The Pact (Scömìche)(completed)

9 Make it right

Scott tapped tentatively on Esther's door, and waited. There was no sound from inside, and he was about to walk away when he heard her say, "Come in."

She had removed her glasses and was drying her eyes with a tissue. More tissues littered the side of the bed where she sat with her phone on her lap.

"I don't want us to fight, Esther."

"Okay."

Her voice was croaky and small, and guilt twisted in his chest. She wouldn't look at him, and it was his fault.

"May I sit?"

She shrugged and scooted up the bed a little, but continued to stare at the floor.

"Please, let's not fight. I'm sorry for being an asshole and you really don't deserve it. It's Mitch I need to talk to. I see that now." He put an arm around her shoulders and took her free hand. "Avi will kill me if I upset you, and then what will I do?"

"You'd be dead," she replied, her tone flat. "Wouldn't have to do anything."

That idea still held a dark pull, but he pushed it away.

"Then he'll go to jail, and what will you do, and Saskia, and the kids?"

Esther sniffed. "You're right. We better not let it get that far, huh." She squeezed his hand. "This is hard, I know, but remember who loves you. I'm gonna leave you to sort it out."

She blew her nose, then gathered the tissues and went into the bathroom.

Scott left, closing the door gently behind him.

Back in his office he answered a few emails, and berated himself for messing up. What was he thinking, going off on her like that? He needed to make it right. But before he could sink deeper into a pit of regret, Esther knocked on the door. There was a trace of redness in her eyes, but she seemed her usual self.

"Come and show me your garden before they all arrive," she said cheerfully.

He took her hand with care, as if he might break it by holding too tight. She allowed him to lead her around while he pointed at random plants.

"Well that's a blue flower, and that's a bush, oh and that's a rose. I recognise that one."

"Should do, you have them in your sleeve."

Esther reeled off plant names and descriptions, and Scott was in awe of her knowledge. His guilt faded to a dull ache, and they were once again comfortable with each other, wandering the garden under a blue sky punctuated with fluffy clouds. She was staying. He was forgiven, and it was more than he deserved.

At the sound of the doorbell, Scott strode back to the house. He returned with Avi, who greeted his sister with a hug. Esther clung to him for long enough that Scott saw Avi's slight frown, but she detached herself and smiled at him.

"Everything okay, Est?" Avi watched her closely.

"Sure, just tired from yesterday. It was all a bit of a whirlwind, but well worth it."

She took Avi's hand and led him to the outdoor kitchen. "Here you go, grill master. You'll find meat and chicken in the fridges."

Scott stepped forward. "Tell me what you need."

"Grab a beer for me, I got this."

"I'll go start on the salad." Esther walked back to the house, leaving the men alone.

"She seems a bit quiet," Avi said.

Scott cleared his throat and placed a beer next to Avi's cooking station. "She mentioned Mitch." He paused. "I may have got a bit upset."

"She'd do anything to help you, and I know you wouldn't hurt her." Avi spoke mildly as he concentrated on lighting the burner.

There was another short silence before Scott answered. "We're good now."

"Glad to hear it." Avi took a swig from his bottle, and arranged chicken drumsticks on the grill while Scott kept a careful distance. "Don't want to fight with the ones you love. It never ends well."

"How's Saskia today?"

Avi's frown relaxed. "Very happy, she's meeting Lynn for lunch and then shopping. Girly things."

"Yeah, it figures. So, um, Mitch. What's the story?" He breathed slowly and took a long drink of water.

"I know you two haven't spoken in a while, but we kept in touch. Very sporadic, he travels a lot with being on set. Spent some time in Italy, he was in a couple fashion shows I think."

Avi turned to lock gaze with Scott, his green eyes kind but missing nothing. "And then he contacted me about your birthday a few months back. I was surprised, to say the least."

"What did he say?"

"He said he wanted to come to your party. I said that wasn't a good idea. He was very persistent."

"You should have asked me, Avi. It's my life."

"I know that, but you were finally happy and settled. I didn't want him dropping a bomb in your life. But then, we were doing the songs as a surprise for you, and we hoped it wasn't gonna be too much to add him in. And I hope you liked it."

Avi flipped chicken legs, and Scott watched him.

"I truly loved the songs. He was..." Scott trailed off. What words were there? Mitch was a star, and like the night stars he was brilliant, distant and cold.

"He was, y'all were perfect." There was a lump in his throat, and he swallowed it down with a drink of water. He blinked and went on.

"I can't thank you enough, for putting up with me, and always being my friend."

Avi set down his tongs and closed the distance between them in two steps. Scott was rigid and anxious at first, but relaxed in Avi's warm, close embrace. Even though Scott was taller and broader, he felt cocooned by Avi's strong arms, and finally allowed himself to accept the comfort they offered.

"Better get back to cooking," Avi murmured, and they broke apart as Kevin and Kirstie arrived together.

Scott greeted them both. "Welcome to birthday party round two, barbecue edition."

"Looking forward to this. I'm gonna go see how Avi is doing," Kevin said happily.

"We still get pizza tonight, right?" Kirstie said. "And maybe... a sleepover?" She raised a questioning eyebrow.

"What are we, twelve?" Scott laughed. "Of course, plenty of guest rooms and couches."

"And, um, will Mitch be coming tonight? I wanna see him, it's been too long."

"Not sure, maybe. I haven't decided, but possibly. I don't know."

Kirstie patted Scott's arm. "I get it. I hope he will come, tell us about his new film." She looked up at him, waiting for a reply.

"Sure."

Scott had no idea about any film, or what he would do if he said yes, or what he would do if he said no to Mitch.

He saw Avi and Kevin having an animated discussion, so he went back to the kitchen in search of Esther. He sent her out and stayed inside, drinking iced water and trying to decide. Thoughts whirled through his head until he counted to ten and went back outside with the bread and salad.

They were back together, but he had always said that if they were missing a member, they were missing Pentatonix. There was no use trying to avoid this meeting any more; he had to face it.

Scott sidled up to Esther and whispered in her ear.

"Call him now."