The Assistant | Scavi

Waiting for news

Later that day, Scott was lying in his bed, just staring at the wall when the door to his bedroom was opened and Mitch entered the room. "Do you want to have some dinner?"

"I'm not hungry, Mitch."

Mitch sighed. "Scott. You fainted this morning. Please try to eat at least something." Have you drunk anything since we came home?"

Scott shrugged his shoulders. "No."

"Scott."

But the tall blonde turned away and pulled the blanket over his head. "I just want to be alone." He hoped that Mitch would just go and leave him alone, but then again wasn't surprised when he felt the bed dip beside him and felt Mitch lying down beside him.

The brunette crawled under the covers and spooned his best friend, pressed a soft kiss onto his neck.

Scott sighed when he felt the warmth coming from his best friend. "I just want to lie in the hammock with him, hold him and... I don't know. I want to help him."

"Scott, you can't help him with everything, you know? He decided that he wants to do this on his own" Mitch said softly. "And right now you have to think of yourself first. You have to stay healthy. And you know that eating and drinking regularly is a big part of it. You told me countless times when I was struggling, remember?"

Scott sighed. Of course, he remembered the times when he had to almost feed Mitch so he would get at least something into his body. "Yes."

"Tell you what, Scott. I am too comfortable to get up right now, but we can order some food and get up once it's here? Cuddle up on the sofa and watch a movie, maybe?" Mitch played with Scott's hair while he was waiting for an answer.

"I need to shower..." Scott said absentminded.

"If you feel like taking a shower you should definitely do so, but you're not smelly or anything," Mitch said. "How about dinner though."

"Just order wherever you want to, you know my favourite from each place," Scott said. "Do you mind if I get up and shower?"

"Not at all. if that's what you need I'm all for it" Mitch said and got up when Scott scooted away from him. "I'll be in the living room. Do you want coffee or tea?"

"No, thank you," Scott said. "I'll have some juice or water though once I'm out of the shower."

"Good. Anything else that I can make you happier with?" Mitch asked.

"No. Unless you can bribe Esther to get me to Avi" Scott said.

Mitch sighed. "Scott..."

"What? I don't like the fact that Avi, who is suffering from severe anxiety is spending his time alone in a cabin in a fucking forest. This is a recipe for disaster. I have seen him having attacks. He feels like he's dying. He starts to hyperventilate. I don't want him to go through it alone, Mitch" Scott said.

"I know that, Scott. But he decided to go away. He is a grown adult able to make his own decisions. You cannot force him to be with you. And even before you came into his life he was dealing with anxiety and he had to go through it alone" Mitch replied.

"But Mitch, I..." Scott shook his head. "I don't want to fight with you. I'll shower now." Scott grabbed his things and then left the room without saying another word.

~

"Stop looking at your phone. Esther promised to text you once she's off the phone with Avi."

"I know, but..." Scott looked at his phone again when a notification popped up but rolled his eyes when he saw that it was just junk mail.

"Please put your phone away while you're eating, Scott. You're just picking at your food" Mitch said softly.

"I'm not hungry. I feel so drained" Scott said. "But I cannot sleep unless I hear from Esther."

"Let's hope you can eat once you hear from her" Mitch commented.

"I don't care." Scott pushed his plate away and took his glass. "At least I'm drinking, see?"

Mitch smiled slightly. "I see," he said. He decided not to mention food again for the remainder of the night and finished his dish while Scott was staring at his phone.

Finally, he got a voice message from Esther.

"Hello Scott, I think it's easier if I just speak my mind right here. I just got off the phone with Avi. He is okay. There is no internet connection in his cabin. He told me that he did a little hike today, cleaned the cabin and is up for an early night now. He didn't show any signs for an upcoming panic attack and I think he really is fine away from it all. I also told him that you are ready to talk and he just said that you're too wonderful. He sounded very sad when he said this and I think that he regrets going away. I will stay in contact with him and I'll keep you updated. On another note, the pictures have been released with some speculations about his marriage and what the blonde man has to do with everything. For now, we as his management are not commenting on anything and if anyone should find out who you are and where you live, please don't comment either. And if you need anything, just call me, okay?
For now have a good night, Scott. I hope you can sleep a little better knowing that Avi is okay."

Scott listened to the voicemail and then just put his phone away.

"Scott," Mitch said. "He's okay for now. Please don't worry."

But Scott just shrugged his shoulders. "I just... I expected him to ask me to come. I thought that if Esther told him that I care about him, he would want me with him."

"It's not that easy, Scott and I don't have any explanation for it," Mitch said.

"But what do I do now, Mitch?"

"Right now we'll go to bed, Scott. You're mentally exhausted and I am dead tired" Mitch confirmed.

"About Avi" Scott reinforced.

"There's nothing you can do about it right now, Scott. At least not tonight. But tomorrow is another day. For you and for Avi as well" Mitch explained patiently.

Scott looked down. "Can we have a sleepover?"

Mitch smiled slightly. "Of course. If you want to, you can go and get ready for bed. I'll tidy up and join you in a moment.

"Thank you," Scott said and vanished in the direction of his room.

Mitch sighed and took out his phone. He didn't think that Scott would think about texting Esther back, so he decided to do it himself:

"Hello, Esther. I just wanted you to know that Scott received your message. I'm glad that Avi is okay. Scott is getting by. He wants nothing more than to be with Avi, but I keep telling him to be patient. I don't know for how long he can wait, though. If you keep in touch with Avi, please try to encourage him to go to his therapy session on Wednesday. And please keep Scott updated, even if he doesn't reply. Good night. Take care of yourself."

~

Scott was sitting on the edge of the bed, his phone in his hand. He hovered over Avi's number, wanted to call him, but then decided against it and decided to send him a message instead:

"Avi. I am just messaging you to tell you that I care for you. If you need anything, day and night, please let me know. Take care of yourself. I know that everything seems to be awful right now, but there will be brighter days, I promise. Good night. xxx Scott."

"Ready for bed?"

Scott turned around when he heard Mitch's voice. "Yes." He put his phone away and laid down, waiting for Mitch to join him.

"Good night, Scott. Try to sleep and if you need anything, let me know, okay?"

Scott nodded. "I will... good night."

~~~~