Strangely Perfect

24. Alex

T W E N T Y  F O U R:

"Alex, where are you? Please pick up the phone. We're going to be late." I huffed and ended the voicemail, worrying if Alex would arrive. She's never this late.

"Everything alright, honey?" My mom asked as she zipped up Noah's coat and fixed his scarf and gloves. "Noah, go get your hat."

"Yeah, I just don't know where Lex is, she's normally here by now." I answered.

Noah scurried back over with his neon green hat and handed it over to mom.

"Is she alright?" Mom smoothed down Noah's beanie onto his head before smacking a kiss filled with love onto his forehead.

"I'm not sure. She's not picking up."

"Maybe Alex got sick like I did." Noah spoke up. "I hope she's alright and doesn't vomit like I did." He shivered in disgust, remembering his throw up and I followed suit, remembering all the puke he threw up which I had to clean up. For such a small kid, he sure as heck had a lot of puke in him.

My phone pinged and I quickly looked down to see a message from Daniel.

From: Daniel
We'll come pick you up, Aims. Xan's having one of her bad days again.

I frowned at the text and couldn't help but worry.  I quickly sent a response agreeing and asking about how she was holding up. He replied by saying she was doing alright for now.

"Everything alright? Want me to give you a ride to school, honey?" Mom offered, "I haven't got a meeting with any of my clients early today, come on."

"No, Danny's coming instead." I answered. "Thanks, though."

"Danny is coming?" Noah's eyes widened with joy. " But what about Alex?"

"She a little bit under the weather today. She's okay." I told Noah and bopped his nose.

I hope she is.

Alex's bad days meant the days where her mental health was unbearable and things like getting out of bed in the mornings just seemed impossible. Alex may seem like a normal person to others but she suffered from anxiety and depression everyday and it always hurt to see her suffering. Most of the time, it's bearable and Daniel being there for her makes it better. But sometimes, when she thinks she's doing fine, she'll wake up and feel like the weight of the whole world on her chest and Jamie and I always hated seeing her so torn up inside, and when it was that bad, she'd be a no-show in school. Sometimes, she'd break down in the middle of the school day, be it an anxiety attack or mental breakdown; Daniel was always the only one who could calm her down and get her breathing easy again. Daniel's the greatest for being there for Alex and staying with her through her depression and anxiety -- loving her for her. Daniel's good for her. She'll never admit it to anyone, but I know that she's thankful for him being there all the time.

I remember when Alex was going through a very very very rough patch when she was fourteen. She was struggling horribly with everything. Being alone in that big house, dealing with her drunkard mother, feeling like she had no one here for her but she did. She was so distorted never looked up from the ground or laughed and barely spoke. I walked her home and she started crying and admitted that she was struggling and even resorted to cutting. I was horrified and my heart ached for her. And when Daniel found out, he cried. They weren't together then but we all knew it was about time the were going to be. Ever since she and Daniel had a one to one, he did something that changed her and whenever she was tempted, she'd take it out on a punching bag in her gym. Daniel didn't stop everything, but he helped. I helped. Jamie helped. We all did.

"Honey?" I blinked away the tears and looked up to my mom's worried look. "Your ride is here. Are you alright?" Mom rubbed my arm and looked straight at me. I nodded but she knew otherwise. "Have a nice day at school." She kissed my cheek and enveloped me into a warming hug that I didn't know I needed until then. "Noah, baby, lets go!"

The three of us headed for the door. I kissed Stoney goodbye and pushed her bowl of food toward her and locked the door.

"Hey, Mrs Donovan." I hear the familiar voice greeting my mom. And then...

I see the familiar truck. And then...

---

a/n:

This is just a short chapter to raise awareness of mental health.

I'd just like to remind everyone that you never know what anyone is going through, they may look and come across as the happiest person on earth but dying on the inside.

Mental health is real and a lot of people struggle with it. I struggle with it too and sometimes, it's hard.

I just wanted to include this in my book and even though this is supposed to be a light and uplifting story, not every story is perfectly happy. This story is strangely perfect. But don't worry, everything will be fine in the next chapter. :)

If you enjoyed so far, please be sure to vote.

Thank you! <3

-FamousGiraffe