Jump (Dear Evan Hansen)

Night

I give Connor a quick hug, head down the stairs, wave goodbye to Mrs. Murphy, and exit through the front door. I didn't even think to go talk to Zoe, she doesn't even know I was here for a few hours. I think. Once I get outside and the door is closed behind me, I open my phone. It's full of texts and missed calls from mom. I'll explain when I get home, she'll understand.

As I walk down the sidewalk, I enjoy the peaceful orange sky, and the silence. Nobody is staring at me, or yelling at me. I take note of the different trees, all peacefully swaying in the light breeze. I wish I could be as calm as them, or at least Confident Evan could.

In front of my house are multiple cars, which is odd, considering my mom doesn't usually invite a lot of people over. Suspicious, I creep up to the door and slowly open it. I hear voices, and tiptoe towards them. In the living room sit mom, Dr. Sherman, and a police officer. My mom is sobbing, and I can't make out what she is saying.

"Mom? Is everything alright?"

"Evan? EVAN," she yells as she runs up to me and wraps me tightly in her arms. She holds me there for what feels like a long time. Dr. Sherman stands up while I'm still locked in my mom's arms.

"Evan, this is Mike. He's a police officer."

I use what I can of my arm to wave, as it is still trapped in a hug, and the other one is broken. The man gives a slight nod of his head in response. My mom finally removes her arms from me, but keeps her hands attached to my shoulders.

"We thought you went missing," she says, sniffling.

"Yes," Dr. Sherman adds, "I told your mom about the 'speech' you performed for me. She told me it was similar to something that happened the other night?"

"Um... sure...."

"Where did you go, Evan? I hope you weren't outside the entire time," my mom says.

"I was... I was.... uh... I went to the Murphys."

The three adults look at me suspiciously. Dr. Sherman pulls out his phone and begins to dial a number.

"Who are you calling?" Mike asks.

"The Murphys, they contacted me the other day about setting up sessions regarding their son, Connor I think it was; so I have their number."

"Evan was probably looking for that girl, Zoe. He seemed to enjoy talking with her."

"Thank you Ms. Hansen. Oh, hello, this is Dr. Sherman. Well actually, I was wondering if I could speak to Zoe. Yes, thank you. Oh hello Zoe, this is Dr. Sherman, I've talked to your parents before. Listen, we were wondering if Evan was at your house this afternoon? Okay, thank you," he says as he hangs up.

"Well," he says, looking at us for a minute, "Zoe says she is not aware of your appearance."

"That's because I didn't go to see Zoe. I saw Connor."

"Okay, I think we've had enough excitement today. Thank you officer Mike, Ms. Hansen."

Dr. Sherman and Mike get up and leave. I stare at my mom, and she stares back at me. She shakes her head and goes upstairs, leaving me alone. I stand, sorry, searching for something to say, but words continue to fail me. I wish I knew how to contact Confident Evan, besides through Connor.

Connor.

I pull out my phone and begin to flip through my contacts. An angered sigh exits my lips, as I still don't have Connor's number. I furrow my brow with determination and dial 411. I speak confidently and clearly into the phone, and wait to get connected to the Murphys.

"Hello?"

"Oh, uh, hey Zoe... it's um..."

"Evan."

"Yeah. You guessed it," I say with an awkward laugh.

"Is Connor there?"

"Yeah, I'm sure he is. Oh, also, some guy named Dr. Sherman asked me if you were here this afternoon?"

"Oh, yeah. Yup. Okay... is Connor there?"

I can here Zoe sigh as she shouts his name.

"Hello?"

"Connor. It's Evan."

"Oh hi. One second," he says, and I hear what sounds like footsteps, and a door, "sorry about that. What's up?"

"Well, um, I hope this isn't creepy or anything but I wasn't sure if you could give me your number or something so we could talk about stuff," I say, talking rapidly.

"Oh yeah, no problem. If you need anything, don't be afraid to call, okay?"

I scrawl his number down on a piece of scrap paper and we talk. And talk. And we continued to talk until Zoe got annoyed and yelled at Connor to get off the phone. We say quick goodbyes to each other, and then hang up, leaving me back in the dark and lonely room. Suddenly, I hear footsteps coming from outside. They get closer to the door, and I look and see the doorknob turn. I leap behind the sofa, but peer out just enough to see the door. A tall figure barges in.

"I heard the news, where is he?"

The voice sounds afraid. I jump up, and my mouth gapes wide open. I blink my eyes, and my body is frozen. The figure is still there. It's real. This is reality. We make eye contact, and I pinch myself, still in disbelief. I grab onto the sofa, look at the floor, and look up. This is really happening. A single word slips from my mouth.

"Dad?"