“Hey, Avi. I am with him now, taking care of him. It’s a difficult situation involving the therapist and everything. I can tell you everything on the phone later if you want to. I’m sorry that I don’t have better news but I’m working on it. Take care, Avi. Mitch.”
Avi read the message when he was finished with his meeting. He was, of course, devastated, but he had known that Mitch wouldn’t be able to undo whatever had caused Scott to send the message. Yet, he was glad that Mitch texted him and he replied to his message:
“Thank you so much for letting me know, Mitch. And I don’t understand it so a call would be very appreciated. Even if it is hard, I want to understand what is going on inside his head. I’m going home now and will probably stay there the rest of the day, so feel free to call whenever you got time.”
“I will, Avi. Take care of yourself and call if you don’t want to be alone. I'll make time for you.”
“I’ll be okay. Might try some writing. But thank you.”
Avi drove back to his home and once he was there, he prepared himself a cup of tea and sat outside on the porch with his guitar. He played a bit and then tried to find words to describe what he was feeling.
Helpless. Sad. Numb.
But he wasn’t able to write anything down. It felt as if he was blocked. Avi put his guitar away after a while and just sat there and listened to nature.
The day passed by without him really noticing. The tea got cold and remained untouched, but Avi didn’t seem to care. Only the sound of the doorbell pulled him out of his thoughts and he got up.
“Mitch?” he greeted the brunette surprised. “Why are you here?”
“Thought I’d check on you. And it is easier to talk in person than on the phone, especially because it’s about a serious issue” Mitch said.
Avi smiled slightly. He was glad that Mitch was there. “Thank you, Mitch. Come in.” He waited until his friend hand stepped inside before he led him to the kitchen. “Do you want to drink anything? Coffee, tea, water? I would offer food as well but the fridge is almost empty.”
“Coffee would be fine” Mitch returned. “And don’t worry about the food. Unless you’re hungry, in that case we should get you something. Did you eat today?”
Avi scratched his head. “Breakfast. And I nibbled on a few cookies during the meeting…”
Mitch sighed. “Okay, we’ll order” he said.
“Yeah, we should” Avi returned. “What are you in the mood for?”
“Whatever you’re getting. I don’t care. I already had pizza this afternoon, so probably something lighter. A salad maybe…” Mitch said.
“Pizza?” Avi asked and then he frowned. “Scott’s go-to comfort food…”
Mitch nodded. “Yeah. He is not good at eating regularly when he’s not feeling well…”
“I know” Avi returned. “It’s the opposite for me, usually. I tend to snack when I’m not good. But this afternoon I was just numb.” He tried to distract himself by preparing coffee but noticed that tears were clouding his vision.
“Avi…” Mitch said softly. Even though the bearded man had his back towards him, he noticed that something was wrong.
“Sorry, I…” Avi said and wiped a few stray tears away. “I really want to understand him, I want to support him. And it shouldn’t be about me, but it fucking hurts.”
Mitch frowned. Avi usually never swore, so the fact that he was doing it, took him by surprise. rprise. “Hey, Avi…” he tried again and put a hand onto the bearded man’s arm. “It’s okay that you’re hurting.”
Avi turned around and sniffled. “I just want to be strong for him, but I can’t.”
Mitch pulled him into a tight embrace and held him until he seemed to be calm again. “You can’t always be strong for him, Avi” he explained. “Sometimes you have to put yourself first.”
Avi nodded slowly. “I know. It’s just hard.” He closed his eyes momentarily and sighed softly. “Anyway, coffee…” He turned back around and prepared the two mugs, then handed Mitch one of them. “Let’s sit down in the living room.”
“And we should definitely order food before we talk” Mitch returned.
Avi nodded. “Yeah.”
~
“So his therapist told him to break up with me and he did it?” Avi asked Mitch
The smaller man nodded. “Yeah, that’s basically it” he said and sighed softly. “I really don’t know why, though. He is devastated, but he wants to get through with it.”
“Is it helping him? Do you think it will help him?” Avi wanted to know.
Mitch grimaced. “Right now I don’t think so. And I tried convincing him that he is happier with you. He even talked about you.”
“He did?” Avi asked.
Mitch nodded. “He did. And as soon as he did, he was smiling and looked happier. He even said that he was happy with you.”
Avi looked down onto his hands. “So why did he break up with me?”
Mitch shrugged his shoulders. "If I only knew," he said. "Maybe after his therapy session on Thursday it will be different."
"Do you think so?" Avi asked.
Mitch shrugged his shoulders. "I hope so" he returned. "His therapist needs to realise that he is worse than before."
"Or he needs another therapist…" Avi concluded. "Someone who respects him and his feelings and wants to help him."
Mitch nodded. "That's what I've been thinking about as well. But I might ask my therapist tomorrow, maybe she'll be able to help. She's amazing, but the therapist she recommended to Scott is specialised in relationship trauma."
"Mmhm" Avi hummed.
They both fell silent for a while. "Are you feeling better?" Mitch then asked.
"A little bit," Avi replied. "It's good to know that he apparently still wants me, but I hate not being able to help him. I want to support him. I feel so helpless…"
"So do I, Avi. I mean I was able to see him, but he's so focused on what his therapist is telling him to do, I really can't talk to him. He just won't listen to whatever I am saying" Mitch said. "It sucks seeing him this unhappy."
"Yeah. But I'm glad that you're there to take care of him. And me" Avi replied. "It's good to have you as a friend."
"Same" Mitch returned. "You're the most loyal friend I know. And I promise to you that I will do whatever it takes to get you and Scott back together. You both deserve happiness."
"I guess we do…" Avi replied. He wanted to add something but was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. "Finally" he commented as he got up.
Mitch chuckled.
"What? I'm hungry" Avi said and quickly went to get their order. He handed Mitch his salad and took his burrito.
"And I'm glad. Feeding one person is enough right now" Mitch said gravely.
"Mmhm, I get that," Avi said. He put down his burrito. "It's affecting you as well…"
Mitch nodded. "Of course it is. Especially because I thought that there was no need to worry now that he got rid of Nick" he explained.
"I know. And I would love to help you, I just don't know if it's a good idea for me to go to him right now" Avi returned.
"Sadly, I don't think it is'' Mitch returned. "But I know that you'll be waiting for the moment he wants you there and this is more than enough."
~~~~
