Him and His Hoodie novel Chapter 9

"What makes you think I'm lying?"

"Because you inherited your mother's inability to lie. So..."

I sighed, not even close to wanting to tell Dad why I had been acting like this. I still didn't know how he would react, even if he was supportive of Jerome. Who knew? It might be different with his son.

I just had to end the discussion with Dad worrying even more.

"Okay, truthfully, there is something that's... bothering me," I said. "But I promise you it's nothing too bad and if it does get worse, you know I'll tell you and Mom."

"Alright, if you don't want to say anything now, I'm not going to force you," Dad said. "You really do promise you'll talk to your mother and I? Or even one of your siblings."

...Maybe I should talk to one of my siblings. I still felt a weight on my shoulders and telling someone in my family would definitely help.

But who out of everyone would be most likely to give me a positive reaction?

I didn't take me long to decide who but unfortunately, I had to wait until I got home to talk to him. I just hoped I wouldn't chicken out by then.

At least the day seemed to go by fast since I was spending the whole day with animals. Of course, Dad wasn't going to keep us here with him the whole work day, so as soon as I got home, I went to my bedroom and texted Ryder, asking him if he could come over. It didn't take him long to respond, telling me he was on his way.

I had to keep telling myself not to chicken out because I had a feeling when Ryder came here, I would end up telling him that I needed someone to get me food.

When Ryder showed up, he softly knocked on my bedroom door before walking in. "Hey," he said, closing the door behind him and walking over, sitting down beside me. "You finally want to talk about what's been going on with you?"

"Is it that obvious?" I asked.

"Well, you normally wouldn't ask if I could come over just because," Ryder said. "Have you talked to Mom and Dad about it?"

I shook my head. "I don't think I can tell them yet. I'm worried they'll get really mad at me. Or they'll hate me."

"Nolan, Mom and Dad will never hate you," Ryder said. "You know that."

"I want to believe that but..." I sighed. "I've heard way too many stories about what happens to people in my situation so of course I'm thinking the worse. You're... you're not going to tell them, are you?"

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