Distrustful Eyes (An AleHeather Fanfic)

Prologue

In that moment, the fake fireplace never looked warmer.

A satisfied puff of air left her lips. Her body was sprawled rather unrefined across the creme couch, but she was comfy. She had left her red pumps at the door of her modest two-bedroom apartment for the night, yet her feet still stung with the crimson of a day's worth of walking. The room was left in a warm darkness that only a cold weekday night could bring. The off-white of her walls were dyed in the orange hues of the makeshift fire emitting from the TV. It was cozy; it was modern.

It was home.

The Ms. Heather Kasuga had let her hair down for the night and dumped her noir purse on the floor beside her. As any modern day woman, she pulled out her phone to check on the day's happenings.

Perhaps it was from the fatigue of the day or her innate disposition to be cranky, but her findings on social media caused a sour look on her face. It was full of perfect people living their perfect lives. She knew in her heart that not everything on it was true; that it was all an act. People highlighting the best parts of their lives to let rub it on everyone else's face, she understood it. That need to be popular and make the world watch you, she had lived it.

But she wasn't that girl anymore. Or rather, she had to grow up from that. Things were different now, and being in the spotlight was no longer her priority.

Still, she couldn't help but sneer at a picture of a cute married couple wasting their days on their Hawaiian honeymoon. It was so typical; everyone honeymoons in Hawaii. Nobody shows the sand that gets stuck in your crotch, or the sunburn you get when you forget to put on sunscreen, or the blazing hot lava that threatens to erupt unless you offer a makeshift sacrifice, or the overpriced Pina Coladas. In her head, she gave them a two week grace period before they divorced. She could practically smell the marital problems from the other side of the phone screen.

Don't mistake her, she wasn't envious of their relationship, or the many like it. Heather could care less about being a woman all on her own, in an apartment much too big for her, with a salary void of anyone to spend it on but herself. And that was because she wasn't alone, and all the former statements were false.

He came in, eyes still half-lidded with sleep. With a yawn, he absentmindedly asked her why she came home so late to which she shrugged. It was a busy day at work she explained, and because she was so tired she could barely get up from the couch. That was fine though, as he snuggled his way onto the couch, resting his head on her bosom. Heather was surprised at how quickly he fell back asleep but didn't push him away. She would never dare. So, she opted for stroking his hair as she mentally gagged at all the perfect people living their perfect lives on her phone.

And Heather knew, she was home.