The next morning came by. Light shined through the whole house, everything was peaceful. Pearl quietly sat in Steven's room
Suddenly he groaned and slowly opened his eyes. Pearl leaned over him. "Hey sleepyhead."
He gripped onto his head. "Ugh I got a monster headache. What happened?"
"Well Connie came over and called me and said you were drunk."
Steven suddenly felt so embarrassed. "Aw man. Pearl I-"
"Steven what were you thinking? You know that bottle is reserved for Greg only." He sat up in bed a little bit
"I know, I'm sorry. It just felt kinda nice. For a while I wasn't worried about anything. I guess I was just looking for an escape. But obviously I got a little carried away." Pearl scooted closer and placed a hand on his shoulder
"That's why you're seeing the therapist. To help you get through this and take the stress off you." She leaned forward and gave him a hug
"You're right. Thanks Pearl. I hope I didn't cause too much trouble." Pearl hesitated for a second
"Uhhh actually......you said we blamed you for Rose disappearing and it's my fault you don't know who you are."
Steven's heart was beating out of his chest. He started blushing and sweating. "I don't mean you specifically. It's like-what I meant to say was-"
"Steven it's okay. I had no idea you felt that way. I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like it was your fault, because it wasn't. It was her choice and there's nothing we can do. But I wouldn't trade you for anything. You're my special little boy." She cupped his face with one of her hands and stroked his cheek with her thumb
A few tears came streaming down his face. They hugged one last time
Steven grabbed a pair of sunglasses he found on his nightstand and put them on to help with the headache. "Hey Pearl? Could you maybe block the sun coming through the windows?"
She got up and pulled curtains over the windows. "Maybe you should eat something. I'll be back." She went to the kitchen and made him some food
Once he finished eating, he went back to his bed and texted Connie
Hey Connie. Don't worry I'm fine now. I'm sorry if I did anything weird or said something hurtful. I still love you
A minute later, she responded
Hi Steven. Don't stress about it. I'm just glad you're okay. I love you too
Steven sighed a huge breath of relief. He sent her one more message
Meet me at the boardwalk tomorrow? I'd like to spend time with you
Sure! See you at 4pm
He smiled and set his phone down on the nightstand. He silently layed on his back and stared at the ceiling
He felt genuine happiness now that he's seeing his girlfriend tomorrow. He pondered about what they would do as he slowly drifted asleep