Mind Over Matter: Round 2 | Scomiche

Chapter 13

     Mitch took his phone away. Scott didn't necessarily like it, but with the texts and calls and emails he was getting he thought it would be best to just take it out of his hands so he wouldn't have to see it. Esther had been texting nonstop about all sorts of things. From all of the team member's reactions to how long Matt trained the day before down to the minute. Mitch could tell she was obviously concerned about the whole thing, perhaps even felt similar to he did with Scott's demand that they do nothing. She had always been a do-er. Sitting and watching this from afar probably wasn't easy for her.

     They had the entire day to waste before the press junket tonight. Mitch wasn't sure if he should feel good that they had downtime before that or not. He almost regret flying in a day earlier to see his parents, but he really did enjoy spending time with them last night. He missed them a lot.

     Mitch was more than okay with Scott's decision to head to the gym for most of the day. Gave Mitch some time alone with his parents and time to think about what he needed to do.

     He was still so conflicted. Scott was telling him to ignore things, but that was hard when every glance at his phone meant he was reading a new assumption or rumor or insult against Scott. It was infuriating. And he really, really didn't want people to bombard Scott with questions about this at his press event tonight.

     As he sat eating his lunch with his parents, things were quiet. He was too in his thoughts to really have a conversation but they didn't seem to mind the silence for now. They obviously knew he had a lot on his mind.

     "Can I ask you something?" Mitch just wanted another opinion. Even if it was one that he didn't want to hear.

     "Sure, honey." His mom looked up as she leaned her elbows on the table.

     Mitch looked over at his dad nodding. "I know Scott said to do nothing, but I feel like I should be trying to do more. Like, figure things out for him or... I don't know..." Mitch shook his head in frustration. "If I were to do something about all of this... is that me being selfish and not respecting his wishes or is that me taking care of him despite what he thinks he wants?"

     His parent's met eyes for a second. Nel took a deep breath. "Your father and I were actually talking about this last night. It's hard for either of us to imagine what dealing with any of this feels like, but if I were in your situation I would want to do the same things, I think. As your mother, I already want to figure out how to protect you in all of this."

     "We know you can clearly handle yourself," Mike pretended to punch the air and Mitch rolled his eyes. "So before you get involved in anything make sure that it's for the right reasons."

     "Okay..." Mitch chewed on his lip as he thought through his options. He had already gotten a reply from Scott's rehabilitation center confirming their confidentiality and informing him that they did not have any public records of clients which was a relief. He expected they would say something along those lines, but it felt good to have it confirmed anyways. "He has his press junket tonight. They are going to go crazy on him with this information. Even when I was just his doctor he would get questions about us when the rumors started. Is it selfish of me to want to call them and warn them against asking about it? Is that good for Scott or good for me?" He wondered aloud.

     "I think that would be good for Scott. He seemed like he wasn't interested in talking about it publicly yesterday." Mike said, glancing over at his wife as she nodded her agreements.

     Mitch pursed his lips. "Okay. And what if I try and contact Sports Illustrated? Or the person who released it early?"

    Nel was already shaking her head. "No, there's nothing you can do there. It's already out."