It was back to reality for Theo and Liam. They had their triumphant night together where they professed their love and cuddled on the couch together, but unfortunately life did not stop for them. Eventually it was Monday once again, which meant Theo had to return to school and work, where he would have to deal with real issues. Theo kept a low profile in school, trying to avoid the stares and snickering he was receiving as a result of the revelation of his father's identity. Theo and Liam agreed it was best, for now, that they not be blatantly be seen together, but Theo wanted nothing more than to be with Liam, who always made him feel better.

However, like all bad things, the school day eventually ended, which meant back to work for Theo. Today was different though, because apparently Mrs. Dunbar was back in town, which meant Theo needed to be on his A game, but it also meant no talking to Liam, at least not freely. Theo remembered his mother's advice from when he first got the job, just keep your head down and don't speak unless spoken to. So, Theo went along with his usual duties of trimming the hedges and mowing the lawn, before making his way out back to clean the pool.

When he went to the pool area, he saw Mrs. Dunbar sitting alone at the table on the patio. She was wearing a bright yellow and white sundress, with sunglasses to match, and she sipped on an iced tea. If Theo didn't already know she was a famous fashion designer, she could have passed for a 1950s housewife. As Theo began to clean the pool she turned to him, and he gave a respectful, nod. He hoped that would be their only interaction, but those hopes were squashed when he heard her call, "Theo, come sit with me for a moment."

He nodded as he set down the equipment and took a seat across from her at the table. "Yes ma'am," He said respectfully, "Is there something I could help you with?"

She took a sip of her tea before setting the class back down on the table. She then pulled off her sunglasses, revealing the same blue eyes that Liam had. "Well i wanted to talk to you about something. Well a couple of things really," She replied as she sat back in her chair. Instantly, Theo could tell that she had a hidden motive behind the conversation, and that made him nervous. "First of all, I heard about Mr. Talbot," her tone getting a bit softer, "I have met your mother a handful of times while attending parties at the Hale's, and it breaks my heart to know that monster spurned her in such a way. If you are planning on taking him to court for child support, I offer you my lawyer, Courtney Hewitt, best lawyer in the state, I talked with her, she wont charge you."

Theo was shocked by this offer, because this is not where he thought this conversation was going. Talking with Mrs. Dunbar revealed where Liam's personality came from. They both had a cold exterior, but it was clear there was a kind heart in both Liam and his mother. "I don't know what to say. My mom and I aren't sure what we are going to do yet," Theo replied, then, realizing he hadn't thanked her, quickly added, "But that you so much for your offer."

"Of course, a man owes it to his child to support them," She told him with a small nod as she picked up her glass and took another sip. Something told Theo that she meant more then she let on in that sentence, but he could not figure it out. "Besides, Liam tells me that you two have become good friends since you began working here," She continued, which made Theo nervous, what if she did not want Liam befriending the help? Then she sure as hell wouldn't want them dating, even if this whole Hayden situation could be fixed. "Thank you," she said in a genuine way, as she smiled, "For looking after him while I have been gone. He's almost an adult but a mom can't help but worry for her son, especially with the storms that have rolled in lately, Liam hates those. But he told me you have kept him company."

"He has helped me a lot too," Theo replied, wanting her to know that they had actually become friends, which might help their case in the future.

She smiled back at him, but then raised her eyebrow. "I am sure you have met his girlfriend Hayden?" Theo simply nodded, more confused on her motives now. "Tell me, have you heard anything about her? What do you think about her, from the point of view of Liam's friend? I am sorry to pry so much, but she is the mother of my future grandchild."

Theo could tell she was skirting around what she really wanted to know. Why else would she be asking Theo about Hayden? Sure she has met Hayden and knows more about her than Theo does. Something told Theo that Mrs. Dunbar might be just as suspicious of Hayden as he was. Theo knew she could be helpful in exposing the truth, or at minimum, letting Liam break up with Hayden. However, Theo decided to keep his mouth shut until he talked to Liam. "To be honest, I don't know her well, and i am not one for rumors. I try not to get involved in the personal lives of families as influential as the Romero's."

Mrs. Dunbar simply nodded, but in such a way that Theo was sure she knew he was holding something back. Instead of questioning him, though, she simply smiled. "Thank you for indulging me. You have done a good job, and you earned a break, go head home early. Or, better yet, go up and see Liam, he is in his room."

Theo nodded, thanked her once again, before heading upstairs to Theo's room. He had briefly seen it on the night of the first storm to get changed but he did not pay much attention to it. Now that he was up here, it looked how he expected it to, messy. Not the mild "lived in" kind of messy, but the normal "a teenager lives here" kind of messy, but it only made Theo laugh. The room was massive though, and Theo looked around for Liam, but did not see him, so he figured maybe his mom was mistaken and he had left, but then Liam came out of his closet with just some swim trunks on. "Oh, hey Theo, I was just about to go swimming to spend time with my mom, whats up?"

Theo almost forgot to reply as he admired the shirtless Liam that was before him. Up until this moment, Theo had been to busy trying to help Liam to notice just how attractive he really was. Liam's many years in sports showed, and Theo had to snap himself out of admiring his new secret boyfriend. "Your mom let me go home early, and said I should come up and say hi." Theo said with a small smile, knowing that with his mom here, their secret romance needed to be toned down, "She is really nice, she mentioned you talk to her about me?" Theo raised his eyebrow with a small smile as he looked at Liam.

