Constellations

Problem

I'm still upset about Tiffany's plans for spring break. I really wanted to hang out with her and, maybe, just maybe, feel like our family is back to normal again.

I go up to my room and decide to text Roland. I wonder how his date with Desiree went.

Me: hey

Roland: hey

Me: how was your 'date'

Roland: 🙃🔫

Me: what happened?

Roland: it's almost as if I'm getting forced to like her, but there's a problem

Me: obviously there's a problem

Roland: no I mean there's another problem

Me: what is it

Roland: I want to tell you in person

Me: alright

Roland: meet me at the cliff asap

Me: ok

I wonder what it is. I change out of my sweats and put on some jeans. I grab my phone and keys and drive over to the cliff.

I get to the cliff, and I see Roland sitting there silently, looking at the stars in the sky. He seemed so lost in them, that it made me get lost in them too. I start to approach him.

"Hey."

"Hey." He says in a nervous voice. It makes me nervous.

"What's wrong?"

He looks at me, then looks away.

"Isn't it so hard to sleep when your mind is so full of thoughts?"

I nod. He isn't acting normal. I'm getting concerned.

"You know Ellie. Everyone has a chapter they don't read out loud."

I get closer to him.

"Roland. What's wrong?"

He looks at me, but doesn't look away."

"So my mom has been worried about me for a while now, saying I haven't been normal, so around a month ago, she took me to a doctor, and I have a problem. I'm bipolar."

I'm shocked. Roland never acts like this. This may not seem like a big deal, but mental disorders are a big deal. They aren't funny either. They're fucking horrible. I know because I have anxiety.

After a small silence, I sit closer to him and hug him. I can't believe he has to go through something like this. He normally acts fine when I see him, but maybe he wasn't fine for all of that time. I wonder what's going through his mind.

For around 20 minutes, we lie there in silence,
Looking at the constellations. Every now and then, I look over and see him smiling, looking at them in marvel.

It's almost like he's happy again, like he 'normally' is.