Interagir avec 
Jess n'était pas étrangère aux funérailles, elle n'a pas essayé de se familiariser avec eux non plus. En ce qui concerne les funérailles, le service était beau, le temps pardonnait pour ce grand sud quand tout le monde était vêtu de noir et c'était le milieu de l'été.
Leith n'a pas versé de larmes, mais elle savait qu'il les retenait fermement, l'ensemble tendu de sa mâchoire, elle ne pouvait que remarquer. Quand son fils est-il devenu un homme? Cela s'était produit devant ses yeux et elle ne l'avait jamais vraiment vu, même quand sa voix s'est brisée, quand il a tiré dans une poussée de croissance particulièrement rapide, pas même quand il a grandi quelques cheveux du visage... Tout cela avait été des changements physiques mais il était toujours le même enfant placide au cœur. Cet enfant avait été agréable, mais empathique, facilement ému aux larmes quand une personne ou un animal était dans la douleur, une âme sensible, endurcie maintenant, mettant sur un visage courageux comme la société lui a dit les hommes devraient le faire. Il avait eu son sanglot silencieux dans l'intimité tranquille de sa chambre, et peut-être qu'il avait versé une autre larme ou deux à nouveau quand il était loin quelque part tranquille avec ses pensées.
L'église était en grande partie vide car elle était arrivée un peu tôt. Jess a cherché Nicky, offrant une épaule de soutien pour pleurer, volontaire pour prendre soin du restaurant en l'absence de Nicky si jamais elle avait besoin de prendre une journée ou même un week-end entier.
"Tu m'as aidé, moi et ma famille, et tu es un ami cher. Tout ce dont tu as besoin, quand tu veux, tu sais où est ma maison et tu es toujours le bienvenu.
Le réconfortant Nicky a donné à Leith une chance d'avoir sa propre séparation tranquille avec Olivia... une chance de dire au revoir à la fille qui avait pratiquement été une grande sœur pour lui quand il commençait l'école.
Leith n'était pas exactement un à prier... ou être religieux... Dieu déteste les pédés était le message qu'il avait entendu de ces gens hardcore. Il semblait un peu hypocrite de prier un Dieu qui le haïssait, surtout s'il priait pour ses amis... Il ne savait pas ce qui s'est passé après la mort, mais il ne voulait pas tout gâcher pour Olivia s'il y avait un meilleur endroit où aller.
"Nous allons trouver l'enculé qui t'a fait ça. Je te le promets."
"Damn bien nous le ferons." Leith brillait un peu... en pensant à ce qui s'est passé, comment ces enfants l'avaient trouvée... C'était suffisant pour faire ramper sa peau. Personne ne le méritait, encore moins Olivia.
Il a pris une minute pour se rassembler, prendre une profonde respiration et expirer, avant de se tourner vers Shauna.
"Désolé pour votre perte" Leith s'est un peu maladroit. "Désolé pour votre perte" n'était qu'une simple courtoisie funèbre... mais elle se sentait si creuse, répétant les mêmes mots que tout le monde disait à chaque enterrement, même s'ils avaient de bonnes intentions et offraient de la sympathie. Leith voulait juste qu'il y ait un moyen de montrer à quel point il le voulait. Combien il était attristé de la perdre.
"Elle devait avoir beaucoup d'importance pour toi, elle était douée pour ça... Lovin' les gens et être aimée par les gens." Il soupirait.
Le père de Shauna possédait le garage dans lequel Leith travaillait... vraiment, sa famille devait beaucoup aux parents de Shauna et Olivia. La mère de Leith travaillait dans le restaurant de Nicky depuis des siècles, Nicky avait été le patron le plus compréhensif que n'importe qui pouvait jamais demander, certainement la coupait beaucoup plus que ce qu'elle méritait parfois, d'autres auraient viré une jeune mère célibataire d'humeur qui stressait et s'est cassée. Nicky n'était pas comme ça. Elle avait été gentille avec Leith et avait encouragé Olivia à jouer avec lui et à l'aider avec ses devoirs. Et la famille de Shauna... eh bien, quand Leith était un adolescent rebelle, plein de frustrations et de colère, eh bien, il a mis Leith au travail dans le garage. Il a appris un métier, a réglé ses frustrations, et quand il est finalement sorti et s'est calmé, il a eu un joli petit travail en cours.
Leith pensait qu'il le devait à Olivia et Shauna d'une certaine façon, sa mère était gentille avec leurs parents, il n'était pas vraiment sûr de quoi faire, mais il pouvait être bon et utile à Shauna au moins.
"Comment ça va?" il a demandé, se demandant si c'était une question complètement idiote ou s'il était serviable ou juste ennuyeux...
Leith

Wait, you mean you didn't know Italian Spiderman was actually made in Australia? 

