Hope

Chapter 3:

Stella's POV:

I was waiting outside when I saw him. I  rushed as soon as fast as I could and hugged him. It felt as if the missing pieces of my life were complete. He was finally here. He was finally home.

" Alex! I missed you so much." I said my voice suddenly trembling and caught up with all the emotions.

Alex, my second oldest brother was gone for months which wasn't new. Since mum left it had been daily occurence for him to be gone. But this time it was longest. Probably because of her of her birthday coming up .

It was as if he didn't want to be around us. As if he didn't want to be around me because I so vividly remember him telling that I remind him of mum in every possible way even if I don't share much physical resemblance to her.

But I understood him. Where he was coming from. Everyone has a different way to deal with their emotions. This was his way , deattaching himself from everyone. Like Al drowns himself in work , Ron gets lost in his anger and aderlanine while Dad spends doing everything which reminds him of mum.

And I? I write numerous letters addressed to my mum knowing she will never get those.

" Not more than I missed you baby." He said grinning. He was always so well dressed , straight out of a business magazine with his amber eyes and dark ink hair. I probably resembled to him the most of all my siblings.

" Uh huh. That's why you barely called me." I said . Although I understood his reasons it still hurt knowing I was the reason he went way most of the time. He won't admit it aloud but I knew. I heard him say so to Dad and Al.

It left a bitter feeling knowing that my brother who once never missed a single  weekly date with me was distancing himself. Sometimes I wanted to confront him but I never had enough courage to do so.

" I was busy baby but I promise to make it up to you" He said eventually but I could hear the guilt behind his voice.

I nodded and he kissed my temple and brushed my hair back lovingly. Then he proceeded to open the door for me and closed it when he was sure I was settled in.

We started driving probably back home. There was a comfortable silence around us but I knew this was going to last not too far long.

I wanted to see if he was okay. Physically he seemed fine but mentally? I didn't know. No one did. It was actually so hard to predict what was going in any of my brother's minds.

But then I remembered Ella's words.

"Alex what's your reason to be happy?"

He hesitated and opened his mouth to answer and then stopped. Didn't he have any reason to be happy? Was he not happy?

"What kind of question is that?" He frowned.

" A genuine one. Ella says everyone has a reason to be happy wheter it's small or big."

He hummed and said " If she is helping you then why do you want to stop seeing for?"

"Seeing her makes me feel as if I'm mentally ill. "

He suddenly stopped the car and fully turned towards me.
" Listen to me well Stella. You aren't mentally ill. Yes? In this age you have gone through so much emotionally and to make yourself feel better therapy is needed. Mental health doesn't mean mental illness. Capsice?"

I nodded beacuse I couldn't say anything.
There was this overwhelming feeling taking over me which I couldn't understand what it was. Recently  I felt like that so many times and then my whole surrounding started feeling gloomy.