills and get their family nice things. As much as I wanted Devin to fall off of a bridge and onto a stake, these men were innocent. Just like anyone else that wasn't named Devin, and to a lesser extent, Courtney.

Just as quickly as they seemed to aim their sights towards an awaiting elevator, another pair of footsteps came following not even a minute later. Those footsteps were Alexis and Jeremy, who were somewhat surprisingly followed by my mom and Chris. The first thing that caught my eye was the smile and flushed cheeks on my mom's face, I hadn't been able to remember the last time I saw her smile that way towards anyone. Even as her daughter, the smile she took every step with wasn't one that would ever be given to me. It wasn't meant or made for me. It was him creating that smile. That smile was probably her heart speaking for her.

Taking a right, Alexis followed my mom into the waiting room we'd been sitting in for what had nearly been an hour. She only glanced at me for a moment before letting her eyes scan to the left, where she found a newly added presence. It was obvious that my mom was letting the possibilities and scenarios invent themselves in her mind, but the answer to any of those possibilities was obvious. This girl came for a reason, and from the grand total of six words that I had heard from her, I was that reason.

"Who are you?" Alexis asked.

"Jennifer Reeves. I saw the news a few days ago and I wasn't sure what to do. I mean, I don't even know if I should've come here first, so. . ." she spoke stiffly, if not nervously, as her hand clutched her elbow. "Um, I heard Lynn's story. He. . .Devin did the same thing to me during their sophomore year party. I thought, if anything, coming here was the right thing to do."

Looking back to me, my mom slightly nodded before turning to Alexis and then returning to the newly-named Jennifer. "Come with us for a minute, Jennifer. Don't go anywhere, Lynn, we'll be leaving soon."

Watching my mom and Alexis walk away with her, I found my eyes slowly falling to the right. At my right, I found Chris watching in the exact same way I was seconds earlier, letting his eyes follow my mom as she turned the corner. The way he watched her and the way they talked to each other said something entirely different about what they were to each other. There was no way I could've known for sure without them explicitly telling me, but I had a feeling that my mom wasn't giving me the whole truth.

I honestly wasn't sure how I missed it before. The way they interacted and the way they looked at one another was something clearly different from just a workplace friendship. It was the way he made her smile and the way his eyes traced her every step until she was out of his sight that gave it all away. What I still wasn't sure of was why my mom decided to lie to me, of all people. It was clear that they were in some type of relationship, and she had every opportunity to tell me earlier. So, why had she lied to me?

"Are you dating her?" I ripped his attention away from what was now a bare wall. "Don't lie to me like she did, either."

"I am." He turned and scanned me after a moments hesitation. "She wanted to let you know right away, Lynn. I was the one who asked her not to tell you, so don't blame her for it."