Danny

Theo bolted out of history class as soon as the bell rang. Sunday, he said he had a migraine, so I couldn't come over. He's been quiet and distracted in all of our classes. He's been avoiding me all week, and I know it has to do with his Mom.

I'd be less nervous if he wasn't also ignoring Bryce, Brenden, the guys from the team, or his GSA friends.

Jessica walks up by me as I head to my locker, "what's up, Theo's butt?" I just shrug, "did you two have a fight?"

"What? No?" I snap back but soften when I see her face. "He got some weird news. He's been weird about it all week."

"Shit," she says quietly. "I'm sorry, Dan-O. I gotta jet to study hall. Text me if you need to talk."

I just nod and head to my locker. Last period Chemistry for me. I see Bryce at his locker and make a pit stop. "Did you talk to Theo today"

"You mean did I piss him off?" He says in a tone. "I did see him, but he didn't talk to me."

"Where is he?" I ask, looking around. "He's been ignoring me all week, and I wanna talk to him."

"Oh, he has a therapy session today. Cause of the social worker, it had to get moved up. So Dad's picking him up," says Bryce as we move to my locker to grab my stuff.

"I'm sorry about all this. I tried to pull him away when I heard it," I say as I do my combo.

"It's not your fault. Dad should've just told him," says Bryce, and he thinks for a second as I open my locker. When he's ready to speak, he lets the thoughts come out. "He should talk to dad, but hopefully, Dr. Grant will point him in the right direction."

"Maybe," I say as we head to chemistry. "I just want him to be ok."

" I know, bro. He will be," says Bryce as we head to our last class of the day.
****

Theo

Click. Click. Click.

I look at the clock on the wall. 4:16. I've been sitting here silently for 16 minutes. I've been silent all week, but now I'm with my therapist, who betrayed my trust.

Click. Click. Click. 4:17

I can't tell him any of this without Uncle Mason being told, and I'm not ready to deal with it.

Click. Click. Click.

"Theo? What's going on?" Asks Dr. Grant. "You're usually more open than this."

I just shrug and watch the clock his 4:19.

"Tell me about your week then. We've made a lot of progress these last few months. I think we can hang out on a lighter topic," he says with a smile.

"It was fine," I say. I'm not lying. Danny got a B- on his math test. I got a 99% on mine. "I don't wanna talk about school. I wanna talk about you."

He shifts a little in his chair, but it looks like he's just getting comfortable. Finally, he nods and closes his notebook, "what do you want to know?"

"Really?" I say in a surprised voice.

He nods again, "of course. Now, like yourself, I can refuse to answer, but I'll try not to do that. So what do you want to know?"

I think for a second.

Click. Click. Click. 4:27.

Time's slippin' by, and I need to make sure I tread carefully.

"Why did you become a therapist?" I ask. It's a basic question. I can get some info there.

He thinks for a second, "when I was your age... I had a friend try and kill himself. When he came home, he told me about his treatment and how it helped him."

I nod.

"I wanted to do that for people. I wanted to be that person someone could trust with their thoughts," says Dr. Grant with a smile.

"How do you build trust?" I ask after weighing his answer in my head.

Click. Click. Click. 4:35

"That's an interesting question. It's multifaceted," he says after a minute or so. "The first part is making someone comfortable. Do you remember our first session?" I nod. "I asked you about your favorite things. Food. Candy. Animals. Movies. Books. And it wasn't until the end that I even asked you what you thought you'd want to work on. You know why right?

I shrug, "I thought it was to get to know me."

Dr. Grant smiles and nods, "it was. It was also to see you get comfortable. I ended the session that way so you could talk and know I was listening. Then you could go home and think about your goals and know I would listen. Does that help?"

I nod and think about my next move.

Click. Click. Click. 4:47. The Social worker will be at the house at 5:30

"What happens if you break my trust," I ask. "How do you get that back?"

"Depends on the client. What works for one won't work for the other. For example, did I knowingly do something wrong? Or was it a mistake. I think you've said in the past that a person's intentions should be taken into consideration."

I nod; he's right. People do bad stuff for good reasons all the time. Lying is wrong, but is it really bad if you're lying to protect someone? Was Uncle Mason trying to protect me? Or was he protecting himself? Dr. Grant broke my trust by telling Uncle Mason that I missed my Mom and I wanted her in my life still. Did he do that cause my Mom isn't a good person or because he doesn't trust me to make the right choice?

Click. Click. Click. 4:55.

"Thanks for letting me ask questions, Doc. I'm good for the day," I say with a spring in my step.

He's unconvinced but stands up, "I hope this helped, Theo."

I grab my jacket and open the door. I take my shot cause I know I'll chicken out otherwise, "it helped. You broke my trust, Dr. Grant, and I don't know why, but you did."

"Theo,....I," he starts, but I interrupt him.

"Have a great weekend," is all I say as I leave and close the door behind me.

When I get out to the waiting room, Uncle Mason's reading a "People Magazine" from two months ago and looks bored out of his mind. But, he flashes me a smile when he sees me. "How was it, kiddo?"

