“Hmm…what are you going to get?”
“I’m starting at the top and working my way down,” Connor said. Sandy tailored him an entire menu of vegetarian and fish dishes, and he wasn’t going to let even a single side dish go untested.
“I’ll start from the bottom.” Laurence glanced at the front door. “Should I go after him?”
“If you want to.”
Laurence, after a long pause, shook his head. “I’ll let him cool off. I’m sorry.” He cast Connor a regretful look. “I keep telling him you’re nice, but he won’t believe me.”
Connor smirked. “I’mnice?”
“You’re nice to me.”
Connor just wasn’tmeanto Laurence. Not yet, at least. “Ask Nick if I’m nice to him.”
“You’re nice to Dad, too.”
“When and where?”
“You are,” Laurence insisted. “It’s just that Nick is mean to you, so you’re mean back, and Edith is mean to you so—” He cut off. Laurence bent forward, staring down at his menu, picking at the corner of it. Unhappiness seemed to simply radiate from him. “I’m not trying to bad mouth your mom. It’s just…you can’t even sleep in, and she has something nasty to say about it. If Dad was always on my case like that, I’d be really upset.”
Laurence really was too soft-hearted.
And the effect that softness had on Connor was devastating. It melted his defences in moments, had the truth bursting at the seams, demanding to be spilled. Truths about how he felt, about what it was like growing up with Edith, about how much he really liked Trevor even though he’d only known him a few weeks.
“I didn’t beat up that guy because he was gay,” Connor said.
Laurence’s entire body jerked like he’d be zapped by electricity. His gaze snapped to Connor. Connor’s breath was short; that wasn’t what he’d planned to say. At all.
“It was a stupid fight that got out of hand. And he just happened to be gay.” That was the truth, even if Connor couldn’t remember. “Apparently, his mom is going up for re-election, and I offered up her great cause on a silver platter.”
He didn’t add the part about none of his friends coming to his defence. None of his teachers vouched for his character. His own boyfriend vanished and refused to say a word about what happened that night. The account others had given told Connor what happened: he walked in on Austin and Peter in bed. He and Peter fought. Connor won.
With distance, Connor understood Austin’s silence. Who wanted to admit they were a two-timing deviant after the case had the attention of the whole world? But it was a hollow understanding. Connor would have come forward for Austin. He would have done it for any of his friends.
“Can you write a letter to the judge?” Laurence’s eyes were wide and earnest. “About—”
“I didn’t tell you for you to try to figure out a solution,” Connor said. His voice wasn’t as cutting as it could have been despite his vulnerability making him defensive.
Laurence seemed taken aback. After a moment of thought, he nodded. “Okay. I won’t. And I never thought it was true, just so you know.”
Connor knew that much already. If Laurencehadbelieved it, then spending time alone with Connor was plain stupid. But he hadn’t seemed sold on the idea of Connor as a bigot from the second he’d stepped into the house.
“Why didn’t you?” Connor asked.
“Um… I just didn’t?”
Connor stared blankly at Laurence as the words sank in. A spark of anger fizzled through him, and then it blazed. “Next time, listen to your brother.”
“What? But he was wrong!”
“You’re the size of a pinata. Don’t go off alone with convicted gay bashers. Idiot.”
Laurence looked at Connor, defiance shining in his dark eyes. “Pinata?” he demanded.
Chapter Thirteen
Connor’s annoyance with Laurence persisted into the following day. He woke, thought about Laurence’s blasé reply of “I just did,” and scowled at the ceiling. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected exactly, but at the very least, an actual reason had been part of his low expectations. That Laurence was so casual about approaching someone that could harm him was infuriating.
