Heart Beat Song (A Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist Fanfiction)

Chapter Forty-Seven: Easy Target

After my rooftop garden breather, I headed back to my desk so that I could finish the day out looking into the calendar bug. I felt a shadow appear above me, but I ignored it, knowing that I was so confused and overwhelmed today that if I even so much as looked at another person, I was going to start crying.

The person, whoever it was, crouched down beside me. I paused, blowing out a breath and averting my eyes to my lap.

"If you're about to ask for advice, or ask for my help on something, I swear-"

My chair turned, exposing my brother, who was down on one knee in front of me. Tears welled up in my eyes.

"I'm not trying to enable her," I whispered, "I'm not trying to pry into other people's lives, I just want everyone to be ok, and I don't know how to-"

"Shh...I know, Mare. I know." He said quietly.

"I'm sorry." I cried, reaching up to wipe the tears as they fell. He shook his head.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, ok?" He said, taking a tissue form my desk and handing it to me. "I'm sorry. You were right, I was upset, and angry, and you were right there so you were an easy target. You're always an easy target, and that's not fair, and I'm sorry."

I reached up, wiping my tears away with the tissue.

"I don't know how to balance all of this." I admitted, waving my hands around. "I don't know how to get involved without being too involved, I don't know how to stay out of things without staying too far out, I don't-"

"Mary..." He said calmly, "You...have been taking care of everybody, and everything...since we were kids. And I don't know, maybe its about Dad, maybe its about me, but whatever the cause is, that...its not your job to make sure everyone is ok. It isn't, and if today proves anything, its that you can't continue on like this anymore. Its not good for you." 

"I don't..." I brought up a knee onto my chair, resting my mouth on top of it before glancing up at him, "I don't know how to do anything else."

"I don't know, I mean...have you considered therapy?" He asked. "You never know, it might help."

I nodded in agreement. 

"For now just...try to have a nice weekend, ok?" He suggested. "I know you're going for Leif, but try and relax, have fun, yeah?" I nodded.

"Yeah...ok." He stood up, coming over and kissing the top of my head.

"I love you," He said, "And I'm sorry again that I'm such an idiot sometimes."

I smiled just as Max's phone dinged in his pocket and mine buzzed on my desk. We both furrowed our eyebrows, picking them up in unison to see a text from Maggie Clarke. 

Hi Mary. Sorry to bother you, but Zoey hasn't been answering her phone today. I just want to make sure she's ok.

We both looked up at each other again, and I sprang from my chair while he led the way over towards Zoey's desk.

"Hey, why is your mom asking us if you're ok?" Max questioned.

"She texted you?" She asked, glancing between us.

"Yeah, she said she's called a few times, she wants you to call her back."

"Oh, uh, I haven't looked at my phone all day."

"I have seen you look at your phone several times today, so I know that that's a lie." I said, crossing my arms over my chest. "I mean your mom, this whole glitch thing that's been going on all day, I know something happened this morning, and I know its about your dad. Zoey what is going on?"