Stage Fright

Chapter 59 ~ Fear

Josh

"Heather, I think you have a problem." I grunt, carrying in an armful of bags back to the car. 

"Don't be silly, it's all Christmas stuff." She laughs, carrying her own set of bags. The mall was busy but not over-crowded. I'd finished the last of my shopping and Heather had bought enough stuff for three Christmases.

"Who is all of this for?" I ask. "You don't have any little siblings or cousins, what's with the Barbies and Lego sets?" She'd made a point of heading to the toy store and picking up a bunch of different toys. I didn't question it, at the time it just looked like she was getting toys for younger family members.

But then I remembered Heather didn't have any extended family, so then who were all the toys for?

"The Salvation Army." She answers quietly. "Dad always asks me to grab some stuff while I'm out and about during the holidays. We have so much so we try to give back, dad makes a bunch of donations too. The other thing I need to to is find a drug store, pick up some stuff for the women's shelter."

"Wow." I breathe and she nods looking embarrassed. 

"Yeah, I just want everyone to have a good Christmas." She admits. "Sometimes I wish I had little siblings or something, just to spoil them to death." She laughs and I chuckle, following her out to the car and fill the trunk with gift bags. Cook follows close behind, getting into the drivers seat.

"Cook, can you bring me to the CVS across the street?" Heather asks. "I have some things to pick up there."

"Sure ma'am." She says and Heather and I climb into the backseat. I knew it bothered her that she'd lost some of her independence with the security. Heather was a very independent person, she didn't need anyone's help, she liked to drive and have her own space. She wasn't used to asking for permission to do things.

"Who are you meeting for coffee this afternoon?" I ask, grabbing her hand and trying to get her to think about something else. 

"Julia." Heather says with a smile. "We haven't hung out alone in ages, we love both you and Hayden but we need girl time." 

"I get it." I say quietly and she smiles. "Her and Hayden are pretty serious, yeah?"

"Definitely." She laughs, shaking her head. "They're both completely in love with each other and it's so adorable. But she's worried their futures won't line up, they want to go to different colleges."

"So do we." I point out, worrying where her mind was with all of this. I know she told me to go for my dreams and not just follow her. Was she worried about the sort of future we'd have?

"Josh at the very most, we're staying a few hours from each other." She says, squeezing my hand. "They want to go to college on different coasts." She explains and I feel my tension dissipate. "It probably wouldn't be so horrible if he'd actually talk with her about it."

"What do you mean?" I ask and she sighs. 

"He doesn't want to talk about the fact that they're moving so far apart." She mumbles. "She's losing her mind knowing they're going to fall in love all year and that she's so happy with him, only to have him leave at the end of the summer."

"Jeez, that does blow." I sigh and she nods. 

"But I told her to enjoy it, it's better to have such an amazing few months than break it off early and hate yourself." She says and I nod seeing how that could make sense. "She'd rather have that time with him."

"That's too bad though." I tell her. "You know, given how happy they are."

"I know." She mumbles, tracing her fingertip over the back of my knuckles. "But, if they're meant to be together, this just might not be the right time. If they break-up, they'll find each other again one day, then the pieces fit together and they have another chance." She explains with a shrug. "I think it would be better to have a broken heart than to have never felt that way about someone before."