Next To You

How To Cope

During the week, everything seemed to be dragging. When they were sitting in the library at lunch, Tristan could tell Heather's mind was somewhere else. She had been giving too much of her time to help him already, even though she would never say so.

He closed his text book, "I think I'm going to go find Sarah to help me, but thanks for all the help you've been giving me Heather, I really appreciate it."

"Really? Okay, well you're doing great Tristan, I'm proud of you," she said as she patted his shoulder.

They both left the library and walked down the hall with each other, when suddenly the three seniors from before were passing them. Tristan felt his body tense up in alarm, telling him to run. He couldn't say anything to Heather, he didn't want to get her involved, but something bad was about to happen.

"Hey kid, is that your girlfriend? How cute," one of them said as they circled around them.

It was too late, Tristan went into defense like Heather had taught him. She realized what he was doing and looked around at their faces. They were tall, and unexpectedly stronger than she imagined. They pushed them into a maintenance closet and the door locked.

Heather pounded on the door, "let us out! Open this door!"

Tristan just sat there and did nothing, "don't waste your energy Heather, nobody out there is going to help us."

She turned to face him, "there has to be someone, why didn't you warn me about those guys?! This could've been prevented, now I'm probably going to miss class!"

He scoffed, "yeah, that's what you should worry about, your perfect attendance. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, Heather. Every school I've ever been to, there's guys like that. They do stuff like this all the time, I was actually becoming pretty good friends with the janitor, his name was Frank. He always found me and unlocked the door to let me out."

"This isn't a joke, Tristan. Are you saying we have to wait until the janitor comes to get out of here? No way, I will bust this door down if I have to," Heather turned back to the door and started ramming into it.

The door was heavy and metal, and now her shoulder was throbbing. She sank to the floor and rubbed it. She wasn't ready to give up yet though, so, pulling herself together, she started thinking. She got up again and using logic, discovered the weak part of the door. She got into her kick-boxing position, and with all the force she could muster, kicked it.

It busted open, and startled a couple of students walking by, she laughed nervously as she straightened her skirt, "Tristan, come on."

Tristan was too stunned for words. He followed her out then came face to face with the girl that was giving Heather problems the last time.

Lea stared at them and smirked, "well isn't this an interesting sight? The library shrew coming out of a closet with the new guy."

Her friend snapped a picture with her phone and giggled. Heather just rolled her eyes and walked off.

Tristan ran after her, "where are you going?"

"To the vice principal, he needs to know about these incidents. Bullying is becoming too much of a problem around here and I'm not going to wait around for something else to happen, I'm going to put a stop to it," she answered as she marched down the hall.

"You're just one person, how can you put a stop to all the bullying?"

"Have a little faith Tristan, it's amazing what one person can do when they set their mind to something," Heather said to him as she walked up to the school secretary. "Is vice principal Chapman available?"

"He's in a meeting right now, is this an urgent matter?" The secretary answered sharply.

"I'd say so. I'll just leave a message for him for now," Heather dictated the note for the secretary, that was brief, but got the point across.

"Thank you Ms. Shannon, I'll make sure he gets it," the secretary spoke more kindly that time.

Heather escorted Tristan to his class, then went to hers. When she walked into gym class, she was in no mood for games. Eoin could tell something had happened. He discovered the proof of it on his phone once class was over.

Heather was called to the vice principal's office during her last class. Mya waited to catch Eoin before he went to practice to let him know where she was.

"I'll meet her at the usual time, you can relay that to her," he said plainly.

Mya wondered why he didn't just text Heather, but decided to stay out of it. She went to her club meeting without another thought.

Heather could see something was bothering him as she approached him after his practice. She tugged his shirt sleeve and he turned to face her. Eoin had just been looking at his phone when he gave her a cold look.

"Are you okay?" She asked softly.

He looked down at his screen again, "are you sure there's nothing going on between you and Gallagher?"

"I already told you there wasn't. What are you worried about anyway? You're always so full of confidence, you should be fine," she snipped.

He scoffed, "it's an illusion Heather, you of all people should be able to tell the difference. I've been getting pictures sent to my phone of you two, what is all this?"

He finally turned his phone around to her eye level and showed her.

"From whom?" She asked as she glared at the screen.

"That's the thing, it's a number I don't know. You can honestly tell me you don't have any lingering feelings for him?"

