After having a conversation with his father and eating his food, Chris fell asleep last night. I didn't leave his side until I got a call from my father at two in the morning asking about my whereabouts. I was cleaning up the mess Chris knocked out when my phone rang, and I ended up splitting a cut through my finger.

I left a hurried note on his side table, telling him that I would drop by in the morning because I also needed to talk to my father about everything that went down. While having dinner, Chris had already given me his permission to discuss the case with him – I wouldn't do something like that behind his back and risk losing his trust.

Until four in the morning, my father and I talked, had four cups of coffee as he researched in his laptop through his lawyer resources and dig up information on Chris's case. I knew it bothered him to even think about this, and he worried about me as well but the only thing that occupied my mind was Christopher Jay Jones.

"An?" I hear my name being called out and mutter a grumble before shuffling even more in my bed, my face stuffed into my pillow as I realise that sleeping is such a blissful thing.

"An! It's thanksgiving, wake up."

The voice sounds so familiar. Almost like Evan's.

Evan. Holy fuck! I immediately sit up in my bed, wide eyed.

"Woah. Hold up, that was some quick reflex. Are you alright?" He asks, staring down at me with a frown.

I nod, slipping out of my bed as I look at the side clock and notice it's close to noon. Chris must be awake and I told him I would drop by the first thing in the morning. He would be thinking the worst of me. What kind of a pathetic girlfriend am I?

"Where are you going?" Evan asks as he sees me walking out of the door.

"Chris's." I reply and he frowns deeper.

"First thing in the morning? Weren't you with him last night? Also, brush your teeth." He points towards the bathroom and I nod, still a little dizzy as I move towards my wardrobe and pull out a pair of leggings and a shirt before going in the bathroom.

As I brush my teeth almost in a robotic manner, following through the morning routine as I throw my hair in a bun before stepping into the shower. That has to be quickest shower I have ever taken. Five minutes record. When I dry myself up, I realise that I forgot to bring clean pair of undergarments and groan internally, well aware of Evan's presence in my bedroom.

"Evan!" I holler over, "Can you leave the room so I can change?" I ask, holding the door open a little so that I can stuck my head out to peep.

"You forgot your bra, didn't you?" He smirks and I feel like throwing a shoe on his head.

"Not right now. Just leave!" I say, a little annoyed thinking about Chris and how he would lose his shit in case he were to walk in right now. He has enough going on in his life, and I should be the last one to give him any kind of a trouble.

"You are in a pissy mood today." Evan says as he starts walking towards the door.

"Yeah, it's one of those days." I tell him and he doesn't respond as he slams the door shut behind him before leaving.

I tiptoe before locking it and moving to find my clothes. As soon as I am changed, I pick up my phone to see any notifications but when they are none, I get out of my room and trot downstairs.

My father is sitting on the kitchen stool, Evan across him as they both stare at me. I look between them before focusing my gaze on the former, "I'm going across the street." I tell him and he gives me an assuring smile.

"Take care, hon." He says and Evan frowns at the two of us.

"Am I missing something here?" He asks and I shrug.

"Nothing you need to worry about." I give him a small smile but before he can respond, I wave at them and leave for the door.

As soon as I am across the street, I rub my palms across my leggings and ring the bell. After what feels like five minutes, the door finally opens and I immediately take a step back, blinking.

"Mr. Jones." I fail to hide my surprise, but it's understandable that he's here.

"Ms. Brooks." He gives me a nod before looking back in the house and stepping out, pulling the door behind him, "I am afraid now isn't the right time for you to be here."

I frown, "Is he okay?"

Before he can respond, I hear Chris's voice, "Dad, who is it?"

He pulls open the door and looks a little surprised to see me. His eyes move to his father who clears his throat, "Adrianna was just leaving."

No, I wasn't. I really want to protest but Jacob's gaze is intimidating enough to make me nod as I look at Chris warily and turn around to leave.

"Wait," he tells me so I face him and he turns to his father, "Can you give us a minute?"

