Senioritis 2

The Coffee Place

"So...why don't you tell me a little bit about her?" the woman said, clasping her hands together and staring into Peter's soul.

He froze for a second. It was like all those memories flashed though his brain at once;
patterns of white and grey dots that blurred everything until he couldn't figure out - for just those few moments - what was real or not.

Peter didn't want to tell his entire life story to a therapist he'd known for less than thirty minutes.

"A little bit about...MJ?" Peter said, processing her words slowly.

"Yes." the woman replied. "Just take me back to a time...when you were both really happy. Maybe, describe what about that moment made you so happy."

Peter glanced at May nervously. She smiled a little at him and put her hand on his shoulder, reassuringly. She was sitting on the chair right beside him, her legs crossed and her hair tied messily into a low ponytail. With strands sticking out. Like MJ's hair, Peter thought.

It took six full days of Peter lying in his bed and barely leaving his room for May to take action. The morning after the whole Walter situation, May had woken Peter up for school and he was actually determined to go, but then he broke down within minutes of leaving the house and came straight back.

And then May comforted him. And made him food that he didn't eat. And lay with him in bed with her arms wrapped around him. And left him alone. And came back to check on him again after a few hours.

For six days, it was a viscous cycle. And Peter could feel himself slipping away. He couldn't really figure out what exactly had pulled him into this chronic depression. But it was scary. And it was scary for May, too.

"I just wanna see her." Peter had sobbed.

It was day three in the early hours of the morning - 3am specifically. Peter, of course, couldn't sleep, so May had stayed with him on the couch and the only light on was a small lamp in the corner.

"Honey, I know." May sighed. "But you have to keep your distance...for now, at least. Things are just way too complicated between you...and Walter...and I don't want him getting you upset again."

Had Peter told May he'd threatened Walter with a knife? Kind of. Did he explain the reason why? Not really.

And he hadn't spoken to MJ for a while, because she hadn't called, or texted, and he'd figured that her dad had probably taken her phone or something.

But why didn't she say 'I love you' back?

It was something he'd been thinking about for a while now. And about the fact that Noah had been harassing him for days - threatening him through text until Peter became so depressed that he didn't even care anymore.

The sound his phone made whenever a notification popped up just rang through his body continuously until he couldn't bring himself to feel anything about it.

Do your worst, Noah, Peter thought.

Because, technically, he'd already lost everything.

And the thought of telling a stranger about one of his happiest moments with someone who he knew he'd already lost, made him a little nauseous.

"I think I remember...one day." Peter finally shrugged, as May squeezed his hand. "But it was like...before we started dating."

"Go on, Peter." the woman said. "Nothing's too unimportant to share."

Peter inhaled sharply. He could almost hear that same school bell in his head.

End of Freshman year. Class was officially over.