Page 92 of I Wish You All the Best

“My mom apologized, she wanted to see if I would meet with her and Dad so we could talk.” I pull out my phone and bring up the message, letting Dr. Taylor read over it quickly.

“I see, and how did it feel, seeing that?”

“It was … weird. I felt sort of numb.”

“Do you think she really means it?” Dr. Taylor gives my phone back. “The apology?”

“I don’t really know, I guess it’s hard to tell over the message. Besides, it’s so old, who knows if they feel the same way now.”

“Have you thought about telling Hannah?”

“Oh God, no, that wouldn’t be pretty,” I say a little more loudly than I probably should.

Dr. Taylor actually chuckles a bit, which makes me feel better. “So, do you want to meet with them?”

“That was what I wanted to ask you. If you thought it was a good idea.”

“Well.” She lets out a slow breath. “That can be a tricky question. On the one hand, you want to hear them out, don’t you?”

I nod.

“And on the other,” she continues, “was their behavior really something you could see forgiving?”

“I’m not sure.” I don’t want to think back to that night, but I can’t help it. So cold, so alone, scared out of my freaking mind. And all because of them. “I want to think they’ve changed, but I don’t want to open myself up like that again.”

“It’s a scary thought.” Dr. Taylor sighs. “Honestly, I’m not comfortable suggesting you go. You’ve made a lot of progress, Ben, and seeing them again could potentially undo months of work on your part.”

I sigh. I figured she’d say that. And it does make sense. Hell, the night they showed up at Hannah’s should be enough to convince me to just ignore the message. Delete my Facebook so they can’t contact me again.

But they know where Hannah lives. They know where I am. So if I just delete my Facebook, there’s still the chance they’ll just show up on her doorstep one day. And them showing up unannounced won’t be pretty.

“At the end of the day, it’s your call, Ben. I can’t stop you.”

“Hannah would go ballistic if she ever found out,” I say.

“And that’s her battle to fight, not yours. Maybe I’m wrong. Perhaps this could be a healing thing? Maybe it will bring all four of you together.”

“You think?”

“I don’t know for certain. I can’t promise you’ll meet with them and everything will have magically changed, and they’ll be as accepting and loving as you’d dream they’d be.”

“Right.” I feel my stomach lurch. “I think I want to try.”

Dr. Taylor nods her head slightly. “Can I offer some advice?”

“Isn’t that why you’re here?” I try to laugh.

“True.” Dr. Taylor shows off her bright smile. “If this is something you decide to do, maybe you should have a friend with you. This boy from school maybe?”

“I don’t know if I can do that. I’m not out to him yet.”

“Understandable, but perhaps just having him close by would inspire some confidence?”

“Maybe.” I can’t imagine asking Nathan to be a part of this. But the idea of him being there, even if he just stands outside while we talk or something, it does make me feel better. That would take a lot of explaining on my part though, and I don’t know if I can do that to him.

“Ben?” Dr. Taylor peers over the frames of her glasses.

“Sorry,” I say, rubbing my hands on my knees. “I think I’m going to do it. I want to talk to them, to hear their side of things.”