"Christopher." Jacob gives him a look, that makes me speak up because I don't want to be the reason they have any issues between them.

"It's okay, Jay. I'll come back later." I give him a small smile.

"No, it would only take a minute. Dad understands." He says but his eyes is fixed on his father who sighs before going back into the house and Chris steps closer to me. "Hey."

"Hi. Are you okay?" I ask, my hand immediately going upto his cheek as I stare into his troubled grey eyes.

He shakes his head, "She's here."

For a moment I think I didn't hear him right but then I search his face and notice the scowl stretched on it, his eyes filled with agony. He looks like he wants to run far away from here and not look back.

"Why?" I ask.

"Dad." He runs a hand through his hair and a few strands fall over his forehead so I push them back, "He came up early this morning because he got the first flight after my call. Anyway, he said that it's better if we talk it out and he thinks I need some kind of closure. She'll stay away after this."

I frown because that sounds like bullshit reasoning, "What guarantees that?"

"He's offering her a deal. A new life to start but only as long as she stays away. I don't think she would."

I take a deep breath because his father is handling this and I am still barely an adult to think this through. "Okay. How do you feel about this?"

"As long as she's out of my sight, I'm fine with anything." He says, then looks over his shoulder before stepping closer and kissing my forehead, "I'll find you later, okay? If I knew you would come over, I would've called you not to."

His words confuse me, "What are you talking about? I left you a note saying that I would."

"What? I didn't find any. Dad woke me up, we talked and then this happened. Anyway, I really have to go inside because the sooner she leaves, the better."

I nod, and he gives me a small smile before going back in. When the door shuts down, I make my way back to my house but then see Evan standing by the street, which makes me walk to him.

"Hey. I am sorry I snapped at you earlier." I say, feeling guilty for being pissed at him for no reason.

He searches my face as he speaks up, "What's going on with him?" He asks, pointing his chin towards Chris's house and I look back at the closed door before sighing.

"It's not my place to tell." I shrug and he almost looks hurt by my response before he speaks up.

"We tell each other everything, don't we?"

I frown, "We do, but this doesn't concern either of us. It's about him, and if he ever wants to open up to everyone about it — which I don't think would ever happen.. but that's his choice bur I am not going to spill it out." I say, making my words very clear and loud.

Evan looks down at his shoes for a second before looking up at me again, "You've changed."

"No, Evan. I just have someone else's secrets to protect now while earlier it was just me and you."

It hurts me to even say these things to him and to see the disappointment clouding his expression at my words. He's the last person I want to hurt, but if I don't hurt him, I would end up hurting Chris. No matter what I do, someone would end up hurt one way or another.

Sighing, I speak up, "I am sorry, Ev. I hate this, not being able to talk to you. You're my person, you always would be. I hope you know that."

He gives me a small smile, "It's okay An, I understand. Best friends and all." He shrugs but then his eyes move to my hand and he frowns, "What the hell is that?"

I look down at my hand and notice the cut in my palm facing upwards. It looks worse than it is. He takes my hand in his, his gaze fixed on it before he looks up in my eyes with a deep scowl on his face.

"How did you end up cutting this deep?" He asks, and I try pull my hand away but he doesn't let it go, making the guilt rise in my stomach because of how much I like the fact that he's touching me.

"It looks so much worse, I promise it doesn't hurt. I just ended up picking up a shattered glass." I tell him honestly, but don't go into details.

"You're clumsy as fuck." He scolds and I can't help the smile that takes over.

"It's fine, I promise." I tell him and he nods.

"Come on, let's go to my place. Mum is already preparing the thanksgiving dinner." He smiles at me lightly.

We both turn towards his house and when we get in, I see what he meant by Miranda preparing already. The kitchen island is literally filled with at least five bowls and different vegetables lining up.

"Mum, it's just us, Scott and An. You need to chill out." Sawyer tells her, sitting on the counter and biting on the carrot.

"I know. But holidays are special, and we're a family, so I need to make it the best." She tells him, running a hand through her forehead and leaving behind flour batter which makes both Evan and I chuckle.

