493 Another Drive (1/2)

Once I reached my room, I expected Noah to follow or maybe even Mr. Atkins, but it was Dr. Moore that can by first. I had sat down on the bed, so to be more eye level with me, he had sat at the desk, facing me.

”You panicked.” He stated calmly.

I felt the blood rush to my face, no doubt turning me red.

”Do you have any guesses as to why?”

I avoided eye contact.

”I like helping my patients come to their own conclusions, but I can sense that you already have an idea as to why you got upset and stormed out of there.” Dr. Moore waited. ”So, I'll say it first: you want to reject him before he rejects you.”

”No!” I denied. ”He already said we weren't brothers. I just now decided that it was okay not to be. I don't need him.”

”I'm not saying you do.” Dr. Moore said calmly.

My jaw clenched.

”Let me put this in perspective for you: you're mad that he never came back to check on you and didn't want a relationship with you. Now that he's making an effort to come be here, you run at the first sign. Are you just trying to get back at him? Make him see what it's like to get rejected?”

”He rejected me first so it's not like I'm the bad guy here.” I frowned.

”I'm not saying that you are.”

I groaned, frustrated. ”What are you saying then??”

Dr. Moore looked me in the eye. ”In all seriousness, do you really want to write him off so quickly? Weren't you willing to give this a shot just yesterday? Do you just want to cut ties?” He paused for a second. ”There's no right or wrong answer. I just don't want you to pass up the chance to mend some of your hurt.”

”Didn't you hear me down there?”

Dr. Moore studied me for a minute. I didn't back down or look away this time. Seeing my seriousness, he sighed. ”Alright, Jake. If that's the way you feel, that's fine. There's nothing wrong with that. I'm just thinking about your best interests.”

A knock at the door sounded, pausing our conversation. Mr. Atkins peeked in. ”Jake?” Seeing the stalemate between me and Dr. Moore, he straightened up and gestured for me to follow. ”Come on, Jake, let's go for a drive.”

I couldn't find a reason to refuse so I got up and followed him. Going down the stairs I felt my chest tightened, thinking I might run into Jeremy again. Instead, it was just Mrs. Atkins with Mr. Duncan.

She gave me a light smile and waved. I lifted my hand back at her and continued to follow Mr. Atkins to his car. We got settled in and he started to drive.

After fifteen minutes of silence, I thought of something to say. ”Where did Noah go?”

”I had Zeke take him to the park. They're probably playing catch or running some plays.” He chuckled to himself. ”Dave went to see Garret and Kyle went to hang out with Marie. It's not very often they're so obedient. I think they know that you needed some alone time.”

He grinned. ”You do. I'm here for you. Always.”

We left town, heading to somewhere I've been once before. We arrived at the beach, got some ice cream, and sat at the bench looking out to the ocean.

”It's been awhile.” Mr. Atkins noted as he licked his ice cream. ”So much has changed, huh?”

I nodded and ate my ice cream, feeling a sense of peace. Mr. Atkins had taken me here before, after Zeke's commitment to Stanford. It's where we talked about our dads and what I wanted from my own missing father. I paused. Glancing up at him, I felt suspicious.

Mr. Atkins laughed as he caught my look. ”Oh. You figured me out so quickly. I didn't even say much yet.”