"Oh, honey." Melissa wrapped her arms around her son, holding him in a way that only a mother can, even if her son is taller than she is now. For a long moment she was silent, emotions rising and causing tears to prickle her eyes as she thought about what her son could be wrestling with that he didn't want to even think about it. It wasn't college. College was something she thought he could talk to her about.
"Pretending it's not there isn't going to make it go away," she reminded him gently, rubbing a hand over his back. "And I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong."