Incurable

Thirty Four

The group of friends met up at breakfast, some in worse condition than others.

Scott scanned through all of them, making a note in his head and trying to prioritize them by how worried he was about each of them.

Of course most of them were talking and eating as he did this, which is why he'd become so good at it.

He'd come to the conclusion that Alex and Avi were at the top of his list.

Mitch giggled at something Kirstie had said to him, and then turned to Scott, his mood changing dramatically. "Why aren't you eating?"

This gained the attention of almost everyone at the table, so Scott blushed furiously and looked down at his lap.

Mitch tried again. "The nurses will yell at you if you don't eat."

Kevin eyed Scott skeptically. "Mitch, has he said anything at all today?"

"Um... Earlier this morning. But we went back to sleep, and then when we woke up again he started the quiet."

"He hasn't said anything since the second time you woke up?"

"Mhmm." Mitch confirmed, reaching over to hold one of Scott's hands. "He's just shy."

Alex hadn't eaten either, but he'd been leaning on Jake's shoulder, and Jake finally turned to notice that Alex had fallen asleep. "Aw... Allie?"

Alex jumped awake and sat up straight. "Oh, sorry."

"No, that's not--" He sighed quietly. "Are you okay?"

Alex smiled and nodded. "Yeah."

Scott shook his head at him, and then looked back down.

Mitch translated for everyone, though no one asked. "Scott thinks you're a liar."

Scott's eyes widened and he shook his head at Alex.

Jake saved him though, eyeing Alex up and down once. "Yeah... So do I. Did you not sleep at all last night? I could've sworn you were out by the time I went to bed."

"I just had a few nightmares is all." Alex confessed, finally looking at his food.

Mitch questioned it. "About Mr. Riley?"

Alex didn't respond.

Jen came skipping over right then, before plopping down loudly with her clipboard. "Hello!"

Kirstie jumped at the sound, but let out a relieved breath afterwards.

Avi watched her do this, and the fear he saw in her eyes, even if only seen for a split second, made his heart hurt.

Jen pointed at Alex and Scott. "Your appointment is right after lunch. Are you absolutely positive you want to do this?"

Scott nodded curtly, and Alex smiled at her. "Yes, Ma'am."

Jen wrote something down, glancing up at Scott for a second, and then she wrote something else. "Okay, well. It's all set up. I'll be in my office, so if anything happens please come tell me."

Kevin gave her a polite smile. "We will, Jen. Thank you."

As she turned to rush off, she stopped and faced the table again. "Mr. Hoying? Could I have a quick word?"

Scott stood immediately, and walked over to her, although he kept his head down.

Jen turned away from the table to speak to him, Scott turning his shoulders away too. "Listen, Scott... I understand your noble reasoning for doing this. But I worry that... Without your speech... You'll allow him to attack you without any defense. And I don't want to see that destroy you, after all the progress we've made."