Mitch did his best to get over to Avi's place as quickly as possible. He, too, was worried about Avi and hoped that there would be a simple explanation for his absence.

Once arrived, he parked the car in the driveway and walked up to the thankfully open front door. As soon as he had opened it, he heard sobbing and even dry-heaving coming from inside.

"Scott, it's me, Mitch" he announced himself while he hurried inside to find his best friend sitting on the staircase, slumped against the wall.

"What happened, Scotty?" he asked with a soft voice and squatted down next to him.

"He left me this note" Scott pressed out between sobs and let Mitch take the paper.

Mitch quickly skimmed the note. He, too, was worried about Avi's health and safety, but he forced himself to take a few deep breaths and made a plan immediately. "Okay, Scott. I need you to calm down. Let's get you to the sofa? You will be more comfortable there, hmm?"

"Can't. He's gone. What if he crashes his car or jumps off a cliff. We need to do, s-something" Scott said.

Mitch noticed that Scott's breath was quickening. He took his hand and squeezed it. "First you need to calm down. You're slipping into a panic attack right now and if you want to take care of Avi you need to be calm and controlled, okay? Breathe with me. For Avi. In.... and out..."

After a while of breathing, Mitch felt Scot calm down. "See, there you are. Come on, we'll go to the living room now. I'll call Esther, maybe she knows anything. This note could mean anything, Scott. Let's not assume the worst, okay?"

"But we need to call the police!" Scott exclaimed.

"We will do so unless Esther knows anything," Mitch said. He helped his best friend up and brought him into the living room where he sat him down on the sofa.

"Call her, please? Why are you taking so long" Scott said as soon as Mitch was sitting next to him.

"Let me get out my phone first?" Mitch fished out his phone and was surprised when he saw that there already was a message from Esther asking him to call as soon as possible.

So he called her immediately.

"Mitch, thank god. Do you know where Scott is?"

"He's sitting right next to me, Esther. I'm at Avi's place, we're kind of having an emergency here and I was about to call you anyway."

Scott looked at Mitch while he was talking to Esther, wanting to follow the conversation, but he felt himself zone out.

"Scott? Hey, Scott!"

The blonde shook his head slightly when he felt Mitch shaking his shoulders. "Scott, wake up!"

"Hmm?" Scott hummed.

"You passed out," Mitch said. "When was the last time you ate something?"

"Not important. Avi!"

"Avi is... okay," Mitch said and Scott immediately noticed the hesitancy in his voice.

"Mitch?"

"Avi left Los Angeles, Scott. He is fine, Esther will stay in contact with him. She's also on her way here" Mitch explained patiently.

"Is he staying with his parents? I need to go there. I-"

"You are going nowhere right now, Scott. Not before you had breakfast and something to drink" Mitch said.

"But." Scott wanted to stand up, but Mitch held him down. "No. You just passed out. You need to rest. I don't want to call an ambulance because you fell and hit your head, okay?" The smaller man got up. "You stay here, I'll get food." He went into the kitchen and got a glass of orange juice and some cheese and grapes for Scott. "Drink!"

Scott reluctantly took a few sips of the juice and then ate a little bit.

"Feeling better?" Mitch asked.

"Not as dizzy anymore" Scott replied, while he was still munching on the grapes.

Mitch stole a piece of cheese and was still chewing on it when Scott suddenly spoke up:

"Mitch? What do you think did Avi mean with the note? Do you think he wants to..."

"I don't think he's suicidal, Scott" Mitch said.

"But he wrote that he would be leaving, Mitch and..." Scott shook his head. "I mean..." He took the note out once again. "Scott. I need to get out. I am so sorry for doing this to you, knowing that I will never be able to make it okay. You are wonderful and I will never forget you. Avi." The blonde sighed. "What does it mean? Needing to get out, doing something he can never make okay?"

Mitch looked at his best friend sadly. "Scott. As hard as it sounds right now, I think that he broke up with you."

Scott looked up. "Break up with me?" He read through the note once more and then felt tears welling up in his eyes when he found that it made sense. "He broke up with me."

When he heard the first sniffles, Mitch pulled Scott into his arms, let him cry himself out for as long as he needed to.

"He cannot break up with me just like that" Scott said once he had calmed down. He took a tissue from the box Avi had standing on the coffee table and wiped his tears away. "After all we've been through, after everything I did for him, after all the progress he made."

"The pictures changed everything, Scott."

The blonde looked up, surprised when he saw Esther standing in the room. "Esther."

The brunette woman sat down on Scott's other side and took his hand. "He called me this morning, Scott. He's on his way to his cabin. He told me that he had to break up with you because he wasn't ready for everything."

Scott wiped at his tears once more. "But it's not my fault that the pictures are out."

"No one is saying it's your fault. And even I as his sister don't understand Avi's actions right now. I get that he wants to get away from the city and the media and everything. He's basically fleeing."

"He did so before. Before we started dating. Remember?"

"I do," Mitch said, while Esther just nodded.

"What can I do now? Shall I go there?" Scott asked.

Esther sighed. "He made me promise not to tell anyone where the cabin is, Scott."

"But..." Scott began.

"You should give him time, Scott. There are things he needs to come to terms with and if he wants to be alone, we should respect this. I assume that you'll stay in contact with him, Esther?"

"Yes, definitely. I asked him to text twice a day and I will call him tonight" she explained.

"Good."

"It's not good, Mitch. He broke up with me and I don't even get to say anything" Scott said, fresh tears running down his cheeks again. "I want to go home."

"If it helps, Scott. He asked me to make sure that you're not alone. He knows that he hurt you deeply" Esther said.

Scott shrugged his shoulders, he was overwhelmed with the situation and unable to talk any more.

"I'll take you home, Scott," Mitch said.

"Go, I'll tidy up and make sure that everything's alright in here before I leave," Esther said.

Together with Mitch, Scott loaded his stuff into the car while Esther was watching them.

"Esther?" Scott asked after he had hugged her goodbye. "When you're talking to him the next time... let him know that if he wants to talk... I'm here."

Esther smiled slightly. "I will."

~~~~