Heather folded her arms angrily and leaned against the wall, then helplessly slid down to the ground, "this is exhausting. Someone is obviously trying to cause problems between us. Those pictures prove nothing, even if they did, I can honestly tell you, I have no romantic feelings for him." She looked up at him with disappointment in her eyes, "why do you doubt me?"

Eoin realized what he had done, he sat next to her and shook his head, "I don't know."

He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes, trying to figure out what he should do next.

"So what do you expect to happen here Eoin? What do you want from me?" She stared him down in frustration.

He looked over at her, "why can't you just tell people who you are? That would probably take care of half your problems right there."

Heather shook her head and sighed, "if this were a private school, that would be one thing. At least there'd be security, but here, if those big tabloid reporters caught wind of where I was, the media would have a field day. My private life would be non-existent. It would be a disaster Eoin, would you really want me to deal with that on top of everything else that's going on?"

She couldn't take anymore and stood up angrily. He reached for her, but she was already leaving. He didn't even know why he said it, and yet, he still couldn't understand why it was such a big deal.

Heather went straight to the Fitzwalters' gym and was pounding away her frustrations into a punching bag again. She didn't tell Tristan to come train that afternoon, she needed space while trying to work through what she was feeling.

"That ignorant jerk!" She shouted as she kicked the punching bag.

Scotty was holding it for her, "what's eating you?"

"Nothing really, just my boyfriend implying I've been unfaithful to him, and then people trying to sabotage me, it's getting really old," she said between grunts and panting.

Scotty saw Heather as a little sister, and he knew what things set her off. To see her getting that upset was difficult. Ellie was usually the only person who could talk her through it and smooth things over.

"Do you want me to get mum? I'm not sure I'd be much help to you," Scotty said as he held on to the punching bag as tightly as he could.

"No, just keep holding this," she answered as she continued punching and kicking.

Eoin stood at the window as he watched her. He knew it was all his fault. Finally, he walked in and stood a short distance away from her.

He cleared his throat to get her attention, "Heather?"

She ignored him and kept punching and kicking. Scotty took a deep breath, then grabbed Eoin and put him on the other side of the punching bag.

"So, you're not training Gallagher today?" He attempted talking with her.

"No," she punched the part closest to his face.

A look of alarm crossed his face, but he wouldn't budge, "because of me?"

"Yes," she punched close to his stomach next.

"You're that mad, huh?" It was his first time seeing her that angry.

Heather said nothing, instead she kicked a part of the bag closest to his face, then stopped. She pulled her gloves off and walked over to a bench against a wall, grabbed her bottle and took a long drink.

Eoin sighed in relief and followed her, "can we talk about this?"

"There's nothing else to say on the matter, Flannery. You've already established I can't be trusted, and apparently, I don't know what I'm doing either," she grabbed her things and headed towards the ladies' locker room.

"Heather, hold on, that's not what I meant at all," he argued as he started to go after her again.

She put her hand up in front of her and with the tips of two fingers to his chest, kept him from getting any closer.

"Stop right there, Flannery. I am in no mood for all this going back and forth. I'm tired, and yes, still ticked off, so if I were you, I'd tread lightly. Go home, I have to work these things out on my own," she finished speaking, then disappeared into the locker room.

Scotty and Toby were intently watching from the side. When Eoin looked in their direction, they averted their eyes, whistled to themselves, and pretended to do other things.

He approached them, "guys, help me out, what do I need to do to get back on her good side?"

Toby snickered and Scotty shushed him, "honestly, we've never seen her this angry before. My advice to you though, let her have her space to cool off. She's a problem-solver, she needs time to herself to think things through. When she's ready to talk, she'll let you know."

"I see. How long do you think it's going to take?"

"I wish I knew kid, but that's all up to her," Scotty tried to reassure him, "come on, it'll be fine. Just let her do her thing."

Reluctantly, Eoin left the gym. He kept checking his phone, wondering when she would let him know. The thought of those two guys possibly messing with him, had crossed his mind. He almost called her, but wasn't willing to risk it.

Friday rolled around and she still hadn't said anything to him. He was worried she might call everything off with him, until she came up to him before he left to get ready for his game.

She seemed a lot calmer, "hey."

"Hey, I wanted to call you-" he started to explain.

"It's okay, thank you for giving me space. About Tristan, I handed the matter of his training over to Scotty. He's more advanced than I am, plus he can train him more than I can, and Sarah is going to be tutoring him, so you don't have to worry about it anymore. But my secret needs to stay a secret, I hope you can understand that," Heather stated firmly. "I'm sorry if I made things uncomfortable for you."

