After Midnight

chapter twenty-five.

25 - SCARLETT

I woke up to the sound of chirping birds and the dull buzzing of my alarm, forcing me to pull myself from the comfort of my blankets.

Who's stupid idea was it to schedule a therapy appointment at eight in the morning? Oh, right. Mine.

Weekends have been my only opportunity to see my therapist as my days are packed with work. I'm grateful for the job I have, but it's become very exhausting, hence the therapy appointment.

I don't want myself to become burnt out, so I'm finally taking the necessary measures to avoid that. Dr. Swneeney luckily has very flexible hours.

It's been nearly three weeks since Zayn found out about his father's impending release, and we're still not sure of the date. As far as we know, it could be any day now. We'll have no way of knowing. I've been helping him as much as I can, but there's only so much I can do for him.

Luckily, he agreed to stop drinking and instead find something more productive to do. For him, that was either work or completing something on our list.

We're slowly running out of tasks to complete, but every task brings us closer, and the memories we create together have become my favorites.

I've been procrastinating therapy for two weeks, but I can feel the euphoric wave I've been on starting to crash, and I'll be damned if I fall back into my familiar slump of misery.

I guess that's progress, right?

Zayn left to visit Rocky and Talia last night, something he desperately needed. He's in the running for a job opening in Adelaide's firm, and he's been so stressed about that, on top of his father's crap, that he needed a break.

Honestly, I'm worried about him, but he's a strong man, and I know he can handle it.

I take my medication and pull on some jeans and a t-shirt, getting ready for the day. I go to brew Jordyn and me some coffee, the smell of fresh coffee stinging my nostrils in the best way. Jordyn waltzes into the kitchen lazily as soon as she hears the soft crackling of the coffee maker.

"Good morning, sunshine," I say sarcastically, watching as her puffy eyes scowl at me.

"Where are you heading so early on the weekend?" She asks sleepily.

I pour us both a cup of coffee, grabbing the creamer for Jordyn, too. "Therapy."

Jordyn nods, making a face. "It's too early to talk about feelings,"

We laugh together as I agree with her. "Yeah, well, the earlier, the better. Weekends are when I overthink."

"I'm proud of you." She surprises me by saying.

I smile, walking around the island to hug her. "Don't make me cry. That's what therapy is for." I wink.

"Still wanna make dinner tonight?" She asks before I head out the door.

"Yep! See you and Ri around six?"

"I'll have everything ready. We're going grocery shopping today." I nod.

We say our goodbyes, and I grab a granola bar and my keys before making my way to Dr. Sweeney's office.

---

"So," Dr. Sweeney says, pulling out her notebook and crossing one leg over the other. "How is your relationship going?"

I smile, my face heating up as it always does when I think of him.