Mentors - A Joshler Fic

Chapters 20

A week. One week had gone by since Tyler I’d brought to the hospital and today he was getting out. In one week a lot had happened. There’d been so much happening. There were diagnoses, big scary words like major depression. There were many therapy sessions, meetings with a psychiatrist, and talks about the best treatment plan for his mental illness. He was on a new medication, it was a trial period, just to see how it worked out for him.

The week had been exhausting, both mentally and physically. I’d been sick with worry that first day before I’d been able to see Tyler again. To hold him in my arms and reassure him that I still loved him. He thought I wouldn’t love him anymore because of his scars. Bullshit. I didn’t choose to fall in love with him, it just happened. My love for him was unconditional. The marks on his arms were a part of him, a painful part of him, but of a part of the boy I loved.

I’d been allowed to see Tyler everyday, for a couple hours. We ate lunch together everyday, I would bring Taco Bell, Tyler’s favorite and we would pig out. I loved Taco Bell too, so we had that in common, screw the fact that it was soccer season. I would just have to run a few extra laps. I don’t know if it was normal protocol to allow us to eat together but the doctor confided in me that I brought Tyler’s spirits up so they let us see each other. There wasn’t much alone time for proper kissing, but we would sneak a peck here and there. Mostly I would just hold him, and tell him how much I loved him, because he had to be reminded. That was alright, I could do that. I would tell him every second of every day how much I loved him if I needed to.

The day he was released it was sunny, and he was in good spirits. He was even joking around with his nurse. I was waiting with him for his dad to come and pick him up. His dad hadn’t visited much, in fact I’d yet to meet the guy. Which I didn’t have that much of a problem with. We were waiting in his room and his psychiatrist came in, a hunky guy with tousled dark hair and pretty eyelashes. He was pretty hot and I kept poking fun at Tyler for the way he acted around the hunky doctor. I kept joking that his gay was showing to which he would reply, “you wish”. We would both dissolve into a fit of giggles, and he would blush.

The doctor just asked how he was feeling and wished him luck. Tyler would still be seeing him three times a week after school for therapy. But he was free and I think he was ready to get out of this place, as I know I was happy to not have to visit him here anymore. He could come to my house again and we could um ‘study’. I mean we did actually need to study but also ‘study’ if you know what I mean.

Tyler had missed a week of school but I’d been bringing him his work and I was going to help him catch up. I’d missed quite a bit of school as well, coming to see him everyday, but I was a good student and my teachers didn’t mind at all given the circumstances.

******

Tyler’s dad was in the waiting room and was standing at the front desk signing the paper’s that needed to be signed to release Tyler from the hospital. I didn’t know it was Tyler’s dad until Tyler pointed him out to me as we stepped off the elevator and saw him. He was gruff looking. His face was lined with wrinkles and he had a greying beard to match his grey head of hair. He wore a baseball cap and a wrinkled questionably clean plaid shirt. He looked tired and annoyed to be here. I instantly disliked him. He ignored my presence and spoke to Tyler with little emotion in his voice.

“Are you ready?”

Tyler just nodded his head, his gaze held on the ground and his shoulders slumped. I hated this. I spoke up. “Hi Mr. Joseph. I’m Josh, a friend of Tyler’s.” I held out my hand to him. He looked taken aback to hear me speak but shook my hand. Briefly. “Huh. Didn’t know Tyler had any friends.”

He turned back to Tyler and nodded towards the door and started walking out, without saying a word. Tyler began following him, and I followed after Tyler. Outside at their car, his dad said “get in” before getting in the drivers seat and lighting a cigarette.

“Tyler I--”

“It’s fine,” Tyler interrupted me. “I’m going home and I’ll be fine. I’ll see you at school tomorrow. Can’t do anything in front of my dad anyway.”

He got in the car before I could say a word and then his dad was off and I was standing in the parking lot afraid for my boyfriend.

******

I drove to Tyler’s house Monday morning to pick him up for school. He was outside waiting for me, wearing a hoodie up over his head. He walked towards my car when he saw me and jumped in the car. Before I could even say good morning he pushed off his hood and reached across the car to kiss me, taking me by surprise. The kiss was deep and long. It was especially passionate, built up emotion coming out in this moment. We broke apart and I was quite literally breathless. Tyler seemed to be in the same boat as me.

“God I missed that.”

“Yeah,” I said, unable to be any more coherent in my current breathless state. “I definitely missed that.”

“I love you Josh. I - I’m really sorry for all the shit I put you through. Thanks for not leaving me and still loving me even if my head’s fucked up.”

“No problem Ty, you know I love you so much. You’re not gonna get rid of me that easily,” I said smirking at him.

He leaned across to me again and I wrapped my arms around him and gave him a kiss on the top of his head. “Love you.”

“Josh... I think we have to get to school.” “Yeah I suppose so. Okay let’s get going.” We drove to school, holding hands, and I didn’t want to let go yet.

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