𝐑𝐞𝐝 𝐑𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞

R E E D

I have reached my breaking point. My best friend is in the hospital and the only way that I can visit and see her is through a glass window. My other best friend is my boyfriend and stopped trying to make plans because I'm too busy to follow through with them. My other best friend, yes I have a lot of best friends, took a last-minute flight to Spain, leaving me here to captain a team alone with minimal experience so far. Not to mention that I'm literally studying rocket science.

My scalp hurts from the way I've been threading my fingers through my hair and pulling every time I get frustrated. Alexander has been studying at the hospital to stay close to Charlie so I've been on my own in that regard.

"Reed..." Lucy says and I shake my head, taking my fingers out of my hair and wincing.

"I just need to hang on until Christmas. I just need a couple weeks."

"It's going to get worse with exams. I think you should talk to someone," She says and I sigh. She's right, I know she's right. "This kind of stress...you have too much on your plate for one person to handle. The classes that you take and being on the team is more than enough to keep someone busy. Add being the captain, event planner, a boyfriend, and a sick friend to the mix and you're due for a breakdown any day now."

"Yeah, maybe I'll look into that. All I can think about is how to fit yet another thing into my schedule."

"I think that it's important to try at least. And it's covered by our school insurance, so it's covered."

"Would you come with me?" I ask and she nods.

"Of course. Do you want to go now? Maybe see if they have someone available?" She asks and my shoulders slump. I should be studying. Or planning the upcoming fundraiser. Maddison promised she'd help from afar, but it feels like it's all on my shoulders. I still haven't texted Farris back. And I need to call Charlie soon.

"Okay yeah, we're going now. You just zoned out so hard."

"I'm not so sure about this," I say as Lucy nudges me ahead. According to the receptionist, there is a therapist with an open availability, so Lucy insists on waiting with me for half an hour before I'm called in.

"It's okay, Reed," She assures me, giving me a warm smile and a small push. I do the next part by myself. A tall man with a shiny head and warm eyes greets me and welcomes me into his office. I follow him in and given the choices, I choose the comfortable-looking couch to lounge on. On the table in front of me, there is a box of tissues and a bin full of colorful toys. Upon closer inspection, I realize that they're toys for fidgeting, the kind you can poke, twist, and slide.

"Reed, is it? It's nice to meet you. I'm Dr. Williams."

"Hi. I just wanted to let you know beforehand that this was my friend's idea and I'm really distracted by a bunch of stuff, so I'm sorry if I waste your time."

"What kind of things are distracting you?" He asks.

"Where do I start? The year started off great. I'm studying nuclear physics and I'm also on the varsity soccer team, so I was busy but I like being busy."

"That's good. But I know a lot about how hard it is to be a student-athlete, juggling your grades and your sport."

"That's not even it. All of a sudden, I started dating my best friend Farris. It was perfect, and then our team captain had to step down and I became a co-captain. She's also my roommate and she has cancer, so she's in the hospital and is getting surgery soon. Then yesterday my co-captain flew to Spain for an emergency and now it's just me. And I don't have any free time, so I don't get to see Farris except I the one class we share. Okay, I think that's it."