chapter five      "Ellie, Ellie, wake up…" Will whispered softly. Ellie had dozed off about an hour into their drive. He was softly shaking her arm, trying to wake her.      "Mmmm…" she moaned as she began to stir. "What?" she mumbled as her eyes finally opened and she sat up in her seat.      "We're here," he said softly to her, looking into her liquid blue eyes.      "Oh, goodness, I can't believe I fell asleep!"      "Don't worry about it." They unbuckled their seat belts and climbed out of the car. Will helped her carry her bags into the house and up to her room, only a few doors down from his. Once all of Ellie's things were in her room, her left her to unpack and rest up before his father and Harry got there. After about ten minutes of pacing in her room, she went down the hall to Will's room. She knocked lightly.      "I changed my mind Trevor, I don't need another blanket," he said as he walked to the door and opened it. Before her stood Will in nothing but his pants, which were unbuttoned.      "Oh my God!" Ellie gasped, turning around. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know! Oh god, I can't believe I…"      "It's okay, it's my fault, really," he said as he buttoned his pants and pulled a shirt on. "Ellie, really, you can turn around, it's okay." She tentatively turned around and faced him, red faced.      "I feel terrible…"      "Don't, my fault. Is there something you needed? Is your room not adequate?"      "No, no! The room is lovely; it's perfect. It's just that I was hoping to talk to you about something important. I've been putting it off for a few days, and meant to talk to you during the ride over here, but I fell asleep." Could this be it? He thought. Could she feel how he felt? Is that what she wanted to talk about? God, he hoped so!      "Come in," he said, motioning her in.      "Thank you." She sat down on the couch in his room and he pulled the desk chair over.      "What did you want to talk to me about?"      "Well, this isn't easy…"      "Take your time."      "Might as well just come out with it, I guess." Is heart was beating a mile a minute and his palms were beginning to sweat. He couldn't take it anymore; he wanted her to say that she felt the way he felt!      "Usually the best method. Quick, like a band-aid." She chuckled.      "I suppose, yes. Um…okay, here goes." She inhaled and exhaled quickly. "I want to tell Harry tonight." His heart sank, he wanted to run away; he couldn't believe it! She didn't feel the way he did. He felt stupid and mortified at the same time. "Will? You okay?"      "Hmm?"      "You okay? You look upset?"      "No, no, I'm fine, just worried about where my dad is. You know, he should be here by now and all."      "Oh, okay."      "But, yes, absolutely, about Harry that is. Tonight, I think that'll be perfect, we can talk to him during dessert. Usually good to deliver news like this over something sweet."      "I suppose," Ellie said softly. She felt terrible, like there was a pit in her stomach; which there was. It seemed almost like he was expecting her to say something other that what she said. He had this Hugh Grant in Notting Hill look, when he heard Julia Roberts talking about him on the movie set to the British actor; he looked…crushed. "You sure you're okay?"      "Oh, yes, absolutely!" he said with a false sense of happiness. She stood up.      "I should go finish unpacking."      "Yeah, I guess that's wise." She walked over to the door and opened it. She turned around to face him halfway out the door.      "Will?"      "Yeah?" he said, looking up from the chair.      "What were you expecting me to tell you?"      "What're you talking about?"      "Well, it's just that when I told you that I wanted to tell Harry tonight, you seemed like you were expecting something else."      "Oh, really? I didn't know that, I didn't mean to give off that impression, sorry."      "Oh, that's okay; probably just the shrink in me. See you later."      "Bye." Ellie closed the door and walked back to her room, thoroughly convinced that Will was lying to her. .:.      Later that evening, after a lovely dinner of roasted Cornish hen, the four houseguests chatted amicably before dessert was served. Once the Crème Brule had been served, Ellie cleared her throat loudly, signaling William.      "Right, well, Harry, Dr. Jones has something she'd like to talk to you about." Harry immediately slumped down in his chair and muttered under his breath.      "Go ahead "Doc", tell me what's so important."      "Harry, that's not necessary," Charles said, authoritatively; Harry rolled his eyes.      "Harry, I'm a psychiatrist from New York; I was hired by your father. He was concerned for you well-being."      "There's nothing to be concerned about!" Harry said, pushing himself away from the table as he headed to the doors of the dining room.      "Harry, come back here!" Charles said from his chair.      "I've heard all I want to hear!" As he turned the leave, Ellie stood up and walked towards him.      "You're right Harry, you're absolutely right; no one's keeping you here. You're a man; you can leave whenever you want! But think about a few things before you make that decision. First, parents are inclined to worry about their children, to protect them from harm, and from hurting themselves. But, few parents fly halfway around the world because their kid smoked pot; that should tell you something. Second, a man would be man enough to recognize that he has a problem and needs to address it. Are you man enough to realize that drug use on any level is signal that something else is wrong? Are you man enough to understand why your family is concerned about, and are you man enough to do something about it?"      He stood there, a fixed look on his face. Ellie walked towards him and pulled a business card out of her pants pocket.      "This card lists the time and place of our first session." She handed him the card, and after a moment of her holding it out; he snatched and shoved it in his pocket. "I will wait for exactly thirty minutes. If you don't show up, I'll pack my things and go home. But - but! If you prove to be man enough, and show up! Then, we will begin sessions daily, all right?" He didn't do or say anything. Ellie turned back towards the table. "Thank you for a lovely dinner." She walked around Harry and out of the dinning room. .:. back