Letting out a soft sigh, he sat on the edge of the coffee table. "I'm sorry I have to bring this up, but I can't just ignore it. Your doctor wants you to go to therapy, obviously. But… he also started to talk to me about… um, extra help."
Lucas paled, his eyes widening a bit. "I-I really don't want to go to a mental hospital, sir, please…" He whispered shakily. "I c-can't be stuck in a place like that…"
"I know, Lucas…" Mr. Brennahan replied weakly, tipping his head down to the floor. Sucking in a deep breath, he ran a hand down his face, before looking back up at Lucas. "They're worried about you, though."
Lucas whimpered quietly. "I-I know, I know, I just… it scares me… I don't like thinking about a place like that." He whispered. "I considered admitting myself when I was stuck with my dad just because I'd be safe from him there… b-but I'm already safe from him, right?"
Mr. Brennahan sucked in another deep breath, rubbing his face. "Yeah, you are…" He muttered, listening to the tone of Lucas's voice. It honestly killed him inside a little. "Why does it scare you so badly?" He asked softly, lifting his head.
"B-Because right now, the one thing I'm scared of the most is myself." Lucas whispered weakly. "And in a place like that, not only am I going to be alone most of the time without you or Melissa, b-but I'll be surrounded by people just like me. People who don't want to live anymore. P-People who need to be monitored because they've given up. Getting sent to a place like that means I've given up…"
Mr. Brennahan's heart dropped in his chest, and it took him a minute to start functioning properly again. Muttering under his breath, he let out a heavy sigh with his face buried in his hands. "How could I possible make you, after that..?" He asked weakly, lifting his head. "It's that bad, huh?"
Lucas rubbed at his teary eyes, hiccuping a bit. "I… I don't know for sure…" He whispered. "I've never been to one, b-but I… I c-can't… there's only certain hours that I'd even be able to see you or Melissa, and… and I-I dunno if they'd let me keep Cody with me…"
Mr. Brennahan's brows pinned inwards as he started to cave. After a moment of silence, he started to develop a plan. "Right… how… how about this. We get you therapy, we try that for a couple months, and see what happens. If nothing bad happens, you can stay here. But if things don't get any better, or get worse, we consider it then." He offered in a soft tone, feeling awful.
"I… I-I guess so…" Lucas sighed shakily, still rubbing at his tears. "I just really don't wanna go…" He whispered. "Have… have you told Melissa about this?"
Mr. Brennahan shook his head in response, slowly pushing up. "She doesn't know. I wanted to tell you first." He replied softly, before yawning a little. "Do you think you're gonna be alright, after that? Or… um, do you need someone to stay with you for a bit?"
"U-Um… I probably shouldn't be alone for a bit…" Lucas whispered, holding Cody close to his chest. "I-I'm sorry, sir…"
"It's alright, Lucas. I'm the one who brought it up— at a bad time, might I add." Mr. Brennahan told him softly. "I need to grab a few things, but it should only take a couple minutes. Is that alright?"
Lucas nodded weakly and buried his face in Cody's fur, crying quietly. He held tightly to the puppy, who whined at him worriedly.
Mr. Brennahan was quick, having had to run upstairs and grab his laptop. It was only minutes later when he had gotten himself settled in one of the chairs, glass of water in hand. It took him a minute or so to just relax, finally picking up on Lucas's crying. "…Lucas?"
"I'm f-fine…" Lucas whispered weakly in reply, keeping his face hidden. "I'm… I'm s-sorry…" Cody whined louder and started licking Lucas's cheek.
Not believing him for even a second, Mr. Brennahan set all his stuff aside before getting up and dropping down on his knees. "Lucas, what's wrong?" He asked softly, starting to rub circles into his back.
"I-I don't wanna go…" Lucas whispered, curling in on himself a bit more. "I c-can't… p… p-please…" He whimpered weakly. Cody nuzzled against him and kept trying to lick his tears away.
Mr. Brennahan sighed weakly, gently rubbing his back still. "I won't make you go, not now. You're gonna be alright, you're here now. You don't have to go…" He whispered, just trying to soothe him currently. "Just take a deep breath."
Lucas drew in a few wavering breaths, trembling noticeably. "Y-You won't make me go?" He asked weakly, a couple fresh tears rolling down his cheeks.
Mr. Brennahan hesitated, sucking in a deep breath. "No… I won't make you go." He whispered, hesitating before starting to pet the top of his head. Occasionally he had noticed Melissa doing such, and typically it calmed Lucas down. From what he had seen at least.
Lucas seemed uneasy at first when Mr. Brennahan started petting him, but eventually allowed himself to relax into it with a shaky sigh.
Mr. Brennahan mentally let out a soft sigh of relief, continuing to pet him. "I'm sorry I brought it up… I should have let you rest for tonight."
"It's okay…" Lucas whispered shakily, keeping his eyes closed as he leaned into Mr. Brennahan's hand. "I'm… I-I'm sorry…"
"You don't need to be sorry, bud…" Mr. Brennahan whispered, noting the puppy had grown quiet as Lucas relaxed. "And you don't have to tell me it's okay, if it's not."
Lucas nodded weakly. "I-I just… I'm not in a great place mentally right now…? And I just…" He sighed a bit. "I c-can't…"
"I understand that," Mr. Brennahan replied softly, his petting starting to slow. "I should have realized that earlier. I should have waited."
"Please don't feel bad, sir… I-I know you didn't intend to upset me… I'm just overly sensitive and you probably just wanted to let me know what the situation is…"
"I did, and I'm feeling stupid about it. There's not much you can say or do about it, though." He replied softly, sighing weakly. "I'll be fine. I'm more worried about you, anyways."
Lucas sighed shakily as well, keeping his eyes closed. "I'm really sorry, sir… I didn't mean to make you feel bad."