"Mom!" I yelled, throwing open the door. She jumped in shock and then immediately backed away from Robin. Robin turned to face me and put his hands up and defense. "Hey,… Jason-"

"Don't talk to me! " I yelled, interrupting him. "Jason, please." My mom begged quietly. "No." I turned to Robin now. "You –" I said, pointing. "Leave."

He looked at my mom, who gave a slight nod without looking him in the eye. Grabbing his jacket, he walked through the door.

My mom slowly raised her head to look at me. "Jason… I am –"

"No, mom, don't. I have been on your side ever since this whole argument with dad started. Do you know why? Because I didn't actually think you were cheating on him!" I put my hands on my head.

"How could you do this to me? To us? To dad?" I grabbed my coat.

"I'm gonna get out. We will finish this conversation later."

I heard my mom sob, which was really hard for me. She was my rock, and probably my favorite person in the whole world. We took care of each other, and to hear her crying and not be able to help was tough, but I kept walking. I took a deep breath and thought about the scene that had just happened. I hated talking to her like that- like I was in charge. What else was I supposed to have done, though? I couldn't just forgive her on the spot. I might eventually, but it will take time for her to rebuild my trust.

I grabbed my bike for the second time in one day. I rode a block over and stopped. Pulling out my phone, I texted to my cousins.

"Family drama emergency. Meet at the classic spot."

The classic spot was a hideout we made when I was six. It was a little patch of grass hidden by trees and bushes behind Granny's. We have used it since we were kids.

We also had a policy that if one of us had an emergency, the others would drop whatever they were doing to help. I got to the hideout in about 15 minutes. I realized it was really freezing as I waited in the cold air. I was used to the cold, Maine temperatures, but usually, the thought of my warm house cheered me up. Finally, Neal and Robyn arrived.

"Jason!" Robyn said and hugged me.

"What's up?" Neal asked.

"Well, since I've already told Lottie the first half, I'll tell it to you before she gets here."

I took a deep breath.

" I woke up this morning to my parents yelling at each other. They were having a big fight, and it ended with my dad leaving."

"Wait, like, for good?" Robyn asked. I nodded.

"Yeah." She gasped.

"Oh, Jason I'm so sorry!" She hugged me again.

"What were they fighting about? Do you know?", Neal asked.

Suddenly, Charlotte burst through the bushes, out of breath.

"I biked REALLY hard to get here." She put her hands on her knees as she took deep breaths.

"Whooo." She paused, standing up again.

"Okay. I'm ready."

I now looked back at Neal.

"To answer your question, they were fighting because my dad was accusing her of cheating on him."

Robyn put a hand over her open mouth.

"With who?" She questioned.

"Actually... With your dad." I answered.

Her eyes widened.

"Well, it wasn't true, right? She wasn't actually cheating?" She asked.

"That's exactly what I thought, until I caught them a few minutes ago, kissing."

Everyone's eyes widened now. We were all quiet for a few seconds before Robyn spoke up.

"Oh my god... I am going to KILL him!" She said angrily, talking about her father. She was so shocked and angry that she looked as if she were going to cry.

All of us stood there, unsure of what to say to each other. I broke the silence-

"Just don't tell your parents yet. Neal, your mom already knows, and news travels fast in this family, so it won't be long anyway."

They all nodded.

"Jason, If you... ya know, don't wanna stay with your mom tonight, you can always stay at my house." Neal offered.

"Yeah, me too" Robyn added.

" I would offer, but you wouldn't get any sleep." We all smiled.

"Thanks guys, but I really gotta work this out with my mom. I told her I'd be home later. I just had to get out of there for a bit."

They all nodded in understanding.

I hopped on my bike, and after saying goodbye to my cousins, I rode the 10 minutes back home.

On the way there, I finally calmed down, and instead of still being angry, I really just wanted to work this out with her. I put my bike back in the garage, and came around to the back door.

"Mom?" I called, walking upstairs.

"Hello? Mom, where are you?"

I walked into her bedroom to find her under the covers and staring up at the ceiling. "Jason?"She turned over as I walked in.

"Yeah, hi mom," I said, laying down beside her. "Let's talk."

End of Chapter 11. Sorry I didn't get to post last Tuesday, I have a SUPER busy schedule in the fall, so just didn't have time. We are almost to the last chapter! It will be posted next Saturday with a sneak peak of my newest story, too! Thanks

Xoxo Ella