The internet told me... GroffLin fanfic

Part 13

~~~Lin's POV~~~

I closed the front door behind me, already looking for Jonathan with my eyes. Not like I had to search for him. He was sitting on the couch in the living room, hanging his head as he stared at the floor. I gently knocked on the doorframe and though he looked up, he didn't say anything.

I walked closer and sat down next to him. 'How are you feeling?' I asked carefully. He looked like well... Shit. That is a rare sight even for me and I've seen him go through a lot during the years...

'Like I've been through a shredder...' He let out a short sigh. His eyes were fixated on the floor once again.

'Do you need anything? Water?'

He shook his head. 'Thanks but Veronica's already brought me some.'

Now I noticed the half-empty glass of water on the coffee table in front of us. I looked back at him. 'Then can I do anything else for you?'

He opened his mouth a bit but didn't say anything for a while. When he did, his voice came out as a hoarse whisper. 'I don't know...'

A long silence fell upon us. Even though my mind was constantly racing, searching for the best thing to start with, I couldn't find the right words. I glanced at him and found that he wasn't looking at me. It looked like he needed deep concentration even just to breathe properly.

I wanted to hug him, assure him that he will be okay but I held myself back. I recalled what Chris said and now that I calmed down a bit, I had to admit that he was right in a way... I was afraid too. He was the one who broke up with me after all...

'Thank you for coming.' Jonathan spoke up, still staring at the glass.

I allowed myself a small smile. 'You're welcome.' Despite whatever Chris said earlier, I don't regret a thing. I would 100% do it again.

'I... Do you think... Back there... I blew it with my family, right?' His voice barely came out as a whisper.

I took a moment to think through my answer. 'Maybe... But does it matter?'

His quiet and bitter laugh filled the room. 'They are my family!'

'Are they?' I asked back, not missing a beat. He finally looked up, sending a questioning glance towards me. 'If they can't accept you for who you are, then they are not your real family.' I told him, locking our eyes.

His eyes glanced back and forth between my eyes before he looked back at the glass on the table. I couldn't read anything from his eyes but I was also relieved that there were no tears in them either. 'That's easy for you to say...'

I opened my mouth but closed it before I could deny what he said. 'Yeah, you are right.' I sighed. 'But maybe that is why you need to hear it? I mean, as an outside opinion?'

'Well... Maybe. But I think it is a bit too soon just yet.' He whispered just loud enough for me to hear it. Not like there was anyone else around but still.

I bit into my lower lip as I allowed myself a "Well, fuck." thought. 'But still, we can't know for sure that they don't accept you.' I added to cheer him up.

'Right...'

Again, the room became quiet beside the sounds of our breaths. It wasn't a comfortable kind but I couldn't think of a single thing to say. I could almost hear the self-deprecating thoughts and that made it clear that I had to say something.

It took me a while to gather the words for a fitting and helpful sentence. 'Either way... You know that there are a lot of people who care about you beside them, right?' I spoke up, glancing towards the window as a bird's flown by.