Eoin was once again surprised by her, he grabbed her hand, "no, I'm sorry. I was being a jealous i***t, I said things without thinking. I know you'd never be dishonest with me."

Heather smiled and touched her hand to his cheek, "Eoin, it's alright. Everything worked out." She stood on the tips of her toes and kissed him, "good luck with your game tonight. I'll see you tomorrow."

She waved as she walked away. Ivan came out of the gym and stood next to him, "your team is looking for you, is everything okay?"

"Yeah, but I just realized how much wiser and more mature Heather is compared to myself. I'm not sure what I'm doing anymore."

Ivan chuckled, "brother, she's wiser and more mature than all of us put together. If you recall, I did forewarn you, she's in a league of her own."

"Yeah, you did, didn't you? It feels like ages ago. I still wonder if any of this is real sometimes," Eoin picked up his gym bag and went inside.

Ivan went to a student council meeting, leaving Eoin with his own thoughts. It was strange, every time it felt like things were slipping through his fingers, they would work out, and in some ways, become stronger than before. He knew it was because of Heather though, and that's how he knew she was the one for him. He just wished he could stop being foolish long enough to actually enjoy it.

Saturday was the first clear day after weeks of rain and clouds. Eoin was looking forward to what was in store for them. He stopped his truck in front of the O'Reillys' house, eager to get started. When he knocked at the door, Connelly answered.

"Mr. Flannery, good morning, I trust you have an exciting day planned," Connelly answered in his usual tone.

"Well, yeah. You're not spying on us today?" Eoin teased as he entered.

Connelly smirked, "fortunately for you, I have other things to do today."

"What? Seriously?" He thought it was a trick to get his guard down.

"As you so casually express, yes 'seriously,' I'm sure you're so disappointed," Connelly answered sarcastically as he put a jacket on and walked out the door. "I believe you'll find Ms. Heather in the library, good day to you."

Eoin walked from corridor to corridor. His footsteps echoed as they hit the hardwood floors. He couldn't believe how quiet it was there. He went through the ballroom, up the stairs, and down the hall, finding the large double doors that led to the library.

He pushed one open and peered around. He had never actually been in the library. It was a massive one that was two stories, shelves lined the walls, in one corner there was a spiral staircase, a huge fireplace, with high-backed armchairs that seemed to be in every room of the house. He spotted Heather standing over a thick mahogany table next to a couple of floor to ceiling windows, covered with books and maps. She had a protractor in her hand and made a circular motion with it.

"Here you are, where is everybody?" He asked as he looked over her shoulder, "what's all this?"

Heather quickly looked over at him, then glanced at her watch, "it's that time already? Sorry, I got sidetracked and I'm not ready to go yet."

"It's okay, there's really no hurry," he examined her appearance.

She was wearing an old t-shirt and jeans, with her hair thrown up in a messy bun. She blushed when she realized what he was looking at.

"I went for a run early this morning, and I've been in here since I got back from it, and I'm such a mess. You don't mind waiting a little while?" She asked, feeling embarrassed.

"No, I don't mind, I'll wait here," he smiled. "Just so you know, you're still cute."

She smiled back, "thank you Eoin, but I still prefer to be clean."

She hurried to her room and rested against the door momentarily. He could still make her heart race with every sweet little thing he said, even though she was furious with him only a few days before. Then she realized, it wasn't what he said, it was the way he looked at her when he said them.

Not too long after, she returned to the library, showered and dressed for a day in the country. She found Eoin looking over her maps and books. Then she remembered he had asked her some questions.

"My grandparents are in the city for the weekend, we don't usually have a lot of the staff here when they're gone," she stood next to him and tried to determine what he was focused on.

"All these marks you've made on these maps, what are they for?"

"They're locations where my father's plane could've crashed. I haven't shown them to anyone, because I'm afraid they'll accuse me of having false hope," she moved some books and showed him all the maps. "I've spent a long time on these, when my father's plane disappeared, they never found a wreckage or bodies. It's not that I believe he could still be alive, it's that I believe it's out there somewhere. Their are so many uncharted waters and islands out there. I just want to know what happened."

"Wow, that's not what I was expecting at all," he looked over at her and saw her in a whole new light. "How often do you work on this?"

"I couldn't tell you exactly. Every moment I get, sometimes, if there's nothing else going on, I could be in here for days without realizing it," she clutched a book to her chest and stared down at the table's surface. "I guess it's more of a coping mechanism than actual solid research. You don't think I'm crazy, do you?"

