MR. PATRY'S POV:

Today was a very auspicious day for Harold, so I have been trying to maintain the Academy myself. I checked on him nearly two hours before dinner and he was in no better condition than he was six months ago. I had told him to go home, to just take the day off but he assured me that it would only make his condition worse. He was mourning in a way that I cannot understand, nor that I want to. When I popped in his office, he was sitting in the dark with a glass of whiskey balanced steadily on the side of his armchair. Barely speaking a word, he remained perfectly still despite my presence...there was little indication that he would move from that position unless to refill his drink.

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NAOMI'S POV:

Standing there pointlessly, I stared down at the hanger and replayed the words consistently in my head...as if somehow it would all become clear to me. I could see a faint light creeping from below the door, so there was almost a definite chance he was inside. Contemplating on knocking, I had an off feeling of apprehension circulating in my mind. Well, more than usual of course.

He definitely told me to come tonight which means he should be expecting me...did something happen?

"Naomi." Mr. Patry called out from the far end of the hallway, almost as if he was rushing to stop me. "Uh, Mr. Davis shouldn't be disturbed today."

I glanced back to the hanger, trying to formulate every thing I knew about Mr. Davis into a cohesive explanation.

"Well, yesterday he told me to come to his office around this time." I pointed to his door.

"Are you sure he said today?" He furrowed his eyebrows.

"Yes sir, we are supposed to do out book club tonight." I crossed my arms over my novel.

Hesitant, he strayed his eyes from mine and focused them on Mr. Davis' office door. As if he could suddenly see right through it. Mr. Patry usually is never this uncertain about everything and, not surprisingly, this made me even more desperate to get inside.

"Well, if he said to come today...then I guess you best go." He motioned me to the side before knocking on the door himself.

The Administrators never contradicted one another, they always believed that consistency and respect were the best principles to help the students develop.

"Harold?" He placed his right foot slightly inside the door and leaned forward. "Naomi is here to see you. Are you okay to..." He stopped instantly, realizing his mistake.

Another thing the Administrators always attempted to do was remain composed and strong in front of the students. I guess it was a discipline tactic for the Academy.

"Do you want to see her now? Or should I tell her to come back tomorrow?"

I glanced my head around Mr. Patry's figure and saw Mr. Davis' sitting at a small table at the core of a closet I had never seen opened before. My curiosity was heightened when I saw him rumble something from the table to the inside of his shirt pocket. He then ran his hands over his face before standing, pushing his chair in neatly, and walking towards his desk.

"Tell her to come inside, thank you Jim."

"Go ahead." Mr. Patry gave me a little scoot inside before closing the door behind him.

"Is something wrong Naomi?" His voice was shaky and I could tell he was flustered by his messy hair and the paleness of his complexion.

He left the closet door open and my eyes could not help but pry, he did not seem to notice my immediate shift of attention. Scarcely, I could see the back of a picture frame and some silverware and plates through the subtle glow from a lit candle.

Turning back to him, his attention seemed to be fixed on his armchair resting parallel to the closet. Pressing my copy of the book against my chest to shake off my tension, I tried to get his attention focused on me before I addressed him.

"Mr. Davis? Am I interrupting something? I can come back another time." I asked politely.

He did not answer and, as a matter of fact, it took a slight movement of my hand shaking to get him to even look at me.

"Hmm?" He noticed my indication.

"What's...what are you doing?" I motioned to the closet.

"I was, uh I was just..." He pointed toward the table, but instead took a deep breath as he rose from his seat and walked to the closet door.

Ever so gently, he turned his back to the closet and shielded his eyes as he closed it. "What can I do for you?" He seemed more on edge at this point.

In that moment, any thought I had, any words I was prepared to speak had been completely halted after he picked up a short glass with a brass colored liquid inside. There was a disturbance in the communication between us, as he did not want to share anything with me and I, ironically, now did not want to do the same.

"Naomi." He said clearly, impatiently waiting for a response.

"It's, it's time for our book meeting." I made my book visible to spark his memory.

