“So you’re saying I have no say in this?” Mitch stands and paces the length of Hetch’s hospital room. It’s been three days since Hetch woke up and after coordinating with Sue the last two days, she was finally able to drop him off at the hospital for a visit.
“We’re not saying that, Mitch. We’re just telling you what we know. So you’re prepared.” Hetch tries to calm him, but I can see Mitch starting to work himself up.
The pacing.
The way his hands clench, opening and closing tightly.
The panic in his eyes, the quick rise and fall of his chest.
He's not taking this the way I thought he would at all.
“Well, I don’t want to see him.” He stops his pacing and turns to face us, his cheeks holding a red flush. “I refuse to.”
“You don’t want to at least try, Mitch? You won’t be alone. The visitation will be monitored.” I try to reason with him. When Hetch told me about Dominic and his involvement in The Disciples, I suspected Mitch would be confused, but the last thing I expected was for him to be this angry about it.
“The last time I saw him, he almost broke my nose, and one of his crew put you in the hospital, Liberty. I don’t care if he was playing a part. He put you in the hospital.” My heart warms at his loyalty, but I try not to let it show. Instead, I look to Hetch, hoping for some kind of help.
“What? He has a point, sweetheart.” My eyes grow wide in a silent are-you-kidding-me stare. I told Hetch this morning we should wait to tell Mitch, but he said something about him being his person, and it would be better coming from him. He went on about how we shouldn't keep this from him a moment longer.
“Well, you don’t have to make any decisions right away. We still have some time before we have to set something up. Maybe you should think it over.” I try a different tactic.
“I’m not changing my mind. I’m not seeing him. I don’t trust him. You can go back and tell them no.” I understand where he’s coming from, and don’t blame him. But the last thing I want for him is to make such a rash decision without thinking about it. “No one asked me what I wanted.” It's the change in his tone, the vulnerability in his voice that has Hetch speaking up.
“Well, tell us. What do you want, Mitch?” His eyes lock onto Hetch's as he finally chimes in on my side. The room fills with even more tension as they stare one another down. Like this moment is too important to be spoken, so instead of using words, they're talking with their eyes. “Because the only thing B and I want is for you to be happy. Remember the day I said sometimes family is in here?” I watch as he pats his chest with his hand right over his heart. Mitch's stare drops down to Hetch's hand with a slight nod. It's so slight I almost don't catch it. “We're always gonna be your family. Rebuilding a relationship with him won't change that. You don't have to choose between us because we aren't going anywhere.” I see the realization of Hetch's words as they hit Mitch. How the tension all but evaporates.
Did he think we wouldn't be there for him if he wanted to see Dominic?
Before I can dwell on the question, Mitch steps toward Hetch and wraps his arms around him. But it's not what pulls me out of my own head. It's the fact there is no uneasiness in Hetch, no hesitation at all as he wraps his arms around Mitch.
A few seconds pass us by before they finally release one another and Mitch's eyes land on me. His silent words wrap themselves around me.
Please don't make me.
I don't want this.
And it's the raw honesty that has me relenting.
“Okay, Mitch,” I tell him. It’s for the best anyway. There won’t be any getting through to him today. The whole ordeal has too many wild emotions spiraling around all of us to be settled in one day. “I’ll talk to your caseworker. We’ll set a meeting up for you two so you can explain everything you're feeling and what you want, even if it's nothing at all.” I don’t know how that conversation is going to go down. But it is what it is. At least it gives Mitch a chance to get some things off his chest to the people who can actually change this outcome.
Happy with my stance on the matter, Mitch takes a seat back beside Hetch’s bed and reaches for his backpack. “I brought the board. You want a game?” He pulls out his chess set and starts setting it up on the small table in front of Hetch.
“Only if you let me win. I am at a disadvantage here, you know?” He points to the bandage on his neck.