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Thirty Four

Mitch did as he was told, and even talked to Avi to get the full story. And when that was done, he called Kevin for advice.

Then he walked into his bedroom, and sat on the bed to wait for Scott.

Scott was out of the shower within the next few minutes, but he froze when he saw Mitch waiting for him. "Babe..?"

Mitch looked up from his phone, quickly tossing it aside. "Oh, hi. Sorry, I just wanted to wait here for--"

"No, I know, just... That's fine, this is your room too. I know that, but... Are you sure you've had enough time to think about all of this? I don't want you to rush into... Y'know."

"I'm sure. Will you sit with me?"

Scott nodded, tightening the towel around his waist a little before sitting next to Mitch on the bed. "Is it okay if I sit this close to you?"

Mitch nodded, turning a little to face him. "Okay, so... Let me start by saying... I'm not mad anymore."

"Mitch--"

"Shh. I know. I know I should be upset, but I'm just not."

Scott shook his head slowly, as if he didn't believe him.

"Don't give me that." Mitch reached over to grab Scott's left hand, bringing Scott's wedding ring close to his face. "See... When I said yes to this, I knew it was gonna be difficult. I knew... It was gonna be challenging, especially when we started living together. But it was worth it, because it was all for you."

"But that's no excuse for me to verbally--"

"Scottie, come on. Don't. I just need you to listen to me."

"Okay, I'm sorry..." Scott looked down in apprehension for what was going to be said, fixing his towel again.

"Let me repeat the fact that I'm not mad. Okay? I'm not." Mitch paused to let it sink in. "But... If there's anything I want you to change about yourself, to ensure this doesn't happen again, it's... It's just. Please don't let anything stay bottled up for too long, okay? If something's bothering you, tell me."

"Nothing was bothering me though, Mitch. I just... I was pissed off, and for some reason I decided to do the meanest thing I could, and... And say something that I knew was gonna hurt. And I'm so fuckin' sorry, babe. I have no idea why I would do that... But that's the honest truth."

"I see... I see, so. You're saying, you don't honestly believe that. But you knew that saying it, would hurt me."

"I'm so sorry, Mitch... I'm such an asshole, and you don't deserve that, and... God, I'm so sorry... Please just tell me what to do. Do you want to beat me up or something? Or... Or I'll sleep outside? Or on the couch, if I even deserve that."

"No, no. Don't be silly, honey." Mitch put a hand on Scott's leg, which was still covered by the towel around his waist. "Can you please do me a favor and stop saying those things? I'm trying to be honest and rational about this, but you saying these derogatory things about yourself, is distracting me from the point I'm trying to make."

Scott blinked at him slowly. "Mitch, I'm kind of an idiot. You're gonna need to break those big boy words down for me."

Mitch shook his head slowly. "I just need you to be honest with me. And stop being so negative. I'll decide what I need okay? If I need to sleep alone tonight, I'll let you know. If I'm upset, I'll tell you. So stop trying to put words in my mouth to make me the bad guy. Okay?"

Scott met his eyes. "Oh, Mitchie, I wasn't trying to do that. I'm sorry, I was just trying to be helpful."

"It's okay, babe. But... Just let me think, okay? I can come to my own conclusions."