Jonas seeing his stepfather's car felt a little better. His parents had returned from their romantic weekend. He had missed his parents, even if it was only for a weekend, and what happened yesterday with Tyler had upset him more than he thought. At that time, the only thing he wanted to do was have fun and spend time with his parents. He rushed inside the house, as if they could disappear at any moment if he didn't hurry.

"Dad, are you there?" shouted Jonas when he saw no one.

"We are here!" Said his father.

As soon as his father spotted him, he hugged him to greet him and kissed the top of his head like he always did since he was a kid. No matter how much he had grown, he knew that for his father, he would always remain his big baby who couldn't hold a fork without putting it everywhere.

"I missed you," said his father.

"We saw each other two days ago, dad," said Jonas, amused.

"It was not the answer I expected," said his father.

"I missed you too, dad," said Jonas, rolling his eyes.

"I still remember when you cried every time I took you to school because you didn't want to be separated from your poor old father," teased his father.

"Dad, it was my first back to school," said Jonas.

"I wish you had stayed as cute as when you were little. Now you don't even miss your poor old father. I don't think you need me anymore," his father pretended in a dramatic tone.

"Dad, it's ok, you can stop the comedy, I will always need you," said Jonas.

Before her father could reply, her stepfather entered the room.

"Hey Sonny, good to see you !" his stepfather said, hugging him as well.

"Me too! Dad is a little too dramatic, though."

"You should have seen how worried your dad was. I should call Jonas, oh no, and if Jonas needs any money," his father said, mimicking his father's voice. "I swear he meant you call every ten minutes if I hadn't tried to dissuade him," teased his father, which made them all laugh.

"Hey, now you shouldn't be against your own husband," laughed his dad as he gently pinched his stepdad on the arm.

"Ouch ! You hurt me. I need a magic kiss from my beautiful husband," his stepdad said, pretending to be hurt.

His dad shook his head amused before gently taking and tenderly bringing his lips at his arm while making sure to keep eye contact with his dad.

"Here you, big baby, satisfied?" said his father, releasing his arm, however his stepfather didn't let him and joined their hands together.

"Very," laughed his stepfather before placing a tender kiss on his father's lips before releasing him, which made his father smile with all his teeth.

His father and his stepfather had been married for almost ten years now, and they were still in love despite the years. Seeing them so happy filled him with happiness, but above all, seeing his father happy a second time reassured him enormously. He was happy to see his father so happy in his stepfather's arms.

He envied what they had sometimes, and he wondered what it would be like to have someone so special by his side. Nevertheless, he was not looking for a relationship, seeing his parents so happy and in love was enough.

His stepfather was an artist and a draftsman he could draw and paint anything. He earned his living by being an illustrator for authors who were looking for covers for their books, or even for children's books. He captures in drawings precious moments in people's lives, such as births, weddings, and birthdays. His stepfather was an artist at heart who loved to draw, it was his passion and his job. He is quite the opposite of his father, who does not even manage to draw a house without it resembling a drawing of a twelve-year-old child.

His father was a Marketing Director at a successful San Francisco startup. He spent his days developing and implementing marketing plans and actions to develop the sale of goods and services. He was both a manager and strategist.

Where his father was orderly, Daddy Hen, and constantly worried, his stepfather was messy, laid back and always serene. Nothing could stress his father-in-law or worry him, which sometimes gave the impression that he didn't care. And where his father was quite introverted, his stepfather was outgoing and could socialize with anyone effortlessly.

His two parents were complete opposites. They looked nothing alike. Maybe that's why the two were so compatible.

"I'm going to start dinner," said his father.

"Great, I'll help you," said Jonas, joining him in the kitchen.

"And that's the signal for me to go," said his father-in-law. His stepfather was actually bad at cooking, unlike him and his father. Before getting together with his father, he lived constantly on take-away food or reheated food, which horrified his father when he found out.

Since his father always makes sure to prepare good healthy homemade meals for his stepfather.

As he started chopping the onions while his father was peeling the potatoes, his father spoke up.

"So how did this birthday go?" said his father.

Thinking back to his birthday with all these friends, Jonas immediately smiled and hastened to tell him about the evening.

"I always found your friends weird, especially Tetsuya, but don't tell him I said that," chuckled his father. "It's been a long time since I saw Tyler. How is he doing ?" his father asked, unaware to his inner turmoil at the mention of his best friend.

"He's fine," Jonas said with forced casualness. However, his father must have seen that something was wrong, because he suddenly turned to him with a frown as if to ask what was wrong.

"Are you OK ?" asked his father, scrutinizing him.

First it was Normani, then now his father is asking him what was wrong. He was a little horrified to be so transparent and let his inner turmoil shine through despite these precautions. However, it didn't surprise him that his father could see that something was wrong with him, his father could read him like an open book without effort. He knew there was no point in lying to him, however he wanted to see if he could escape the conversation with his father. Knowing his father, probably not. His father was a dad hen, if he saw the slightest thing that upset him, he was constantly worried.

"Yes why?" Jonas feigned, keeping his eyes glued to the onions lest his father might see his inner turmoil.

"You haven't really told me about Tyler, who's your best friend that you haven't seen in almost four months now. And you're always usually so excited when you see Tyler that you keep telling me about him for at least the next two hours."

Ok, now that his dad was being brutally honest.

"Jonas, you know I'm always there if you need to talk, but now you're worrying me, did something happen ?" asked his father.

So Jonas told him everything, how happy he was to have Tyler back, the fear he went through seeing Tyler in a panic attack, the panic when he realized Tyler was gone, and how it hurt him to know that Tyler didn't want to see him.

His father listened to everything carefully without interrupting him. After finishing, Jonas felt a weight off his shoulders. He hadn't realized it had upset him so much. And unloading that on someone was almost therapeutic.

"Did you think maybe it wasn't that he didn't want to see you, but rather he didn't want you to see him?" Said his father.

"How so?" Jonas asks, frowning. He didn't see where his father was coming from.

"You said he seemed upset, almost ashamed that you saw him in that state last night. Tyler seems like a very proud person, so I'm just saying maybe what happened yesterday wasn't a one-time thing and happened again the moment you came to give him back. Visit. So maybe at that moment, he didn't want you to see him like that."

"But I already saw it yesterday."

"Yes, but he had no choice. And just because he let you take care of him yesterday and see him in this state doesn't mean he's comfortable and accepts that you can see him like this."

"So you mean he wouldn't let me see him because he would have another panic attack?" Jonas said.

"I'm not saying that's what was happening I'm just speculating maybe it's something entirely different. Maybe it's just his pride, and he was just too ashamed to see you again after what happened yesterday. But I doubt he doesn't want to see you for no real reason, you are like two peas in a pod."

"But what should I do? I feel like there's more to it than just a panic attack. I have the impression that something is wrong," said Jonas. "I am worried about him."

"Maybe you should wait a bit before trying to talk to him again. I don't think forcing contact would be wise right now, especially since what happened to him yesterday."

"But if I wait, how can I be sure he's okay?" Said Jonas, dissatisfied.

"You can't be sure he's okay, just like you can't be sure he's actually okay even if he tells you so," his father said.

"So what can I do ? I feel useless," said Jonas, frustrated.

"The only thing you can do is be there for him and let him know you're there if he needs you. It may seem trivial, but just being there for someone can help a lot. You can't force him to confide or force your help, but at least you can let him know he's not alone," his father said. "Sometimes people just need a friend by their side," added his father in a pensive tone.