Bikeriders Serenade

Stronger Together

A few weeks after his first session with Dr. Harper, Austin found himself back in his office, surrounded by the usual chaos—stacks of scripts, scattered notes, and reminders of the new project he was scheduled to start filming in July. The busywork felt both grounding and overwhelming, but today he was determined to make some sense of the mess.

As he sifted through the papers, organizing his thoughts about the role ahead, his hand brushed against something familiar. His heart skipped a beat as he pulled out his mom's journal—the one he'd tucked away after that emotional conversation with Caleb. The journal had become a bittersweet reminder of her, a connection to the thoughts and feelings she had left behind during her battle with cancer.

Austin stared at the worn leather cover, running his fingers along its edges, hesitant to open it but unable to put it down. His gaze shifted to the photo of his mom that hung directly in front of his desk, a constant presence in his life, even after all these years.

"I wish you were here, Mom," he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. "So I could talk to you about what you must have been feeling during those last few months... even your last few days."

The room felt still, as though time had momentarily paused. Austin took a deep breath, placed the journal on the desk, and slowly sat down. His fingers hovered over the cover for a moment longer before he finally opened it.

The pages were filled with his mom's handwriting—some neat, others shaky from the toll the illness had taken on her. He gently turned the pages, feeling both a sense of comfort and pain, knowing that these words were all that was left of her voice. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but he knew he had to keep reading.

As he read the first entry, his mother’s words pulled him into her world, her fears, her hopes, and the strength she never let him see. He swallowed hard, bracing himself for what was to come next.

As Austin continued to read, his heart grew heavier with each passing word. His mother’s pain, though veiled behind her strength, was so raw on the page. The more he read, the more he realized just how much she had kept hidden from him and the rest of the family. His gaze shifted to the photo of her on the wall, the one where she was smiling, full of life. It didn’t match the words on the pages before him.

Unable to bear the weight in his chest any longer, Austin slowly stood up, walked over to the photo, and gently took it off the wall. He held it in his hands, staring at it as though seeking answers in her eyes. "Oh, Mama," he whispered, his voice catching in his throat. "Why didn’t you tell us how much you were hurting? How lost you felt?"

The silence that followed felt thick and suffocating, until it was broken by a voice from behind him.

"She didn’t want you to worry about her."

Startled, Austin turned around to see his dad, David, standing in the doorway. He hadn’t even heard him come in. David’s eyes were soft but filled with the weight of his own grief, his own memories of the woman they both loved so deeply.

Austin blinked, momentarily at a loss for words. He gently placed the photo on the desk and then walked over to his dad, his emotions bubbling over. Without a second thought, Austin wrapped his arms around David and pulled him into the biggest hug he had ever given him. It was strong, heartfelt, and full of the words neither of them had said aloud in too long.

For a moment, they stood there, holding on to each other, both men silently acknowledging the pain they had shared, the loss they both carried, and the love that still lingered, unspoken but deeply felt.

As they pulled away, David’s eyes fell on the journal lying on the desk. His expression softened as he reached down and picked it up, his fingers brushing over the worn cover. "Is this... Mom's journal?" he asked, his voice tinged with nostalgia and a quiet sadness.