Liam tried to hide it, but Theo could tell he was blushing. "Well yeah, she can know that we have become friends. Unlike my dad, my mom actual tries to keep track of whats going on in my life while she is gone. What all did you two talk about anyway?" Liam was trying to change the subject, but Theo let him because he needed to fill Liam in.

"Well she offered me her lawyer, in case i wanted to take Mr. Talbot to court," Theo began, getting that out of the way, he still was not interested in talking to anyone about Mr. Talbot. "But then she began questioning me about Hayden. It was very indirect, but I think she may not trust Hayden either. I think we should capitalize off of it and tell her our suspicions too. Maybe she would let you break up with Hayden."

Liam sat down on his bed and sighed, shaking his head. "No, my Dad is the one who would decide that, and he would not believe us."

"Well thats why your mom can speak to him on your behalf!" Theo suggested, but he could tell by Liam's face that Liam did not want to do that.

"You don't understand. My dad does not care about what my mom thinks, we don't have proof and mom trying to convince my dad without proof would only get her and me in trouble," Liam replied as he plopped down to lay back on his bed. "It would solve nothing, and make my dad angry."

"In trouble? Your mom would get in trouble?" Theo asked curiously, how could a grown successful woman get in trouble with her husband?

Liam sighed, simply staring at the ceiling, "Mom was an up and coming fashion designer, dad came from old money. He gave her start up money in exchange for 55% in her company. That makes him the majority owner, therefore the person who controls my mom's job. Thats what I have been trying to tell you this whole time, things work differently in families like mine. Dad controls the two things she loves, me and her job. She can't go against him. So we don't tell her, not without proof."

"Ok, so we need to get proof then," Theo said as he sat down next to Liam on the bed.

"Gee, good thinking, its not like we have been trying to get proof this whole time," Liam sarcastically replied as he sat up, "Got any ideas? Because the only thing i can think of is to wait until the baby is born."

Theo sighed, not wanting to wait that long, he knew that he and Liam still had other battles to win in regards to their relationship, so he wanted to get this Hayden situation resolved as soon as possible. Then he got an idea, "Who all knows that Hayden is pregnant?"

"Hard to say, rumors spread quickly, but then Lydia began threatening people with an inch of their life not to say anything. So i would say half the school knows," Liam answered and raised his eyebrow, "Why?"

"The only other person who could definitively tell us who the father is, would be Nolan. If he knew that Hayden was pregnant, it would have to at least cross his mind that he could be the father," Theo explained, trying to piece together a plan.

Liam nodded as he listened, "Yeah, but Nolan hasn't said a thing, he hasn't even been acting weird at lacrosse practice. Surely he would want to know if he's the father too, whether it be for child support reasons, or if he genuinely wants to be in his child's life."

"Exactly, but to our knowledge he has not said anything. Even if he and Hayden are speaking privately, I don't think he would buy in to her lies. So why is he so silent about everything?" Theo asked, already knowing the answer to his own question, "Because he doesn't know! So, if we tell him, maybe he could at least give your family and everyone else enough doubt that you're not the father. Hayden would be under so much pressure by everyone that she would have no choice but to come clean!"

Liam nodded as he listened, "There is a lot of holes in your plan, but at least its a starting point. We can talk to Nolan after practice tomorrow, i can ask mom to give you the day off so you can be there, I don't think I could confront him alone." Then, there plan was set, and all they could do was wait. Theo stood to leave when Liam began speaking again, "So we have a game plan for that, but what about Mr. Talbot? I know you don't want to talk about it, but Theo, you can't ignore that forever, and i want to be there for you."

Theo nodded and leaned in to kiss Liam softly, knowing Mrs. Dunbar was outside so the risk was small. " I think i know what I am going to do about him. Something you and your mom said that really helped me out. I have to go."


Later that night, after getting home, Theo had to have the hard conversation that revealed what Theo's decision about Mr. Talbot was. He knew his mom would not like it, but it was his life and he had to do what he needed to do. "Mom, I have made up my mind," He told her at dinner, with Jordan present as well. They both nodded and waited for Theo to continue. "A parent owes it to their child to be there for them, but I think i owe it to Mr. Talbot to try and be there for him too, if not for him, but for Brett and Lori, who are my siblings now."

"What do you mean by that?" Theo's mom replied as she stopped eating.

"I want to," Theo paused, knowing this would hurt his mother, but also knowing he had to do it. "I want to stay with them. A few nights every week, at least to get to know them. I haven't asked Mr. Talbot about this but I am sure he would prefer this over us taking him to court. I just want to know him, and Brett and Lori."

Theo's mom clenched her fists, not out of anger, but what seemed to be out of sadness and nervousness. She then released the clenching with a deep breathe and she nodded. Surprisingly there were no tears or any sense of disappointment, "If that is what you think is best, then of course. I won't keep you from him. Just be careful Theo, their world is so much different than ours. Just know, no matter what, that I am here for you."

"And me too," Jordan said and patted Theo's shoulder with a smile. In truth, Jordan's opinion meant a lot to Theo as well, since Jordan had become almost a big brother to Theo. So Theo felt better about his decision knowing that his family would support him.

I know this chapter was boring but it sets a lot of foundation for the next few chapters! Hang with me! Sorry it took so long to update, school and the holidays really got to me. Also, thank you for all the kind reviews, i read everyone of them! Feel free to leave more reviews!