I just shrug; I'm pissed. I know it. He knows it, but he doesn't know why. "You wanna talk about anything? You seem stressed."

"Nope," I say back as I head to the door. I pause for a second and turn to him, "anything you wanna talk about? Seeing as we're here."

He gives me a strange look for a second but then just says, "nothing at this time, but that might change."

I just make a non-committal face, and neither of us push the topic.

The walk to the car is quiet. He and I just awkwardly sit in silence on the drive to the house.

When we pull into the driveway, the social worker is already pulling up.

"She's punctual," groans Uncle Mason as he turns the van off. Then, he turns to me, "remember. If you're uncomfortable with her, just say so. She can't bully you around."

"Yup," I say quickly and open the door, "I can handle her. Unfortunately, she's not the first adult to try and bring me down."

He opens his mouth to say something, but I pretend not to notice, close the door, and head towards her.

I hold out my hand and slap on a fake smile, "hello, Mrs. Winters. How was your drive?"

She returns my handshake with an equally fake smile, "it was lovely. The forests are wonderful to drive through. Hello, Sheriff Collins. I see you just got off work?" She gestures to Uncle Mason's uniform.

"Uhh, no. Theo had his therapy appointment today. I picked him up from school and took him. Like I do every week," he says quickly. "Why don't we go inside. You're welcome to stay for dinner. My wife's making shrimp curry."

"No, thank you," she says politely. "I'm actually staying down the road in Seaside."

"Well then, let's get started," says Uncle Mason as he opens the door. "Do you want to do this in his room? The living room? Tasha! We're home. And the social workers here!" He shouts the last part deep into the house.

"Dining room is fine," says Erica. "Oh. I thought there were only four children in the house?"

Uncle Mason and I turn at the same time to see Brenden and Danny on the stairs with Bryce.

"Oh, those two are friends of Theo and Bryce," says Uncle Mason.

"Do you need to interview us?" Asks Danny with a big grin.

Erica cocks an eyebrow and answers curtly, "No. Theodore? Let's get started."

Bryce's elbowing him in the ribs, and I can't help but smile at him as his magic charm powers fail him. He gives me a wink before I go into the dining room.

I sit across from her, and I see the others peer around the corner. So everyone is listening to this conversation. That's just great.

I watch her pull out her recorder and notepad, and I scratch my arm. Trying to get down the cast.

She clears her throat, and my attention wipes back to her. "This won't take too long. First, I just want to make sure you're healthy, happy, and settled. Do you understand?"

I nod.

She pushes on, "Theodore. Tell me about your family."

"Theo, please. I don't like being called Theodore," I say quickly. "What do you want to know about them?" It's a very broad question.

"What's better?" She prompts.

I think for a second....how do I explain that this is a better life for me. When I'm angry at Uncle Mason.

"Well, for starters....they give me food. That was a problem before sometimes when my Dad was using," I say with a smile. She's not entertained. I clear my throat, "it's good. Bryce, Jackson, and I hang out a lot. We never really met before I moved here. Mandy's fun to be around too. Uncle Mason and Aunt Tasha actually talk to me."

"Do they listen to you? Or just talk to you?" She prompts.

"I think they listen. They make me feel like I'm welcome here," I say and see shadows shift in the kitchen.

For the next 30 minutes, she peppers me with questions about each of them. Once the topic of family is dried up, she moves on.

"Schools going well then?" She asks next.

"Like before, I'm top of the class. Hockey went well...until the night we met, but that happens. I think I'm gonna try out for soccer next fall," I say with a smile.

Uncle Mason knocks on the door frame. "Sorry. Do you want anything to drink?" He directs the question to her and doesn't make eye contact with me. Is he avoiding my eyes cause he's guilty or worried?

"No, thank you. We're actually almost done with the questions. Then Theo can give me a tour of the house, and I'll be out of your hair," she says with a genuine smile. "Theo, where are you looking to go to college?"

I'm just staring at Uncle Mason that she has to ask me a second time. I shake my head to clear my thoughts, "sorry. I've looked at a couple of schools. Some scouts came to our games, and I talked to a few."

"Anywhere in particular?" She asks, and Uncle Mason leans against the wall listening.

"Oregon...Washington...DU out in Colorado," I say, and because I'm petty, I go for gold, "oh and Vegas. I've been looking at schools there."

"Oh really?" Says the social worker as she stands up for the tour, "what made you think of that city?"

Uncle Mason's just staring at me as my mood finally clicks together for him.

"Oh, I just like the city. It seems like it would be fun to live there. I mean, that pyramid building looks like a lot of fun. Right, Uncle Mason?" I say as we walk by him.

He's dumbfounded, "uh yeah... It can be fun. We gotta lot to talk about between you and Bryce."

"I agree. Should be fun," I say with a nod. I turn to her. "I'll show the upstairs first."

Uncle Mason makes a beeline into the kitchen, where I can see everyone else is talking and waiting for dinner.
******