Ain't No Mountain High Enough

"Don't Stand So Close To Me"

TW: Anxiety

The next morning, we sat around the table eating waffles. I wasn't all that hungry, and hadn't slept well the night before thanks to more nightmares. I wondered if I would ever get rid of the nightmares, especially now that I was going to therapy. But what if you just had to learn to live with some things?

"So...," Ms. Harlow said halfway through breakfast. "Arjun, I'm assuming you would want to go to Boston to help Valerie?"

"I didn't think I could," Arjun said, rather flatly.

Ms. Harlow pursed her lips, then sighed, eating a blueberry. "I think I can let you off the hook if you don't let what happened happen again."

Arjun glanced at me. I didn't think he could promise something like that, but he nodded.

"Sure," he said. "I'll make sure of it."

Ms. Harlow nodded, seeming satisfied. "All right, then. I'll see about arranging a trip for us all."

"Eh, I'll stay."

We both looked at Arjun with raised eyebrows. At that, he shrugged. "What's wrong with that?" he asked. "Graduation is coming up, and finals will be here in a couple weeks. I want to focus on that."

He said it so casually, but I knew it was a lie. He might have cared about graduation, but I knew he cared about stopping Nathan even more. Ms Harlow, however, bought the lie.

"Well, I suppose..."

"It would be less expensive for two plane tickets anyway," said Arjun. "Besides, Keto and Veronica will go, so you probably don't need my help."

Ms Harlow furrowed her eyebrows. "Are they not worried about graduation?"

For a brief second, Arjun's calm expression faltered, like he feared he was about to be called out. "They're online this semester, I think," he said. "So it doesn't matter where they go as long as they do the work."

"Oh." She didn't press further.

Arjun ate up the last of his waffle and got up, plate in hand. "Well, I'll wash the dishes and look at plane tickets. I'll pay."

"Arjun Harlow, you will not pay for tickets!"

"It'll be fine," Arjun said. "Please, let me handle it."

I didn't think he would have the money to pay for two plane tickets. He was paying for most of his school, with help from scholarships, and was in charge of the electricity bill. Again, I felt a small twinge of guilt. I wasn't paying for anything. Gosh, I really needed to get a job already. Maybe I would take Charlotte up on her offer...

Ms. Harlow and Arjun went into the kitchen, continuing their argument over who would pay for the tickets. I finished up my waffle, then grabbed the plate to take it to the kitchen. Just as I went to leave, my phone, laying on the table, began to ring. I didn't recognize the number, but I answered anyway.

"Hello?"

There was a pause. But the instant the voice on the other side started talking, it was as if time slowed. I felt that terrible weight in my chest, like a hand was squeezing my lungs. My mouth ran dry and I couldn't comprehend what she was saying.

It was my mother.

A second later, Ms. Harlow was in the room with a pale face, and I realized the plate had slipped out of my hand and broke into pieces on the floor. I hadn't even heard it break. She opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when she realized I was on the phone. That made her frown deepen.

I don't know what I was thinking, but the next thing I knew I was hanging up the phone. I didn't hear a word my mother said. I stared down at the blank screen with my mouth hanging open. Why the heck would she call me so suddenly? What would she even want from me?

"Who was that?" Arjun asked. He was standing in the doorway with this tense look on his face.

I looked between him and Ms. Harlow, then sighed. "No one...I'm sorry about the plate, it slipped out of my hand."

For some reason, Arjun was staring at me with something like horror in his eyes. What the heck was his problem?

"Are you sure it's nothing?" Ms. Harlow asked as she bent to begin picking up the pieces of the fallen plate.

"Yeah," I said quickly. Before I could be interrogated further, I wheeled myself out to the living room, then towards my room. Arjun was right behind me.

"Dude," he whispered, grabbing the handle of my wheelchair to stop me. "Who was it? Was it someone you knew?"

I made a face. "Um...why does it matter to you?"

He glanced towards the kitchen, then back at me. "I need to make sure it wasn't someone..." He trailed off, but it hit me what he was trying to say. He was worried that it was Nathan, or someone else involved with him. But like, how on earth would they get my number?

I sighed. "It wasn't them, Arjun. It...it was my mother, okay?"

A bit of relief flashed across his face, but then his brow furrowed. "Your mother? What did she want?"

"I don't know, I hung up when I realized it was her."

"Oh." No pressing why, or arguing. I liked that. He ran his hand through his hair and drew in a shaky breath. "Well...sorry about that."

I wasn't sure whether he meant my mother calling me, or for his dramatics. Probably both. "It's fine." I waved him away so I could head down the hall to my room. He apologized again and let go of the wheelchair's handle, then retreated back to the kitchen.

As I got to my room, curiosity began to grow in me. I had to admit I wanted to know what she was wanting, even if I probably wouldn't do whatever it was for her.

But there was something about the sound of her voice that made me freeze up. 

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Sorry for skipping last Friday, it was a hectic day for me. But thanks so much for bearing with me! Leave a comment!

Listen to "Don't Stand So Close To Me" by The Police!

Peace✌️~ A.J.