PART TWO OF EVAN
Evan had been in the hospital for two weeks when he was finally allowed to go home. Granted, he was still a beaten up mess, but most of his serious wounds had healed.
"...Home?" Evan asked uncertainly, stealing a glance towards Ty and Ray who both gave him reassuring smiles.
"Yep. We'll discharge you tonight." The doctor said. He clicked his pen on the clipboard and walked out of the room, giving the three boys a small nod in the doorway before gently shutting it behind him.
"Obviously you're not going home home," Ty said through a nervous laugh, using his hand to scratch the back of his neck. "Given our situation and everything."
Evan stared at the floor and nodded to show he understood.
"Evan..." Ty trailed off.
Evan took in a shaky breath and slowly brought up his eyes to meet Ty's, quietly asking, "Better?"
Ty gave him a soft smile and nodded. "Much."
Over the course of two weeks Evan had showed pretty significant improvement. He was getting more comfortable around people, not flinching every time someone touched or spoke to him. The one thing he still needed to work on was the eye contact. It would take awhile to help him understand that he wasn't any less of a person than anyone else. Ty had slept in the room with him everyday since he was admitted, which no one knew yet, but was quite a huge help with his recovery. Ray was in and out of the hospital visiting, trying to tie up loose ends with things before Evan was let go.
Ray nudged Ty with his elbow signaling for him to continue, of which Ty shot a glare and swatted him away.
He cleared his throat, pulling at the collar of his shirt. "One more thing Evan."
"Yeah?"
"We're gonna take a break from our mission."
"Why?"
Ray and Ty exchanged a glance. "I-It's just that we think it'd be best for all of us if we took a month or two to...recuperate from everything that's happened."
Evan stared at his hands as he talked. "It's because of me. It's my fault. I'm sorry."
Ray jumped in. "No! It's nobody's fault, it's just a choice that we're making. It's best for all of us."
"There's nothing to be sorry for," Ty added. "Why don't you try to sleep a little more before you go, yeah?"
Evan nodded and quickly sunk into the bed, turning his back to them and pretending to sleep.
"What are we gonna do?" Ray whispered to Ty.
He arched an eyebrow. "About what?"
"Don't play dumb. About Evan."
"...What do you mean? There's nothing we can do besides give him time."
"How much time?" Ray whispered harshly. "We have a schedule, Ty, this kind of break could cost us ev-"
"Our entire mission would've been jeopardized if it wasn't for Evan. You get that right? He kept his mouth shut and endured that shit for two fucking months. For us." He stood up abruptly from the chair, leaning into Ray's face and lowering his voice. "We give him as much time as he needs."
Ray remained silent as he stared at Ty, the two of them in a heated, intense exchange. Eventually Ray stood up and walked out of the room, making sure to softly close the door behind him. Ty sighed as he took a seat back down in the chair, resting his face in his hands.