Returning to his desk, he placed his drink directly in front of him as he folded his hands over the middle of his face in an attempt to hide his expression.

"Oh," He then rubbed the back of his neck. "yes, yes of course." Picking up his keys, while shaking them noticeably, he inserted one into the top drawer of his desk and pulled out his copy.

"Mr. Davis, I am so sorry if I interrupted or disturbed..."

"Sweetheart you did not interrupt anything, nor did you disturb. I just was in the middle of something that..." He stopped to close the drawer, but I think it was mostly because he did not now how to finish the sentence. "It is of no matter, I told you that if you read the chapter then we would meet to discuss."

"We can meet tomorrow? Or even another time." I stated frankly.

"No, that is alright. Let me get the tea started."

"Yeah, but you are very busy."

"I appreciate your concern and your consideration but no, really I am fine. Please make yourself comfortable." He motioned to the loveseat, doing a really nice job of regaining his regular self.

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JASPER'S POV:

"There are no excuses Jasper, you put yourself in this position. No one else did this but you, now you have to face the consequences accordingly." He placed his hands to his sides as he scolded me.

"If it wasn't for you forcing me to see my dad, none of this would have happened! You have no idea how it is with him...!"

"Lower your voice!" He said sternly, causing me to instantly settle down as he marched to meet me, his chest almost touching mine.

"But you are too naive to see how it is!"

Almost instantly, he unbuckled his belt and pulled it rapidly through the loops of his pants.

"You will not speak to me this way," He said in a low whisper. "if you have something you wish for me to hear then I suggest you change your tone before I change it myself." He shoved his one finger into my chest and revealed the belt closely to my face.

Turning my head, I clenched my jaw in frustration that he would not listen to anything I have to say about my father. Mr. Patry was such a strict hard-ass that the only way he would listen to me is if I spoke without exhilaration. Which was immensely hard to do given that my blood boils with the very mentioning of my father.

"Have I made myself clear? Or shall we have this conversation after a feel of this?" He wrapped the thick belt around his knuckles.

His threat only furthered my frustration but I took a deep breath and realized what I must do.

"No sir, I am sorry." I waited for his response but there was none. "Please, try to understand that I have no idea what to do anymore."

I rubbed the back of my head, trying to release some of the pressure mounting on me. "I've been struggling to decide what is best to keep my family from tearing apart, which is all that seems to be happening now."

He motioned to my bed, resulting in my instant compliance so hopefully I could get something out of him. Advice or not.

"There are obvious tensions when you and your father are in the same room, I noticed it the day you arrived at the Academy. The first time." He shot me a look.

"Yeah, I know."

"And, I must say that it is exceedingly hard for me to comment when I do not know the situation, but I can say this;" He pulled out my desk chair to assume a seat. "bundling it all up will not make the pain go away. If you want to resolve this issue, you need to give him a chance to explain his side of the situation."

"But what he did was so...vicious!"

"It may be that way from your perspective, but there may have been...extenuating circumstances that would explain or cause him to do whatever it is that he did. Giving him the opportunity to explain would enable him, and everyone else in your family, to assess their actions and only then can you really understand their intentions."

I know Mr. Patry meant well, and I appreciate that, but he just doesn't understand entirely how it is. The problem with him is he is such an authoritarian that he almost always gives the benefit-of-the-doubt to the parents and seldom to the students.

"It may provide you both with some clarity."

I nodded my head and relinquished half of a smile, "I will consider it, thank you Mr. Patry."

"My door is always open if you ever need to speak about it." He patted me on the shoulder before moving toward my door.

"Sir?" I stopped him just before he could remove himself.

Turning around, he waited for my response but I was not entirely sure myself why I had stopped him. "I really do appreciate it, and I am sorry about lashing out."

He nodded his head, something small to give as a token of appreciation without breaking his stern Administrator character. I waited until he shut the door to throw myself backward on my bed, trying to take solace in the quiet atmosphere. If my father could just admit his fault...admit the horrible acts he committed against mom then maybe I could start to listen to him. But he never will, he never thinks anything he does could be wrong.

