H2O | ✔

Chapter Sixteen : Coffee in Music Rooms

Sam

45 weeks before Mesi woke up...

The smell of coffee brought me back to elementary school. My music teacher's room always smelt like coffee. Freshly-brewed heaven. Sometimes she would offer to let me have a taste, and I would always scrunch up my face in disgust. She would laugh and tell me I wouldn't think it was so gross when I ran out of all that energy that came with being a child.

I was not in elementary school anymore.

Instead, I was sitting on a couch staring at a strange woman I met minutes before. Her glasses were perched on the end of her nose and the eyes behind them were studying me. Closely. She was taking in every ounce of my very being; it felt like she was seeing into my soul. I hadn't even said a word.

Finally, the woman—Grace—clasped her hands together, sighed, and said,"Sam, I just want to get to know you. Today is all about becoming comfortable with me. If you decide, after this session, that you would like to talk to someone else, then I will understand. This is not about me, it is about you. I want you to feel as at home as possible with whomever you so choose to confide in."

I didn't know what to say to that. I didn't even want to be there. I mean, I knew it would be good for me. I knew it was the right thing to do, which is why I said I would go, but that didn't make it easier.

I had never been one to openly discuss my feelings and I knew no matter who I talked to, it would take a while to get down to the nitty-gritty.

The couch I was sitting on was worn. I was sinking down into its depths, desperately attempting to sit up straight and failing. I practically had to lay my stomach on my legs to keep upright. The yellow-orange tweed pattern reminded me of the sun the day I met Mesi. Thinking about her made the whole experience a little bit more bearable.

I watched the clock in silence. The minute hand moved five times before Grace did. She wrote something down on her notepad.

"What are you writing? I haven't said anything," I asked somewhat hostilely.

Grace gave me a small smile and put down her pen. "I just noted that you hadn't said anything for a couple minutes. Sometimes things like that mean more than they seem. But don't worry, if you decide to come back, I won't write things down again."

I nodded—not certain what else to do—and turned my gaze to the floor. I watched my feet swivel on my heels and knock together near the toes. I was in need of some sort of movement. I could never stay still for too long.

"Why don't we talk about your family." It wasn't really a question. "Do you have any brothers? Sisters?"

Curtly, I responded,"Two older brothers."

Grace nodded like some mystery of the world had been solved. "All right, what are they like?"

"I don't know. They're just your typical older brothers; they tease you and rough you up a little but they don't actually hate you."

"Are you close to your brothers?" she continued.

It had been hard to keep up with them while they were in college. Ryan was so close, but with everything changing when he came out, I never got much of a chance to just hang with him. And Alex...he might as well have been on the other side of the country. It wasn't like he ever came home.

"They're both in college," was my simple answer.

Grace gave me a look that asked, So?

I threw up my hands. "They're not around a lot! How could I be close to someone I never see?"

I think she sensed my growing frustration and we switched to talking about my parents.

"What about them? Are they strict, push-overs, funny, smart...what?"

Shrugging, I said,"They're normal. Average. My dad's a lawyer and my mom was too, before she quit to stay home and take care of my brothers and me. When we were old enough, she went back to work."

"Was that hard, having her go back to work?" I couldn't read the expression on her face to tell whether she was joking or not.

"I don't know, it was forever ago. I got used to it. What does it matter?"

Grace put her hands up in surrender. "I just want to know anything about you that you'll tell me. If I go too far, feel free to tell me and we can switch topics."

The quiet settled back in.

Eventually, Grace's phone started beeping, signaling the end of our session. I mumbled a fast goodbye and slipped out.

...

"Where were you all day? I've been calling you for hours!" Mesi exaggerated.

She and I were at the park, just watching the world go by on this little piece of concrete that jutted out into the water. It was such a peaceful place and I needed a little peace at the moment.

Dragonflies swirled over the water. They flew in sporadic motions, making me wonder if they had any idea where they wanted to go. Or if they were just as lost as I was.

I rolled my eyes. "You know, some people have things that they have to do during the day. For example, I went to visit my old art teacher at my elementary school."

I wasn't ready to tell her about what happened the week before. I couldn't say that I'd freaked, that I'd fallen apart for even an instant. I was supposed to be her strong knight in shining armor. That was my job and knights weren't supposed to have break downs. They were supposed to charge into battle and protect their princesses.

Mesi snuggled into me more, pulling my arm around her shoulders. "Aww, that's sweet. Want to come visit me tomorrow?"

I laughed. "Anytime."

Her eyes met mine for a split second before my lips crashed into hers. My fingers were tangled in her hair, traveling down her back then up again and tracing her jawline. My lips covered her cheeks and left tracks down her neck. It was like I was dying of thirst in the middle of a desert and Mesi was my oasis.

I felt her fingers tighten around the hair at the back of my head as a small moan left her m—

We were snapped out of it when some bird squawked way louder than necessary. I looked over and saw it on the small stone wall next to us. It flapped its wings and took off. On the other side of me, I noticed Mesi laughing hysterically.

"W-what?" I asked, catching the giggles a bit myself. Her laugh was contagious.

She shook her head while she doubled over. "I...don't...know!" she yelled between fits.

By then I was lying on my side, clutching my stomach.

When it was over, we wiped our eyes of tears—happy tears for the first time in a while—and each let out a long sigh. It was times like those that kept me going. Mesi was one of the few reasons I still saw point in life.

A/N: Can I just say that you guys are the best?? You're so sweet and nice and UGH you make me happy. A couple of you have even been awesome enough to message me and complement my book. I mean, how amazing can you get?! And on top of that, we're up to 3.5K reads, 250 votes, and over 150 comments! I never would've imagined this happening two months ago, so thank you for making it happen.

Also, this chapter is dedicated to @MAE_ROSES (if you didn't notice) for writing me such a great review on YoungAdultReads. It meant a lot.

Just keep being amazing guys, and I'll see you soon with a new Xander chapter!