Stage Fright

Chapter 69 ~ Hurdles

Josh

It had been a little over a week and a half since we had returned to school. It was Thursday night and Heather asked for me to come over and see her. I couldn't wait personally, it had been an incredibly long day.

I spent the entire afternoon doing my homework while Heather was at her therapy session. Any afternoon that I didn't work, we usually spent a large chunk of it apart. She would see her therapist and get to wind down after her day, she also had gotten into journalling recently and I liked to give her some space to do it privately. 

While she was busy doing that, I'd do some school stuff for the afternoon and fill out scholarship applications. I wanted to make sure I was there for her, but equally making sure she had the space to work on her mental health and get better.

She always said she was getting better, that the therapist felt more like a routine than a necessary thing. I could see it myself, everyday she got a little brighter and she seemed like her old self again, maybe even more-so.

We were still happy, we didn't fight very often and if we did it was usually more of a bickering match. But then we'd both quickly apologize and everything would be better again. Things usually felt very easy with Heather and the moments that we had little problems felt completely irrelevant in the big picture.

The best thing was really that she understood the space I needed to get my work done. I knew she did because she needed it too. We'd do a whole lot of it together most days, but sometimes we both needed our own space, and her new afternoon appointments helped us make up a good schedule.

It was close to dinner now and Heather told me not to worry, that Eleanor would make me something to eat. I pack up my bag and head downstairs, but not before passing dad in the kitchen.

"Hey Josh." He says, closing the fridge. "Are you here for dinner tonight?"

"No, tomorrow." I tell him, shaking my head. "I'm just going to eat at Heather's if that's fine."

"Sure, you're eighteen." He chuckles, pulling out some left-overs. "Makes my life easier."

"I'll be back tomorrow afternoon." I say, double-checking my bag and he nods.

"Cool with me." He says with an easy smile. Dad had always been very easy going, never worried if I was doing the right things. "So you and Heather must be getting serious." He remarks and I nod.

"Yeah, I'd say so." I mumble and he smiles.

"You're coming up on four months now, right?" He asks and I nod again.

"It's almost crazy that it's even been that long." I admit. "There are some days I still can't believe it's real."

"I'm glad you're happy." He says and I nod. "I know you've had a crush on her since middle school but, you two seem to be a good fit." He tells me and I knew I agreed. The almost lust I'd had for Heather for six years was nothing compared to the love I felt now. "You said she made it into Yale huh?"

"Yeah, she's pretty smart." I tell him and he chuckles with a nod.

"Well good, you'll both still be close enough to visit back and forth." He says and I smile with a nod. "I feel like I don't see enough of you anymore, what are you up to this weekend?"

"I'm flexible." I assure him.

"How about lunch on Saturday afternoon?" He suggests and I nod.

"That's cool with me." I say, remembering Heather had said something about a party that night. "I'm sorry I'm not here very often anymore-"