Troubled Sincerity | ✓

Ch.16 | Growth

T R O U B L E D

S I N C E R I T Y

___________________

"Naveah!"

I just left my first class for the day, and I'm walking through the quad when I hear my name.

I turn and see Connor approaching me, a suspicious look on his face.

Crap, he knows.

"How was class?" He smiles.

"Fine." I nod.

We stop by a picnic table, and the both of us sit down.

"So, anything you'd like to chat about?" He raises an eyebrow, clearly telling me that he's fishing for information.

"What do you mean?" I laugh, "You approached me."

"Right. Well, what's up? How are things?" He smiles again, and this time I know he's up to something.

"Are you trying to get information out of me for Mark?" I deadpan.

Connor sighs, his smile gone. "Fine, I told Mark I would talk to you. He thinks something is up because of how you acted this morning."

I knew it.

"Listen, something may have happened, but it was totally and completely not my doing." I defend myself immediately.

Connor frowns. "What happened?"

"So you know how Dylan is with Riley now, right?" I begin to confide in Connor.

Wow, I'm confiding in my ex for relationship advice. What is this world coming to?

"Yeah, Mark may have mentioned that." Connor nods.

"Well, this morning I thought everything was fine, since Mark and Dylan actually spoke and were civil to each other. Apparently, I got it all wrong. Dylan approached me in the kitchen after Mark left and Riley went back to her room to get ready. It was super weird. First he tells me he really likes Riley, and the next thing I know he's planting a kiss on me and telling me that I'm just 'buying time' with Mark until I realize that I want to be with him." I say, all in one breath.

"Wow, that Brit is bold." Connor says dryly, clearly angry about how Dylan behaved.

"You're tellin' me! I did not see that coming at all, and I don't know if I should just tell Mark and deal with his wrath, or tell Riley first and deal with her. Once again life has placed me into a horrible situation." I sigh.

"We went over this. What happened last year wasn't life, it was you and Mark." Connor chuckles. "But yes, this time around, life has indeed screwed you."

"Thanks for that." I mumble. "What do I do? I love Mark and I don't want to ruin our relationship. It's still fresh and we're still working through some trust issues. This is going to put a strain on everything. I don't want Mark to second-guess me or my feelings for him."

"Alright, take a deep breath for starters." Connor replies. "Second, Mark is head over sneakers in love with you, so I'm pretty sure he isn't going to disown you if you tell him the truth. Honesty is always the right choice. Lies and secrets are what strain a relationship and break trust."

"... Head over sneakers?" I try to hold in my laugh.

"Mark is a guy, I'm not going to say head over heels." Connor rolls his eyes. "But thanks for only taking that part out of what I said."