"No," he took the book from her and set it back on the table, then he pulled her to his chest, "I really admire you, Ms. Librarian, I've never met anyone that could go through things like you and still keep it together."

"If it seems like I'm keeping it together, it's only because I've already spent too long crying and feeling sorry for myself. There comes a point when you just have to accept things for what they are and find a way to deal with them," she said as she pulled away. "After this long, I've started to come to terms with the facts. He might never be found."

She folded up the maps and stacked the books. Now that she had told Eoin, she felt like it was finally time to move on.

Eoin put his hand over hers as she tried straightening a bent corner of a map, "only if you give up on him. Is that what you really want to do?"

She had to look at him to be sure he was serious, "you don't think I should?"

"I can see how much of yourself you've put into this, why give up now?"

"Because, I've done all that I can. I've hit a dead end," Heather brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and finished cleaning up.

As they walked out of the library, he wasn't sure what else he could say. He thought about it while they drove out to his grandparents' farm. They had to navigate a bending dirt road to get to the property.

"Sorry, this is the worst part. We'll be there soon though," he reached over and squeezed her hand, then went back to steering.

As they reached the end of the road, Heather could see a charming white farmhouse with a big red barn further back. There were lots of fields and trees surrounding it. She was looking forward to spending a day outdoors. Eoin parked by a tall white fence and got out to help Heather cross the muddy driveway.

Gerald just stepped out of a field and Maggie waved from the front porch. Eoin jogged up to the porch and hugged her, Gerald soon joined them there.

"Thanks for inviting us out, where's everyone else?" Eoin said cheerfully.

"They're on their way. Thanks for visiting dear, it's so hard to get away from the farm this time of year," Maggie smiled warmly, then reached for Heather and pulled her into a hug. "So glad you could make it out here as well Heather, I hope you enjoy yourself."

Eoin showed her around the house and barn. Gerald brought two horses in from the pasture and handed them over to Eoin. Heather observed how he was with them. It was such a difference from how she saw him at school. Yet somehow, it seemed to suit him.

"I never would've guessed you were a country boy," she teased.

He was brushing down one of the horses and grinned at her, "really? I love it here. Especially after finishing midterms or big tests, it really helps me unwind and refresh myself. It has kept me sane this long already. I actually work here for my grandpa during summer break. Do you want to help?"

"Okay, but I'm not really sure what I'm doing, I've never actually had to groom a horse before," she said as he handed her a brush.

"Like this, in a circular motion," he guided her hand as they ran the brush through the horse's thick winter coat.

When they were done grooming, he showed her how to saddle them. It wasn't at all like the English gear she was used to. The saddles were bulkier and heavier, and the reins seemed to be longer, too.

"I've only ever been English riding, I'm not sure I'll be good at this," she said as she held onto the horse's bridle.

"It's pretty simple, you should be fine," he reassured her as he held the stirrup still for her. "It's more relaxed than English riding."

"You know about English riding?" She asked as she climbed up into the saddle.

"Only a little, because I knew some people who did it," he said as he mounted his horse. "I may have gone to one or two equestrian competitions in the past."

They walked the horses around in a circle to warm them up. He rode by the front porch where his grandmother was waiting with a packed saddle bag.

"Thanks grandma, we'll be back later," he winked at her mischievously.

Maggie laughed and waved him off, "don't you dare worry about me, you two just have fun."

Heather eyed him suspiciously, "Flannery, you're up to something."

"What makes you think that?" He smiled with amusement.

"Your face. What's in the saddle bag?" She persisted.

"Nope, it's a surprise," he teased.

"I never really liked surprises, come on, tell me," she pleaded.

He shook his head, "you'll just have to be patient Ms. Librarian."

After riding for what seemed like forever, Eoin pulled the horse to a stop, then dismounted. It was peaceful and secluded, but Heather didn't see anything spectacular about it. He slowly helped her down, enjoying every touch between them. After tethering the horses, he grabbed the saddle bag and hung it over his shoulder as he took her by the hand and led her to a small clearing. There was a large oak tree next to a pond in the midst of it, and to her pleasant surprise, a beautiful treehouse built in and around it.

"This place is amazing. But why did you bring me out here?" Heather eyed him suspiciously, he was definitely up to something.

"It's a date Heather, I wanted it to be special," he smiled affectionately.

"Okay, but what's the occasion?" She asked as she walked up the wooden staircase.

