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Morgan’s birthday came and went quickly, as did that whole week. Now, I was sitting in a bright white waiting room with Morgan on one side and Mason on the other. We had been sitting, quietly, for almost an hour. It was a Saturday, so Nick didn’t think much of it when we said we were going out. He was so busy working on something that he didn’t even ask where we were headed.

My nerves were fried, as we sat waiting. I’m not even sure how we got to this place, but here we were. It was all Morgan’s idea…she’s the one who found the place, but, Mason and I jumped at the opportunity, to go.

“You kids may come on in, now.” A middle aged woman looked down at us. Her name tag read ‘Martha’ on it.

“Thanks.” We each gave her a weak smile as we stood up. She led us to a set of double doors…the same, exact, double doors that I had been staring at for the past hour. We followed her down a long hallway. It was a really nice place…simple, but nice. I looked down at the beige carpet, and then looked up to see the light blue painted walls. We passed several, closed, doors and scattered plush chairs.

“Are you okay, Baylee?” Morgan’s voice floated, softly, into my ear. I looked away from the paintings on the wall, turning my gaze to her.

“Yeah,” I forced a half smile, “I’m good.” I drew in a deep breath, as the woman stopped in front of a closed door.

“Here you go,” she grinned and pushed open the wooden door. The tension could have been cut with a knife as we all looked at each other. All we could see, was a softly decorated room with a few comfy chairs.

“Thanks,” Mason whispered, as we all walked in, slowly. We stopped in the middle of the room and stood there, quietly, for a moment. I turned, looking around the room, and I saw him.

“Uncle Kevin,” my words were barely audible, as my eyes settled onto the man that sat in the corner. His head was bowed, hands clasped in his lap, and he was silent.

“DAD!” Mason shouted, rushing over to his father. Kevin wouldn’t look up, as Mason knelt beside him. Mason’s arms reached out and pulled his dad into a hug. Following suit, I made my way over and wrapped my arms around him, too. Morgan stayed off to the side, watching us.

“We’ve been so worried,” I whispered as Mason and I let go of him. His head slowly rose and his eyes looked up to Mason, then me.

“What are you doing here?” his voice was shaky and quiet. There were dark bags under his eyes, and his pale skin made him look sickly.

“Morgan tracked you down.” Mason smiled, warmly. “We wanted to come and see you.”

“You shouldn’t be here.” He simply stated, staring at the floor.

“We had to see you. Find out how you were. Tell you that we want to be here for you,” Mason bent his head down, to see his father’s eyes.

“You really need the love and support of your family, right now, Uncle Kevin.”

“I’m not really your uncle, Baylee.” He let out an awkward sigh. At first, I wasn’t sure what to think. Of course he wasn’t my real uncle…he was like a great cousin or whatever, but like I am supposed to call him ‘Great Cousin Kevin’ all the time. That would be awkward. Besides…he’s closer to being my Uncle than Howie, AJ and Nick are. I grew up calling all four of them my uncles. Well, until Nick became my guardian…after a while it, kind of, felt weird to call him an uncle when he was my guardian, but that’s a whole other story.

“You’re close enough. We are blood related and I have always called you my uncle.” I looked at him, closely. He sure was acting odd.

“Maybe you should stop.” Kevin stood, abruptly, and walked over to the large window. “You kids should go home.” His voice wasn’t harsh or mean, like it used to be…it was soft and…and…vulnerable.

“Dad…we want to be here. Why won’t you let us be here?” Mason went up and stood next to his dad. He looked up at his father’s face, expecting an answer.

“I don’t want you here,” Kevin chocked on his words, as he turned around. I saw a few tears make a path down his cheeks. His eyes were bloodshot. “I can’t risk it.”

“Risk what?” Mason and I asked, in unison.

“I don’t want to…I can’t…it’s just…never mind. Go home.”

“Come on! You can’t just push us away, like this! It took us forever to find you; and now, you’re just going to make us leave?!?” Mason’s eyes filled with anger, fear and confusion, as he looked to his father for an explanation.

“Calm down, Mase.” I rested my arm around his shoulder. “He probably just needs some more time.”

“He’s afraid.” Morgan’s voice pierced the air, for the first time, since we entered the room. I heard Kevin gasp, as his eyes gazed at the floor. “It’s simple, really. Since he has sobered up, he sees things a lot more clearly and guilt has set in. In this case, he hurt both of you pretty bad. I mean, think about it. He caused a TON of stress and tension between you and Nick,” she explained, looking at me and then to Mason. “Then, your mom was killed. He’s afraid that, if he lets anyone near him, he will hurt them, again.”

“How do you know that?” Mason tilted his head to the side, before looking up at his dad.

“It’s not really that uncommon,” Morgan shrugged. “Anyone paying close attention, to his actions and stuff, could read that.”

“Hello psychology major,” I raised an eyebrow at my best friend, hardly believing what I had just heard. Morgan bit her bottom lip, looking embarrassed that she had said anything.

“Dad?”

“I can’t do it again,” he shook his head, turning to face the wall. He shoved his hands, into his pockets, and let his head hang a bit.

“You’re getting better, right, Dad? I mean, you won’t hurt any of us anymore, if you’re getting better,” Mason tried to rub Kevin’s back, but Kevin pulled away.

“Just talk to us!” I urged, not wanting to give up. Kevin wouldn’t look at us and he had become very quiet.

“UH! This is so frustrating!” Mason threw his hands in the air and slumped into one of the chairs.

“You know what, guys,” Morgan spoke up, again. “I think we should go. You should give him a hug, tell him you love him and say ‘good-bye’. We’ll come back next weekend.”

“Maybe you’re right,” I sighed. I walked up behind Kevin and gave him a hug, from behind. “I love you Uncle Kevin and I have been praying for you. My dad never stopped loving you and neither will I.”

“I love you, too, Dad.” Mason whispered. He walked around so that he was facing his dad. Sneaking his arms, under Kevin’s, he gave his father a hug. “We’ll come see you soon.”

“Take care, Kevin,” Morgan’s voice spoke once more, as she opened the door. We all stepped into the hallway and slowly started walking back. “He just needs time, guys.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Mason nodded. “I mean…it’s gotta be hard for him, right?”

“I can’t even imagine what he must be going through,” I added. After thinking about it, I couldn’t blame Kevin for not wanting to be all chatty with us. He has got to feel like crap!

“Emotions suck,” Morgan laughed, sarcastically, “and, I am sure, he is dealing with a lot of them.” We exited the building and stepped into the sunlight. It was mid-afternoon and my stomach was growling.

“Let’s go get something to eat.” I suggested, looking at the other two.

“Yeah,” Mason agreed, dramatically. “I am starving!”

“You guys go ahead,” Morgan smiled, “I didn’t figure we would be out this long, so I didn’t bring any money with me.” I stopped walking and tilted my head. Rolling my eyes, I started laughing, and slung my arm around her shoulders.

“You are coming along, you are going to eat, and you are not going to say another word about it. Right, Mason?”

“Right! We so got you covered!” He chuckled. Luckily the rehab center, that Kevin was at, wasn’t too awful far from our house. About halfway, between the two, was a nice restaurant that had awesome burgers. It was about 15 minutes of walking, before we entered the restaurant doors. The three of us sat down, to enjoy a good lunch.