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NAOMI'S POV:

Mr. Davis handed me a cup of black tea before dumping his drink into the bin and fixing himself one. He looked exhausted, both mentally and physically, more than I had ever seen him during my time at the Academy. Even during the tough conversations we had, he never looked this worn down before.

"What were you drinking?" I asked after he took the seat across from me, carefully sipping on my calming tea.

"Bourbon." He glanced to the empty bottle sitting on his desk.

"Oh bourbon, yeah that's..." I stopped myself because I had run out of thoughts. "what is that?"

He delivered a slight smile as he stood again to adjust the sweetness of his drink. "It's alcohol."

I had never felt so awkward around him before, it was as if I were meeting him for the first time and I had to restrain from staring. But I could not help myself, I was trying my best to get a read on the situation. I saw in his eyes someone I had never seen before. The person standing before me was depressed, distracted...and faint.

"Could I address the elephant in the room?" I asked bluntly, the anticipation was driving me insane.

"I wish you wouldn't." He answered almost immediately.

"What is going on? You're not yourself and it is concerning me." I responded sharply despite his last response. "What were you doing in the closet?"

Giving me a long, hard look, he sat his tea next to the pot and rested his palms against the desks' corners as he leaned back. I knew I was asking a lot of him, but I cannot sit here and enjoy our book meeting, that he is clearly sacrificing something so important for, without knowing what is troubling him.

"I was having my anniversary dinner." He walked to the closet and opened the door, exposing all the contents inside.

Picking up the picture frame, he studied it closely and let out a small chuckle as he reminisced in the memory of his wife. He paced for a few minutes across the in-between of his desk and the closet, never once taking his eyes off that photo.

"We would always have a glass of whiskey on our anniversary." He returned the frame to the table, carefully adjusting it so it was directly parallel to where he was sitting.

I found it extremely difficult to process that I had interrupted something so precious. And it made it even more difficult to accept that he was sacrificing this sacred moment just to discuss our book.

"Why don't you finish your dinner and we just reschedule?" I sat my tea on the end stand and stood up, trying to make my intentions clear.

"No, please sit down. Believe me Naomi, I could use a distraction right now...because I accidentally prepared myself too much for this."

"What do you mean?" I returned to my seat.

"I completed today's work yesterday so that I may give myself one day, and one day only to mourn her so it would not interfere with everything." His face turned bright red as he entire body clenched. The crinkle in his eyes from his distress was soon filled with a glassy cover as he was holding back so much of his duress.

"Is that why you told me to come for our meeting tonight even though you planned on having your dinner?"

"No, no that had nothing to do with this." He inhaled sharply to avoid letting some tears out. "Sometimes when I speak to you Naomi, I forget about everything else in my life...all my worries and traumas disappear because I am so focused on you."

I felt a conflicting sense of both guilt but comfort in my chest. "But you need to have time for yourself..."

"Yes but, without exception, in every instance I will make time for you. You are my utmost priority now so you can look and you will always find me."

"Thank you Mr. Davis. I hope I can return the same amount of effort that you put into me." I tried to show my appreciation.

"You already do."

I went to him immediately and wrapped my arms around his stomach. Soon after he knelt down so that our hug may be tighter, and I buried my face into the crevice of his neck. Even though I would never wish any discomfort, let alone pain, on Mr. Davis, I would be lying if I did not admit that it was somewhat of a relief to know that he can confide in me as I do to him. We have both experienced loss within such a short amount of time, and yet somehow I knew that I could always depend on him when needed.

It's like the utmost consolation that what you feel inside is being shared with someone else. But right now the situation's turned around, enough for me to figure out that I be there for him as he has been for me. It's the least I can do for him.

"So," He backed away and picked up his cup of tea once more. "are you ready to continue this book? We have a lot to discuss."

My gratitude was expressed through a large, and very strong smile as I returned to my seat and opened my book to Chapter II.