"Not really any particular reason, except, we've been dating for three months now. We finally get to take advantage of that," he explained as he opened a hatch on the bottom of the treehouse.

He held his hand out to her and pulled her up through the hatch, setting the saddle bag on a table. She looked around and observed the set up. The table was set with two chairs, there were fresh flowers displayed in a recycled glass milk bottle. The windows had actual glass panes with curtains, and there was a sitting area and a loft.

She curiously watched Eoin unpack the contents of the saddle bag. There was a romantic lunch packed in it, complete with dishes, silverware, and glasses.

She smiled warmly, "how long have you been planning this?"

Eoin grinned sheepishly, "a couple of weeks I guess. Do you like it?"

"Well, once again, I'm being swept off my feet. I'm curious, do you come up with stuff all on your own? Maybe it's because you've had lots of practice with other girls," she teased.

Eoin's seriousness stunned her, he glanced around the room, then looked at her with a tender expression, "actually, this is the first time I've ever done something like this. I built this place myself, last summer, and you're the first girl I've ever brought out here."

She felt bad for teasing him, "oh. Thanks for bringing me here then, I'm glad I'm the one you wanted to share this with. Sorry if I seemed a little cynical."

"It's okay, I know you didn't mean anything by it. Are you hungry?"

"I could eat," she beamed.

She wasn't sure why, but she found it difficult to believe someone like Eoin, never had a serious relationship before. He was sweet, thoughtful, and seemed to enjoy every aspect of romance.

She had to know, "Eoin, why haven't you had a girlfriend before me? It doesn't make any sense."

He seemed puzzled by it, "why? Well, I guess I didn't want to get serious with anyone, before I met you. Is it really so hard to believe?"

"You just seem like you have a lot of love to give," she smiled contently.

"And I have. I've got a lot of people in my life. What about you? Has it really been that challenging for you to find people to love?"

"I guess. Very few have actually won my admiration and loyalty up until this point. That makes me sound horrible, doesn't it? I don't mean for it to sound that way, but you'd be amazed by some of the things people do when they only think of themselves. For a long time, my hope for humanity was gravely lacking," she took a sip of her drink, then looked up at Eoin, he was grinning with his head tilted. "What's that look for?"

He chuckled, "it might sound silly, but the way you talk sometimes, it sounds like you have a bit of an accent. I like it."

Heather blushed a little and laughed, "I guess I've never noticed it. It's probably because of my father. He completed all of his education in England, even college. His was much thicker and more refined though."

Eoin tried to imagine it, but as hard as he tried, he couldn't. He didn't even know what it felt like to be without parents, his heart went out to her though. This whole day was originally planned so he could tell her how much he loved her, but after everything that had been happening, all the arguing and misunderstandings, he felt like it would be too soon. He decided to keep it to himself until a better opportunity presented itself.

When they were riding back, the sun was setting. They hadn't seen the rest of his family yet, so they went back to the farmhouse to find out. There was an ambulance in the driveway. Fear overtook him.

Eoin sent his horse into a gallop and pulled him to a halt as he hit the ground running. He burst into the house, calling for his grandparents. He was just in time to see the paramedics wheel his grandmother out on a stretcher, her eyes closed, oxygen mask in place. Heather had caught up and was holding the horses when they came out and put her in the ambulance.

"Grandpa, what happened?" He asked with with panic.

Gerald was still processing it, but his eyes were tearing up, "your parents had just called to let her know they had gotten stuck in traffic. After she got off the phone she collapsed, I couldn't wake her up..."

Eoin gripped his head and ran out to talk to the paramedics, "what's going on? Is she going to be okay?"

"Wish I knew what to tell you kid, but we really need to get her to the hospital," one of them answered.

Gerald came out with his coat on and got in next to her. He asked Eoin to take care of things for him. After they drove away, sirens blaring, he knew it had to be serious. He took the horses to the barn, removing the riding gear and rubbing them down. Heather helped him.

Her heart was breaking for him once she saw his expression, one she knew all too well, "Eoin?" She came around the horse to his side and hugged him, knowing how important it was to have someone there for you.

He put his arms around her and let out a long shaky breath, "thank you Heather, I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you here with me."

"Of course, if you ever need me, never hesitate to ask. I'd drop anything for you in a second," she gave him a gentle squeeze and pressed her cheek to his chest.

It was easy to forget the petty drama when real tragedies happened. That's how you learned who was really there for you. She knew she couldn't leave him now, nor did she want to.