"Hey, hey, hey. I know you're not about to put those chips on my sandwich and ruin the whole thing." Dillon stopped his father.
Corey chuckled.
"Boy, you don't even know. This crunch will change your life!"
Grace leaned against the wall, smiling, watching as Dillon laughed. She was happy that he was happy.
She glanced to the teenager sitting on her couch. Sydney had been staying with the family since the game.
Despite the James' obvious family problems, they gave her a sense of normalcy. She was always distracted, able to avoid her own family drama.
If Dillon wasn't raving about a comic book, Spencer was all over her. The two had been spending more time together, in Sydney's opinion, bettering their relationship.
"Go ahead, and don't tell me it doesn't satisfy your taste buds." Corey urged Dillon.
"Fine but I'm gonna complain." Dillon stated, shrugging.
Spencer entered the home, shutting the door and throwing his backpack on his bed. Sydney felt a tap on her right shoulder as a kiss was placed on her left cheek.
"I hate you." She whispered, not believing she fell for it.
"Come help me clean up this mess, boy." Grace's voice filled the home.
"I missed you." Spencer said, laying his body on Sydney's.
"I missed you too but you're sweaty."
"You don't like my sweat? The result of me working hard on the field? Wow, I knew you didn't care about my career." He stated, moving away from her.
Corey observed the couple, keeping quiet. He was interested to see how the girl would respond.
"You can't be serious, James. I know you aren't."
"I mean, you don't like me sweating.. that's a huge, red flag." He replied, shrugging.
Sydney stared at her boyfriend, contemplating on hitting him with the notebook. Spencer burst out laughing, covering his mouth with his hand.
"You are mentally unstable. I could've cried. Do you know how serious that is?" She scolded him.
"I know. It was a joke. I will go wash this sweat off of me and we can do something. Cool?"
"Cool. I'm definitely getting you back for that. Watch your back, Spence."
Spencer chuckled, placing a quick kiss on her lips before getting up. He grabbed his things, going into the bathroom and shutting the door.
Corey glanced toward the bathroom then the kitchen, making sure he and Sydney were alone.
"Hey."
Sydney looked up from her notebook as Corey sat down.
"You know, I see how happy you make my boy." He spoke, smiling.
Sydney smiled, thinking about her boyfriend.
"I'd like you get to know you better, if that's okay with you.. and I don't mean to make this creepy. I'm just not sure how Spencer would react. You know he's iffy with me."
She nodded. Spencer had definitely had some words to say about his father.
"Why so secretive? Not to be rude but why not say this in front of Spencer? I know what you said.."
"Look.." Corey said as he quickly looked around.
"That boy has more hate than love for me, honestly. At least right now. He looks at you like you're the best thing in his life. I would like a relationship with my sons and I'd like you to be a part of it."
Sydney stared at him, thinking. Corey intently gazed at her, hoping she would say yes.
"Dad, you ready?!" Dillon shouted.
"I'm okay with that, Mr. James."
"Dad! Come on." Dillon urged, rushing in the living room.
"Where are you guys going?" Grace asked, looking to Corey.
"Dad is taking me to the store. He won't tell me which one, only says it's a surprise."
"You're right, boy. I won't ruin the surprise. I'm ready if you are."
As the father and son left, Grace busied herself with duties while Sydney waited for Spencer.
She read the text message her mother sent hours ago, again. Lauren had been texting her daughter, missing her presence.
Since the situation, she'd been home with Roman. Despite their differences, he offered to care for her until she was back on her feet.
That also meant lecturing the woman on going to the police but Lauren wouldn't budge. She refused to go to the cops, feeling the shame as she stared at the bruises everyday.
"Hey." Spencer spoke, snapping the girl out of her thoughts.
She put her phone to the side, flirtatiously looking at her boyfriend. He stared at her, confused, before laughing.
"I think I know what that look means, and no. We have somewhere to be, matter of fact."
"Where?" She inquired.
"You forgot? The outdoor movie is today at Beverly."
Once it clicked, she nodded.
"How you gone force me to go then forget about it?" He questioned, chuckling.
"Well, to be fair, you said we were going to do something. Doesn't that mean you forgot too?"
He gazed at her then scratched his head.
