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t w e n t y

"Where is he? Where's my sweet boy?"

Jonathan opened the door wider to allow the woman to come inside. "He's here. Please, come in. Thank you for coming, Zara."

She stepped into the dorm and tried not to cry. As soon as Jonathan had called, she got into her car and came over. Never would she have ever thought that Evan, sweet and smart and beautiful Evan, would almost attempt suicide. When Jonathan explained everything that had happened over the past month, she was torn. She knew she had to visit.

"I can take your sweater if you'd like."

"I'd like to keep it on. Just... Where is he?"

Jonathan sighed. "He's asleep in his room. Finally. He hasn't had much sleep ever since we got him back."

"Oh, my poor boy..." Zara murmured. "How could all of this happen to you?"

"If you don't mind, I'd like to talk to you about some things before he wakes up."

Zara nodded and Jonathan led her to the dining table. They both took a seat near the end of it and Jonathan sighed.

"I love your son very much, Zara. I know you do, too. I'm sincerely sorry for everything that has happened to him; I haven't been taking care of him like you told me to. I've noticed lately that it's really been getting to him. Not even just finding him halfway out the window, but in other ways as well. His behavior has changed a lot, for one thing. And going to class doesn't make anything better."

"What are you trying to say, Jonathan?"

"I'm trying to say that I think it would be best for Evan if he cut this school year short. There's too much on his plate already and school only adds to his stress."

"I agree with you on that. It'll be hard paying all the fees, but—"

"—but my family will help."

"What? No. I appreciate the thought, but—"

"It's no big deal. I've already talked to my parents and they're okay with it. Actually, my mother wanted to pay it all for you but I knew you'd be objected to that."

Zara smiled a little bit. "I hope you marry my son."

Jonathan laughed. "I do, too. Another thing I wanted to talk about is having Evan see a therapist or something. We can only do so much for him and I think seeking professional help would be the wise thing to do. My parents have offered to help pay for that, also."

"Again, I agree with you. I think that would help him a lot."

"One final thing I wanted to address is something I've been thinking about for a while and I think now is the best time. My idea is that we have Evan see a therapist for the rest of the school year and not go to any classes. I'll finish my schooling and once the year is done, I want to take him on a vacation. Hopefully he'll be in a better state by then. I haven't decided on where yet because I wanted to run the idea by you first. What do you think?"

"I love it and I'm sure he'll love it. He's always wanted to go to Germany."

Jonathan would remember that.

It was quiet for a moment before Evan's mother spoke up again.

"I appreciate everything you've done for my son, Jonathan. When the school year started, Evan would constantly tell me how weird and obnoxious you were, yet look at you two now."

Before the American could respond, a faint cry of "Jonathan!" came from one of the bedrooms.

"He's awake. I'll be right back."

Jonathan stood up from the table and hurried to Evan, who most likely had another nightmare. Zara watched him and smiled.