When they realise our presence, they look up and I wave, "Hey, Mrs. Smith."

"Adrianna!" She grins, "Hey, you're incredibly early for the dinner."

"We can see that." Evan teases her as we both move to sit next to Sawyer who kisses my cheek and Evan swats his arm to move him away from me.

"Do you need any help?" I ask Miranda.

"Oh, hon! You're incredibly sweet, I wish I had a daughter. These two are so useless." She gives her sons dirty looks which makes me blubber with laughter.

"Mum!" Evan looks at her, "C'mon! I'm not useless, tell me what to do."

"Okay, chop those onions." She points towards the five onions lying by the edge of the kitchen island.

"But then that would make me cry. You don't want me to cry, do you?" He fakes his pout which makes Miranda give her a deadpan look.

"Alright, capsicum it is then." She says, and he slides off the counter to stand by the island, picking up a knife to do it.

When he ends up slicing the capsicum in half and then another half to make a shape out of it, I smile to myself before getting off the counter as well and going to stand by his side.

"That's not how you do it. You cut it in small pieces so it mends well with other vegetables." I tell him even though I know he already knows how to cool pretty well.

I mean, at least he makes breakfast well. If we ever have dinner together, I am the one making it. And Miranda always offers the lunch.

"Shut up. Learn and watch."

"You mean watch and learn." I stick my tongue out and he flicks at my nose.

Evan and I mess with each other for a little while, more like creating mess for Miranda than helping her. After a while, she sets the ingredients aside and takes a break to have a power nap. It doesn't fail to amuse Sawyer, Evan or I because we know she'll end up sleeping for two hours.

The doorbell rings and Sawyer speaks up, "I got it!"

When he goes out, I pick up an onion and throw it to Evan, "Catch!" He gives me a dirty look before catching it and I grin. "Now, chop!"

"You really are evil, aren't you?"

I stand by his side as he starts chopping the onion and I laugh at how cautious he is, making him playfully bump his hip with mine.

"Ass." I smack his head and he smirks at me.

But then I notice someone staring so I look away from Evan into the living room to find Chris standing there, looking at the two of us while Sawyer says something.

"Adri, your boyfriend's here for you." I hear him say.

I walk away from Evan, going to where Chris is standing, "Hey." I tell him, "Everything okay?"

"Scott said you would be over here." He says and I nod.

"Yeah, come on. We'll go to my place." I give him a small smile.

He nods, looking back at Evan and I turn around to see my best friend staring at us with an unreadable expression on his face so I smile at him, "Watch those onions, Ev!"

"Watch your hand, Clumsy." He fires back and I laugh, shaking my head.

"I'll see you at dinner." I tell him and he nods before retracting his gaze away.

Chris lightly takes his hand in mine and even though I want to flinch away from pain on the cut, I don't. We walk out of the house and go over to mine. I ring the doorbell since I didn't take my keys with me and my father opens up.

He looks at us and steps aside to let us in. "Adrianna, do you mind if I talk to Chris alone?" He asks and I frown, looking at my boyfriend and then at him again.

"Dad—"

"I won't be long." He promises and I sigh, nodding.

"Just come upstairs, okay?" I tell Chris who nods, trying to reassure me.

When I reach my room, I pull out my phone and type out a text to Miranda, "Will it be okay if I have plus one at dinner tonight?"

I lie down on my bed and stare up at the ceiling, thinking about how this is usually the time I am playing charades with the Smith brothers every year. After a while Chris enters the room and I sit up.

"Hey." I say and he trots towards my bed, sitting down in front of me as he takes my hand in his.

"Hi."

"What did he say?" I ask, his thumb tracing my knuckles.

"He just wanted to make sure that whatever way Dad's dealing with is legal. Scott gave me a paper for my father to get it signed by her." He explains, patting his jeans pocket and I nod.

"Does that legalise the future repercussions, if there are any?" I ask.

"Yeah, I guess. But I am grateful that your father was so thoughtful." He smiles lightly and I move to wrap my arms around him.

