Oh, Heather

Chapter Nine

It was the Friday before Halloween and Miley, Leo, Heather, and Vance were out shopping for last minute matching outfits.

“Are you sure your friends don’t mind you missing the parade for this?” Leo asked as they walked into the store.
“They definitely mind. But I don’t care.” Vance replied.
“Are you sure? I bet the-” 
“Leo. I don’t mind, I’d rather be here.” He assured.

Leo smiled as they continued through the store, pointing out the outfits they could find. They finally decided on Wizard Of Oz characters. Vance was the tin man, Leo was the cowardly lion, Miley was the scarecrow, and Heather was dorothy. Heather was able to convince her mom to let the three stay the night by promising to bring Corey along. They spent all of Halloween morning and most of the afternoon getting ready and decided on a route for their festivities. The four of them were more than happy to bring Corey along, they dressed him as toto to fit the theme.

“Are we a bit old for trick-or-treating?” Vance asked. 
“First of all, nobody’s too old. Second of all, if you were gonna say that, why did you say it after we were all dressed?” Miley said.
“I think over 18 is too old to be trick-or-treating.” Leo said.
“I agree with him.” Heather replied.
“You're both wrong.” Miley said.

They laughed as Miley spent the next few minutes explaining how nobody was too old for Halloween. As the sun began to set, they started their journey around the block. Heather carried Corey for most of the walk, that way they wouldn’t have to slow down. They went to each house, most people gave large amounts of candy, but a few only gave a piece or two. After they finished their walk, it was nearly 10 pm. They were going to go to a few more places, but the younger one began to express how tired he was, and the others had to make it back to their places before too late. Once they made it back to Heather’s, Alyssa drove them all home, making friends with Miley’s moms and Vance’s dad. Leo got dropped off at Miley’s, so Alyssa never got to meet his dad, but Leo informed her that it was for the better. Heather had fallen asleep soon after she put her brother to bed, giving her mother a little bit of quiet before she went to bed. She grabbed a wine glass from the cabinet, filling it up to the brim with the wine Matthew had bought. He and Alyssa had been friends since high school, and he always had a thing for her. She always hated it because she had eyes for the popular boy and Heather’s dad, William, but Matthew only made her image worse. 

She had Heather shortly after high school and moved in with William. He was a great husband and an even better dad, but he passed after Corey was born, leaving only Alyssa to care for her kids. She told herself that she would never date again, she didn’t want to do that to her kids a second time. Her and Matthew reconnected shortly after William’s funeral, thankfully he understood that she wasn’t ready to move on. He made advancements on her just before Corey turned 3, but she turned him down. He continued to try, and she eventually gave him a chance. She appreciated what he did for them, but he often became too much. She rarely had time for herself, so she appreciated the few minutes she got after her kids went to sleep. She finished her wine glass, gently placing it in the sink, not wanting to wake her kids. She walked off to her room, falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Heather woke up around noon and found herself feeling much more tired than she planned. She walked lazily into the kitchen, making herself a cup of coffee. She noticed that neither her mom nor brother were awake yet, so she took the challenge of making breakfast. She had never cooked before, but she watched her mother cook several times and assumed she knew what she was doing. As she finished up the bacon, she realized she had neglected the eggs that were sitting in the pan beside her. As heavy amounts of smoke began to rise up from the pan, she took it off the stove. She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do when it began burning, and she was far too tired to figure it out.

She finished up the rest of the breakfast, fixing her mistake with the eggs and adding them to the plates. She put her mom and brother’s plate into the fridge, not wanting to wake them up. She ate her breakfast, satisfied with the result. The eggs tasted partially charred, but she hoped that wouldn’t affect the other two’s perception of the rest of it. She wrote a note to her mom saying that breakfast was in the kitchen, determined to go for a run. She hadn’t gone on a run by herself in a while, but there was no harm in a morning run. She clipped her pepper spray to one of the belt loops on her jeans and started off. She jogged around her block, a mile behind her house, and back all in just under 15 minutes. She smiled at her brand new record, walking back inside to take a shower. 

She walked into her room, picking up her book from her nightstand. She hadn’t been reading a lot lately, it was only the late afternoon so she had lots of time to hopefully finish her book. She wrapped her silky red sheets around her shoulders, pushing herself against her headboard. She rested each page she was on between her fingers, flipping them to where the next page would rest in the same place. Before she knew it, she reached the end of the book. She smiled as she placed it in the same place it was before. She glanced outside her window to see the moon shining beautifully behind the other houses. She took that as her sign to sleep and rolled over to her side, falling asleep with the moonlight glow peering through her window.
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I changed Jacklyn's name to Jada, but I'm far too lazy to go back and edit these chapters.
Sorry for the late update, I was out all afternoon!