heartstrings

Chapter 35

Evangeline
February 23th 2018

It's been 16 days since Nic almost overdosed, and the worry still gnaws at me, never quite letting go. I walked into the breakfast bar, scanning the room until I spotted Matt at mine and Nics usual corner table. His expression was a mix of relief and concern as he saw me approaching.

"Morning, Eve," Matt greeted, standing up to give me a quick hug before we sat down. "How are you holding up?"

"Morning, Matt. I'm alright," I replied, though the tension in my voice was unmistakable. "How about you?"

He sighed, his eyes betraying the sleepless nights we both had endured. "Trying to keep it together, but... Nic's really got me worried."

I nodded, the heaviness of the past weeks settling between us.

Nic had been skating on thin ice, and his near overdose had left us shaken. He kept insisting he was just tired, but Matt and I knew better.

"I know," I said, stirring my coffee absentmindedly. "He looks so worn out. It's like he's a shadow of himself."

Matt leaned in, his voice barely above a whisper. "Every time I ask him, he just says he's tired or that life is stressing him out. But it feels like it has never been this bad. It's not really new that his mental health gets bad around this time, but an overdose? It has never been this bad, and he wont open up to me about it"

We sat in silence for a moment, the noise of the breakfast bar fading into the background. The clinking of dishes and the murmur of other patrons seemed distant, almost irrelevant compared to the gravity of our concerns.

"We can't keep doing this," I finally said, breaking the silence. "We need to do something proactive. Maybe to get him out of bed for starters."

Matt looked at me, hope flickering in his eyes. "What do you have in mind?"

I paused, then suggested, "What if you started picking him up for school? You'd get him out of bed and maybe get him to open up. Plus, you could get him to eat something, he is basically skin and bones these days."

Matt nodded slowly, considering the idea. "Yeah, that might work. I'll start soon. Hopefully, it'll make a difference."

The conversation had become heavy, and I could see the weight of it pressing down on Matt. Wanting to lighten the mood, I decided to change the subject.

"So," I said with a small forced smile, "how are things with Lacy?"

Matt's face brightened a little, and he chuckled. "Lacy's fine. We havent seen eachother in a while, i've just been busy and so has she. I dont think shes in such a good mood right now"

"Lacy can be complicated at times, i'm sure you'll work it out though"

We spent the next few minutes chatting about Lacy and other lighter topics, the tension from earlier slowly dissipating. But even as we laughed and joked, the underlying worry about Nic never fully left our minds.

As we finished our breakfast and prepared to leave. "Thanks, Eve. For everything. We'll get through to him. I'm sure of it."

"We will. We're in this together."

And with that, we left the breakfast bar, ready to face whatever came next in our mission to help Nic.