"We're here Jay, both of us." I promise him and he nuzzles down his face in my neck, placing a light kiss.

"I know, thank you." He parts and I smile at him.

"How are you doing?" I ask.

He sighs, his eyes roaming around the room before they settle down on the mattress, "Fine. It was so unpredictable to find her there yesterday, I never saw it coming. But I guess Dad was right when he said I probably needed some kind of closure."

I frown, "What did she talk to you about?"

"She apologised. Cried and asked for forgiveness." He shrugs as if its the most casual thing in the world but I know how much it must be bothering him.

"What did you tell her?" I ask, curious about his response.

"I asked if she could give me back my childhood, a normal one at that. I questioned if what she did was forgivable, and if she thought it is, I would but that's not the case, is it?" He gives me a sad smile that causes my stomach to turn into knots because of how vulnerable his eyes look.

"Do you feel better after talking to her?" I ask, not wanting to hurt him further but I am aware he wouldn't be opening up if he didn't want to.

"Yes, but not because I got a closure or anything, you don't always get closure in life, Claire. I feel better knowing that I wouldn't be spending the rest of my life wondering if I could forgive her, now that I had that talk today, I know I would never forgive her." He says, his voice sounding so certain and I nod, because a huge part of me understands where he's coming from.

It's true though, books and movies always fictionalise how important it is to get closure with things that have gone wrong in our lives, but in reality, you don't always get the closure. Sometimes, you're better off without it. Because if everything in life made sense, it would be far too easy and predictable.

And it's completely alright to not forgive those who have left a permanent scar on your life because if their actions were forgivable, they wouldn't be begging to be a part of your life in first place.

"I am so proud of you, Chris." I tell him, smiling because I am.

When I first bumped into him, I thought he was some stupid egoistic jock, and he's anything but that. He's this incredible man who loves and respects his father for all that he has given him, he appreciates his best friend and supports him incredibly and even though we both can argue on the most stupid things, he's incredible to me.

He grins at my words, "Aww, look at you getting all sap." He teases, making me laugh and I kiss his jaw.

"I'll kick you if you make fun of me." I warn him playfully and he chuckles, the sound of it seeming like the music to my ears after last night.

"You like me way too much to do that." He counters, pressing his lips against mine briefly as I see his eyes twinkling with a bit of happiness that warms up my heart.

"Too bad." I click my tongue and he grins like an idiot.

When my phone chimes, I pick it up to see Miranda's reply, "We would love to have Chris over, sweetie. But just a heads up, Paul invited Adam's family."

"You'll have to tolerate my ex at the dinner." I tell Chris who frowns.

"Who? Finn? And who said I'm going?"

I shove my phone in his face and he reads the message before handing it back to me and sighing. "Adam isn't so bad." I tell him, keeping the phone by the bedside table.

He arches an eyebrow, "The guy was about to kiss you last time I saw him."

"Yeah, about that." I laugh, looking at him brood like a two year old.

"What? Am I wrong?"

I shake my head, "He only did that to prove a point, he wanted to show me that you were jealous."

He thinks about it for a minute before speaking up, "Really? What if I hadn't interrupted?"

"Well, I guess then he and I would have kissed." I shrug and he scowls.

"Seriously? I am not going to the dinner. I have to be at Jordan's anyway. They invited both Dad and I." He explains and I pout.

"What? Please, I want to be with you." I whine, moving over to straddle his lap.

"Tomorrow, we're all each others tomorrow." He promises and I grumble. "But that doesn't mean that we can't spend the rest of the time with each other until dinner."

I smile, "Does that mean I can watch you get ready? Because that idea pleases me so much more."

He laughs, "Alright, pervert. We can go to my place now."

"Aww, look at you calling your girlfriend a pervert."

"My girlfriend." He grins and I smack his shoulder playfully.

"You missed the whole point."

He shakes his head, "Mine. Remember that." He holds my hand up to kiss it but then frowns when his eyes meet the cut on my palm, "What's this?"