"We're not talking about me."
"The news will be talking about you when I suffocate you." She innocently stated.
"To suffocate Spencer James, one has to catch him first. If I may add, you're just not as fast as me."
"Oh, you wanna bet?"
"Of course not. I don't like taking money from you."
Sydney gasped, hitting his chest.
"We're racing, and when I win, I don't wanna hear any backtalk."
Spencer threw his hands up, agreeing.
The couple headed to school, joking the entire car ride. When they arrived, their eyes landed on the many students.
"Can we go?" Sydney asked, not wanting to be bothered with the people.
Spencer laughed, pulling into the empty parking space. She seriously stared at him as he turned the car off.
"No, we're not leaving. You'll be... Is that Chris?"
Sydney turned her head, spotting her bestfriend approaching. He leaned down, putting his head through the open window.
"What are you doing here?"
"Liv invited me. Dude, they're showing, like, three movies. One of 'em is Twitches."
"That's a Halloween movie. Why are they playing that?" Spencer questioned.
"Who knows and who cares? I haven't seen that movie in forever and Disney always knows how to touch my soul."
As the couple got out of the car, Spencer stared at his friend, wondering if he was serious. Sydney laughed, already knowing he was.
Her eyes spotted a familiar face. Before she could think, her feet moved toward the girl.
"How are you here?" Sydney asked, slightly irritated.
"My parents are into drugs now." Mariah replied, smirking.
"I wouldn't announce that on school property." Chris whispered.
Mariah scoffed, waving him off.
"Anyway, we found a house closer to Beverly and here I am."
"I'm assuming they didn't, just, tell you that they're into that..." Spencer trailed off.
"Of course not. They were acting suspicious and with a little digging, I found out. Don't know how long they've been doing it, though."
Evelyn had decided to divorce her cheating husband, still working together, only for their daughter. They were good business partners over everything else.
"Anyway, with what happened, we should talk. Despite our differences, I'm willing to having a relationship with you." Mariah offered.
"Your dad literally ruined my parents' marriage." Sydney responded.
"I could say the same for your mom but it doesn't really matter, does it?" Mariah retorted with a head tilt and smirk.
Sydney rolled her eyes, checking the time.
"We should head in." She stated, walking away before anyone could respond.
The trio met up with Liv while Mariah found her own area. Once all of the students were comfortable, the event started.
While the movie played, Mariah and Sydney tuned it out. Their brains overloading with thoughts and possible theories as it replayed the day the girls found out the truth:
At the Sullivan home, Evelyn and Dave were in the middle of a very heated squabble.
"You had an affair! How could you do this, David!?" Evelyn shouted, throwing a glass cup at him.
"Evelyn, baby, listen... It's not what you think." He pleaded, dodging it.
"What else could it be?"
"I'm trying to explain but you keep trying to kill me."
"Boy, if I wanted to kill you, I would have!" She shouted.
Mariah sighed, looking for something to block out her parents' voices.
"Aye, I told you, you need to move. I couldn't deal with this."
She scoffed, rolling her eyes.
"Nobody asked you, Marcus."
"Just looking out for you, cuz."
"You got somewhere for me to go then? I can't just move out. Without them, I have nothing." She confessed.
"What about all them dudes you playing out of their money? What's up with that?"
"We're not talking about that and that isn't enough to survive.."
"I could convince my parents. You know they wouldn't care." He offered.
"That's nice and all.. don't think I can accept it, though."
The two conversed for a minute, forgetting about the situation until Dave opened the girl's door.
He stared at her, not knowing what to say. Since they told her the truth, she'd distanced herself, spending her time in her room.
"Sweetheart.. if we could talk, that would be-"
"Dad, just... leave me alone." She cut him off, going to close her door.
He went to correct her disrespect before quickly stopping himself. A sigh left his lips as the door shut in his face.
Evelyn could be heard chuckling. Dave made his way downstairs, in hopes that she'd had enough time to calm down.
"I'm sorry for hurting you." He muttered.
"No, you're sorry you got caught, David. Get out."
Dave sadly stared at her then turned on his heels, headed for the door. He took a step out, turning to speak.
"I apologize."
"And I don't care."
He cleared his throat, blinking away tears as he left.