ANIMALS [Mitch Grassi fanfiction]

25

Six hours passed. Six surreal, horrific hours spent with tears and silent prayers. It was in the middle of the night and they haven't slept a minute yet. Most of them were guided out because visitors weren't allowed to stay during the night, so it was only Beau and Scott sitting on the white corridor as Mitch's family. Nel and Mike haven't arrived yet.

The two boys have never been terribly close to each other. It was frustrating to wait in silence and not know what to say, especially because they both knew how important their role was is Mitch's life. Or at least used to be. Scott was texting Mark who was waiting in the parking lot with the others. Beau just kept staring at the wall, his mind racing. Mitch deserved better, he thought. Better in every way. He didn't know how their relationship was going to be after this.

A nurse opened the door of a hospital room with papers in her hand. "Dr. Farrow is going to arrive in five minutes. Mr. Grassi needed an emergency surgery, luckily everything went well. His stomach is damaged and he has two broken ribs but he'll recover for sure."

Beau didn't know what to say. Scott took the lead, he even had the presence of mind to ask questions from Dr. Farrow. Soon Mitch's parents came inside the building which meant that they had to leave, too. On the way to the car Beau's phone rang and everyone's breath hitched as he answered the call.

It was the police. They've caught the man that nearly killed Mitch. After running away, he broke into Mitch's house again, and when the neighbors saw someone entering the building, they called 911. Two officers had found him in Mitch bedroom.

His name was Brett Talbot. He's been diagnosed with maniac depression when he was 16 and had been hospitalized with paranoid schizophrenia at the age of 22. After being released, he stopped going to therapy. His ex-girlfriend called the police on him once before leaving him, so they knew his name already.

The guy following and threatening Mitch for months had a name finally. He was a real person, and no one ever believed Mitch when he told them. It almost caused losing his life.

Now the police wanted Mitch to face him again.

***

Mitch had to stay in the hospital for two weeks. In the first couple of days he was mostly just sleeping, but whenever he woke up, there was someone next to him. He was doing quite alright in the beginning.

Things started to get more interesting after he wasn't in a need of so many medications anymore. At first, he thought it was a side effect of painkillers that he felt so numb. On the day he got his hospital discharge summary, he realized that it wasn't the case.

He hated that everyone was making decisions about him behind his back. Scott had been talking with Nel, Mike and Beau but not with Mitch. They agreed on staying at Scott's place for a couple of days without even asking Mitch if he wanted to. How did they think they could make him go back to where he was nearly killed?

At the same time, he was too exhausted to express what he really thought. Words took too much effort, and he still wasn't convinced all those people he called friends and family would think he was able to make responsible decisions on his own.

Being with them was so hard. He couldn't feel like he had a place there anymore. They all treated him as if he was a different person now. Maybe he was. He didn't feel like singing, he was unmotivated to talk about clothes or photoshoots. Even if he put on some music, he switched it off because it was bothering him. Lately he lost interest in everything he loved.

The police recommended him visiting a therapist before they would make him face Brett. Mitch couldn't say his name out loud. He felt sick only by the thought of it. However, they only had a week to prepare before he had to meet him. Mitch wasn't ready at all.