Ain't No Mountain High Enough

"Who Can It Be Now?"

"How would you like to work for me?"

I raised my eyebrows at Charlotte's suggestion. "Um...what kind of stuff would I do?"

"Well, you could always be a receptionist, or an assistant, and I'm sure there's other options as well," she said.

I thought about it, and I knew being a receptionist probably wasn't a good idea for me. I'd have to deal with people all day, and worse, Arjun would have to drive me here every day. He certainly didn't have time for that, especially with a drug-dealing half brother on his hands. Plus, I knew I could get more money elsewhere, especially since I was good at programming.

And that's when an idea popped into my head. "I'll have to think about it," I said, trying to keep my face from brightening at the idea I had just gotten. "I'll let you know when I decide."

She just smiled. "That's fine. Take all the time you need."

We went on with the session, and I spilled my guts to her as usual. Except my worries about Arjun's half-brother. I did my best to keep that under wraps. At the end of the session, I felt a bit lighter, just like last time. I wondered...if I kept coming to these appointments, would I eventually feel better all the time? I didn't know, but I scheduled a third appointment anyway.

I was surprised to find that Arjun was already waiting for me in the parking lot. He was leaning against his car and staring at his phone, but his expression was unreadable.

"Back already?" I asked.

He looked up, then turned off his phone and put it into his back pocket. "What's wrong with that?"

I just shook my head and let him help me get into the car. I wanted to ask him how things went...whatever those things were, but I waited for him to talk first. He eventually did when we were nearing his house, but it was just to ask how the appointment went.

"Fine," I said. "But what about you?"

"What about me?"

I gave him a look. "What did you do while I was in there?"

"Went to see Nathan."

Well THAT was informative. I rolled my eyes. "And?"

He shrugged. "What's there to say about it? We just argued."

"Are you going to tell your mom?"

Just saying that made him cringe. "I will...eventually." He sighed. "I just don't want her to get hurt. Let me handle it, please."

I guessed I could agree with him there, so I let it go. We were pulling into the driveway anyway. I tried not to think about it anymore as Arjun helped me back into the wheelchair and into the house.

"Mom, we're home!" Arjun called, and a moment later Ms. Harlow came down the hallway.

"Oh, good. That means you're grounded again." She said it with such a straight face that I couldn't help but smile.

Arjun's lips pressed into a thin line. "Yippee," he muttered.

I gave him a look. If he would just explain things to her, maybe he wouldn't have to be grounded! But my pleading eyes did nothing to change his mind, and he shrugged and stalked down the hall towards his room.

As soon as he was gone, Ms. Harlow turned to me with a small smile. "How did the session go?"

The session was the last thing I wanted to talk about. Sighing, I said, "Fine. Like last time I guess." I almost complained that nothing had really changed for me, but I stopped myself. It was nice to have someone to talk to like Charlotte, but I knew it would take time and effort for my mental health to improve. I couldn't just expect all the damage to be repaired in a couple sessions, right?

Ms. Harlow's smile got a little bigger. "That's good!" She grabbed her purse from the hook on the wall by the front door. "Well, I've got to go start my shift. Leftovers from last night are in the fridge, and I'll be back before midnight."

"Okay," I said, but I was too distracted by the fact that someone - namely Nathan - might hurt her. Did Arjun's half-brother know where she worked? The thought of it made my heart race. "Wait!" I suddenly cried as she was heading out the door.

She stopped and furrowed her eyebrows at me. "What's wrong?"

Well, that's just great. I could only stare at her, because what the heck was I supposed to say? After a beat of awkward silence, I let out a nervous laugh. "Um...nevermind. I- uh. I just forgot something, then remembered it, and...nevermind."

She gave me a Look, and I knew I was in trouble now. "Randall...what's this about?"

My mouth went dry. What would Arjun do if I told? Heck, what would Nathan do if I told? What if he somehow found out word got around, and then he went after Ms. Harlow. It would be MY fault. What would Arjun do to me then?!

At that moment, my phone started to ring. Thank God, I thought as I pulled my phone out of the pocket, but my eyes widened when I saw the name on the phone.

"What, who is it?" Ms Harlow asked. She shut the door and came over to me.

"It's...Valerie," I said. She had called me when I was in the hospital, but I hadn't even got a single text from her since then, even when I texted her. I thought that maybe she was just busy, or perhaps lost her phone. But in the back of my mind I was worried, and I knew Ms. Harlow and Arjun had been, too.

Ms. Harlow and I exchanged nervous glances, then I answered the phone.

"Valerie?" I said, almost a little breathlessly. "Um...hi."

There was silence on the other end for a moment, then I heard her sigh with relief. "I was worried you wouldn't pick up," she said. I hadn't realized how badly I wanted to hear the sound of her voice until then.

"What have you been up to?" I asked, leaning back in my chair. "I was getting worried."

She gave a nervous laugh. "Um...about that," she said. "It's about Stephen, actually."

That got my nerves on edge. I couldn't hide the annoyance in my tone. "What about him?"

Somehow, I wasn't surprised with the answer I got.

"I...I broke up with him yesterday."

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Listen to "Who Can It Be Now?" by Men At Work

Peace✌️~ A.J.