▾ Name: Leith
Leith Matteo Meyer
▾ Age:
19
▾ Gender:
Male
▾ Sexuality:
Homosexual
▾ Piercings, Tattoos, Scars:
Nope.

▾ Humble ▾ Indecisive ▾ Generous ▾ Unassertive ▾

▾ Personality:
Leith is a mommas boy at heart. A real sweetheart, he likes to help people out and most would say he's honestly the sweetest boy on earth. He's not without his shortcomings however. During his teenage years, Leith was disruptive in class and a bit of a troublemaker. His acting out was largely due to his conflicting feelings regarding his sexuality as he began to discover he wasn't attracted to girls. When he finally came out and learned to love himself a little more, he returned to the sweet boy he'd been before, heck, moreso even, he was now more humbled.
He's a bit of a prude in a way. Not that he's utterly virginal, but he absolutely can't stand foul language and can't help but cringe when someone swears, he himself never cusses. He generally keeps to himself but is also quick to offer a helping hand and be outgoing. He loves his friends dearly and he's a soft, old-school hopeless romantic at heart. His biggest issue is probably his indecision. Leith tries to please everyone and often fails to satisfy ANYONE by trying to keep everyone happy. He's easily manipulated because he tries to be a people pleaser. His relationship with his step-father is tense. He tends to have conflicting emotions regarding the men in his life and at times his rejection at the hands of his biological father rears its ugly head and threatens his relationships. 
▾ Hobbies & Interests:
Repairing engines. He doesn't care about fancy new models or luxury cars, he likes fixer-uppers. He likes reading comicbooks and watching low budget "awful" movies (the worse the movie, the better!). He's outdoorsy and sporty and would happily spend every weekend swimming in the creek or camping and singing round a campfire with friends.
▾ Likes & Dislikes:

+ comics
+ cars
+ cute boys
+ outdoors
- swearing
- taking sides/fights
- bad coffee
- stepdad (sometimes)
▾ Other:
He's left handed, bears a striking resemblance to his biological father, works in the local auto-repair garage. He was somewhat close to the victim (Olivia) because sometimes after school he would sit in Nicky's while his mom worked and she would help him with his homework and she was probably the second or third person he came out to (after his mom) because she had such a warm, kind temperament. He's been very unsettled by her gruesome and untimely death. 

▾ Biography:
The end-product of a teenage pregnancy ... Leith had a pretty decent childhood though, his mother Jessica, done a good job and she was heavily supported by Leith's maternal-grandparents.
His father (who was from an Italian family, hence Leith's half-Italian heritage) didn't stick around and this rejection at the hands of his father has always lingered with Leith.
Leith was about 12 when he began to think he was different and by 14 he was 100% sure he was gay and that made him miserable.
He was troublesome in school even though he was quite popular in his class and well liked by his peers. His mom didn't know what to do. Teachers said he was clever but kept causing disruptions and didn't do his homework. He fought with his step-dad and was disagreeable, so much unlike the sweet, quiet child Jessica had once known.
Things got a lot better when Leith finally confided in his that he was gay and was scared she'd kick him out and reject him like his father did, afraid his friends would turn on him and his life would be ruined. She accepted him and supported him although it wasn't always easy on her, especially in a small, religious town. Regardless, Jess put on a brave face because deep down, even though she didn't mean to get pregnant at 17, she was happy with her life, her family, and she loved Leith to death.
After coming out things began to look a lot better for Leith. He lost some friends in school, but surprisingly, he had a few supporters and homophobic bullying didn't really harm him. While he studied, he became an apprentice mechanic at the local auto-repair shop and thoroughly enjoyed it. Jess wanted him to go to college, she'd had a chance and lost it and didn't want it to happen to her son, but he seemed content Dixie fixing cars. It was his own real serious interest he didn't have any huge ambitions. She urged him to consider college, perhaps he'd like engineering. In the end, he was awarded a sports scholarship, but he could defer it for a couple of years.



Jessica

Come on in, make yourself at home, there's always room here. 

▾ Name: Jessica
Jessica Grace McAdam
▾ Age:
36
▾ Gender:
Female
▾ Sexuality:
Heterosexual
▾ Piercings, Tattoos, Scars:
Nope.

▾ Homely ▾ Sometimes Strict ▾ Loving ▾ Smothering ▾

▾ Personality:
Jess tries to be Super-Mom, and for the most part, she doesnt' do half bad, but she's certainly not perfect. She's not as mature as other mums, at least, she wasn't when Leith was young, but now she's older and wiser but sometimes she still finds herself out of her depth. She relies a lot on her husband for support, advice and insight. Sometimes she can be a bit of a soft touch, particularly with Leith because they have a unique bond. She loves her family and her home and is very house-proud. Sometimes she can be a bit bratty to the neighbours, they are roughly the same age, except instead of having teenagers and young adult kids, their kids are just starting school (in the 2-10 age range), she feels she has a lot to prove because she's still trapped in the 80's when people looked down on girls getting pregnant at a young age, or having kids with different fathers. 
▾ Hobbies & Interests:
Baking, pinterest, making crafts, gardening, animals, her "Book Club" (which involves more wine/tea and gossip than actual books ...)
▾ Likes & Dislikes:

+ Her home
+ Husband
+ Family
+ Community events
+ Book club
- Resents Leith's father
- Sometimes struggles to deal with Leith's sexuality
- Offensive music (rap/metal)
- Arguing with the kids
▾ Other:
Makes the best peach cobbler in all of Dixie!

▾ Biography:


Jessica was a pretty, popular young girl. She was the cheerleader with the hot (Italian) quarterback boyfriend and the whole world ahead of her was gleaming with promise. She was going to get a cheerleading scholarship and go to a fancy city university and everything would be just dandy ... Until she found herself pregnant at 17 ... She had her first child, a boy, Leith, when she turned 18.
Jessica found it hard to bond with Leith at first, but her mother and father were supportive, they insisted she stick it out and be proud and raise Leith to the best of her ability. Leith's father stuck around for about 8 months before abandoning them and disappearing to another state or europe or WHO KNOWS WHERE, never even sending a card or a penny of support. This made Jess furious, but it also made her very protective of her little boy.
Although they had a rocky start, Jess became an utterly devoted mother and gave Leith the very best life she could, with the help of her own parents. When Leith turned 5, she was able to work again, taking part-time hours while he was in school. She developed a bit of a social life and some independence. When Leith was 7, Jess's father took a stroke and eventually had to be taken into residential care. Her mother left to go to the next town over to stay close to her father and the title of the house was turned over to her. With a part time job and a busy young son and now a house to do up all of her own, Jess found herself very busy indeed.
Eventually, waitressing at the Nickys restuarant she'd worked in since Leith was 5, a regular, a solicitor from the city, finally worked up the courage to ask her on a date. For the first time since she was a teenager, Jess was getting dolled up and going out on dates. Leaving Leith with a child minder on date night, she enjoyed the attention and the brief feeling that she wasn't all alone. Robert was successful, hardworking and kind and he didn't even mind that Jess had a child.
After a few months of courting, Jess introduced him to Leith and the couple began considering moving in together, if he could find a way to work closer to Dixie. SUCCESS!!! and so Leith got a new "dad", although he didn't really take to him much, after spending his entire childhood with only Jess, he was standoffish and distrustful of suddenly having a father figure. Regardless, Step-Dad Robert tried his best.
When Jess found herself pregnant once again, she feared she'd be left alone with the child again and asked Robert where he stood with this "family" she had. Fortunately she got a much deserved happy ending and they got married very quickly and then Jess's daughter, April was born. Jess left her job in the diner to raise April and become a full time house wife, her husband could comfortably support them, especially since they didn't have a mortgage to worry about. Now, Leith is a man (though he's still her baby) and her daughter is quickly growing up too, Jess happily maintains her home, keeping kids and husband happy and instead of work, she gets involved in various community projects and parent groups. Although he is long in the past, she still painfully remembers Leith's father, since he looks so strikingly similar to him.

SUPPORTING CHARS
Robert McAdam, Jessica's loving husband, April's biological father and Leith's stpe father.
April McAdam, Robert and Jessica's 11 year old daughter, Leith's little sister.