Untouchable

Chapter 25: Continued

Chapter 25: Continued

"So, uh, how's your food?" Will inquired. His eyes were light and carefree; it was the most unburdened I'd seen him in weeks.

"It's great. Thanks," I replied.

He'd decided to take me out on our official second date. It'd taken him a while; he'd been "rebuilding my trust" for almost a month now. It was kind of like a dream. I didn't know whether to scream with frustration over his slow thoroughness or sigh in delight over it all. We'd done all the typical "friend" things. We hung out doing homework, once Will's grounding had been lifted, not that it ever applied to us anyway. Dr. Burnett would just grumble a little about consequences, and Mrs. Burnett would roll her eyes saying it wasn't for Will but for me. I loved her.

I looked carefully around the restaurant taking in the atmosphere I'd missed when we came in. It was a little hole in the wall place, eclectic. None of furniture matched, each of the tables had a different vase with a single flower, Christmas lights wrapped around the wooden beams in the ceiling... It was magical.

Pushing my ravioli around my plate, I asked Will a question I'd been wondering all week. "How'd the therapy session go?"

He scrunched his nose in distaste. "Eh, it was okay. You know?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, I know. Some of the stuff is okay, but the other half of the time I think the shrink is crazy. Like imagining a peaceful meadow of wildflowers is going to help me stop having flashbacks?" I waved my fork while I was talking, ending in a big bite.

"The doc is having me do these breathing exercises, which I guess could help, but I feel ridiculous."

I smiled in sympathy. If anyone would understand it was be me. Ironic how that was for us. "But if it helps, it helps. Right?"

He tried to suppress a smile and nodded. "Yeah, you're right."

"How's your dad been dealing?" I watched him out of the corner of my eye and watched the emotions trail across his face.

The week after my flashback in the library I finally talked Will into going to his dad with his own "blackouts." They weren't real blackouts; he remembered what happened. But his lack of control made both of us nervous. He felt like he didn't know who he was anymore, and I could relate. After two heated arguments he had agreed to talk to Dr. Burnett. I still wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do, but if things worked out, it would be. That was how things were sometimes; you had to make a choice and hope for the best.

Dr. Burnett didn't respond as I'd hoped, but he loved his son and made every effort to get him help. I thought he felt at a loss, or a failure for missing this in Will's life.

"Is the meadow, whatever, helping you at all?" he whispered. Will leaned forward in his seat, his body hunched halfway over the table.

I shook my head. "I don't know. I don't really want to test it." I reached my hand across the table and took his in my own. "I don't really want to push anything."

He nodded his assent and looked down at our hands. His thumb gently rubbed the top of my fingers.

We finished dinner. Actually I finished both our dinners. When I was done with my ravioli I took the liberty to eat the rest of his French fries.

He chuckled. "Do you want to get something else?"

I smiled ruefully. "I'm okay for now, but I can't promise anything an hour or two from now." I winked.

I was at the tail end of my second trimester. My baby was growing rapidly and you could definitely tell on my petite frame. All those pictures online showing how big I should look was a lie, and I still had eleven weeks till my due date. Shoot me now.