The next day, Matt and Eren wait for her to wake up in the hospital… Heather slowly opens her eyes and feels her head.
Heather: ugh… What are you two doing here…?
Matt: Isn’t it obvious? We’re here to check up on you!
Eren: Hey I’m confused… Why would you do that? It’s okay if you don’t want to say…
Heather says nothing as Matt and Eren stare at each other… They get up and dust themselves off
Matt: We’ll uh… leave you alone…
They get ready to leave but…
Heather: I just…
She looks like she’s about to cry again and Matt and Eren stop moving. They turn around to look at her.
Heather: I just… don’t feel like… I’m wanted… I feel like the world is out to make my life as hard and as horrible as possible… ever since I was 4… all of these things have been happening and… after Abraham… I couldn’t take it…
Matt looks down for a while… his eyes glancing around before smiling and walking up to her.
Matt: Heather… come on. You know that's not true. Linda and Quinn would be lost without you. And as for us? Eren wouldn’t be able to pay her rent, or have someone to bounce off of! And who was there to help us get out of the Valentines incident?
Heather: …I was…
Matt: Exactly. You may think you’re not wanted, and that may be true for some people, but believe me, Heather. You’re NEEDED. After all…
“You’re the richest and luckiest girl alive, are you not?”
Heather gasps, that title… the title her mother gave her all those years ago to boost her confidence… something that will forever be with her as long as she’s alive… and her two best friends, standing in front of her. She hugged Matt tightly, as if he could disappear at any moment as she sobbed uncontrollably.
Matt: Hey watch the jacket!
He said with a smile as Heather pulled away.
Heather: S-sorry…
Matt: No it’s fine… hey me and Eren were heading out for lunch at the ramen place again. Want to go?
Heather thought about it before taking out her fan and having a confident smile on her face
Heather: Is that even a question?
She smiled as she got out of the hospital bed. As she walked with them, she stared at her fan, thinking of her late mother and Abraham… She smiled one last time as she whispered, “Thank you” before walking away.
Matt: So are you treating us or…
Heather: What? You invited me!
Matt: Ahhh I’m just messing with you… let's go Eren
Eren: huh? Oh right!
Heather: I should tell Linda and Quinn I’m okay.
Matt: Yeah you go do that while we walk. It’s going to be a long day for us…
Abraham: Well… if you want, I can take you anywhere you want. I hope you’ll keep yourself safe, Lady Heather.
Heather just stares at her hands and smiles through her tears…
Heather: Thank you, Abraham… that will be all.
Abraham nodded as he left the door, walking away into the light… Back in the present, Heather found herself standing on the roof of an abandoned building in west city. A worker, who was fixing the place up, noticed a girl on the roof and pointed at her.
Worker: Hey! There’s someone up there!
Another Worker: What is she- Is she going to-
Heather is about to take a step forward, but hesitates… Should she really do this? There are people waiting for her back home… but then she remembers… all the people that hated her on how she acted, how she walked, how she talked, what if everyone else hated her the same way? Because of the inability to deal with her own problems… A crowd was forming around the building, yelling at her not to jump, not to end her life, but she didn’t listen… she thought to herself one last time… Don’t stop dancing, don’t stop dancing until the curtain falls… And thus, she stepped forward… falling off the building to her death… it was as if time slowed down around her, thoughts rushed in her head… was she being selfish by taking her own life? Was it worth it just to see her mother and Abraham again? It’s too late now… she made up her mind… but wait! What about Cora?! Or Linda?! Or Quinn?! Or Matt and Eren?! What would happen to them?! No no no no no! She doesn’t want to die anymore! She doesn’t want to die!
Heather: I DON’T WANT TO DIE!
And just like that, before she hit the ground, she was caught… a group of workers caught her with a tarp… she breathed heavily, in and out, until she faints out of exhaustion…
He grabs her hair and pulls her towards him with a stern look.
Dad: Listen to me this once in your pathetic life. The world's a stage. And you don’t stop dancing and you don’t stop singing, even if it kills you. Be as loud and proud as possible, or else no one will care about you. You got that?
Heather: G-got it…
Dad: Promise it.
Heather: I- I promise…
Dad: Good. Now don’t show who you really are, or you’ll lose everyone. And wipe that blood off your face.
Heather: Y-yes sir…
She heads into her room and into the bathroom… She wipes the blood off her cheek and notices a black mark on her face… she places her finger on it… it’s not a cut, but it doesn’t seem to be coming off. Heather thinks to herself, if her dad saw her like this, she'd probably get punished again… And in desperation, she started wearing makeup over it. This became a habit of hers for a long time… until a certain butler was hired.
Abraham knocks on Heather’s door. She opens the door hesitantly as he introduces himself
Abraham: Hello, Lady Heather! I’m your new butler. My name is Abraham. Pleasure to meet you. May I come in?
Heather sighs as she opens the door for him. He enters and looks around.
Abraham: Wow… you haven’t cleaned your room often, haven’t you?
Heather braces her to get hit but nothing makes contact with her.
Abraham: …is something wrong?
Heather: What? A-aren’t you going to hit me like the other butlers?
Abraham just stares at her with a sympathetic look. He then gets up and dusts himself off.
Abraham: If you could go somewhere in the world, where would you go?
Heather: uh… Japan.
Abraham: Then let's go.
He grabs her by the shoulder and teleports her to Tokyo, Japan. Heather’s eyes widened in disbelief. She looked around happily as she spinned around, taking in all of the lights and sounds of the city. She smiled and thought to herself… Mom would have loved this… and then she thought about it again… mom… her smile faded as the light in her eyes faded away
Heather: …Abraham. Thank you for the trip… but I’m ready to go now.
Abraham: understood, Lady Heather.
Abraham grabbed her shoulder once again and teleported her back home. As she sat down on her bed, she weeped. Weeped for her mother who she couldn’t see… as she wiped the tears away from her eyes, she realized her make up came off, revealing her curse mark. She expected Abraham to say something about it but he ignored it.
???: Heather! Come here sweetie!
A young 4 year old Heather ran down the stairs and into her mothers arm, hugging her tightly. It’s been a good hour since she left to get the groceries!
Heather: Mommy! You’re home!
Dad: Heather! What did I say about running indoors! You could have broken a vase!
Mom: Don’t worry about him, sweetie. He’s just paranoid…
Heather’s dad just continues reading his newspaper as her mom keeps talking to her.
Mom: Alright Heather? I want you to have this…
She takes out a fan with the Japanese symbol of the word luck.
Mom: Can you hold on to this for me? Mommy has to go somewhere and won’t be back for a while… And when you see me, I won’t be myself anymore. Can I trust you with that?
Heather is about to say something, but her mom just pats her head
Mom: Of course you will. You’re the richest and luckiest girl alive, after all.
Heather smiles as she hugs her yet again.
Mom: I will never forget you…
I will never forget you
I will-
That's all Heather keeps hearing in her head as she waits for Linda and Quinn to come back… where could they be… maybe Abraham is getting them a snack. She wonders if she’ll get one too. But then the door opens and Linda and Quinn look quite worried
Heather: There you guys are! You beat Matt, right?
Linda: Y-yeah he’s back b-but…
Heather looked at their somber expressions and asked the big question…
“Where’s Abe?”
They both freeze as Quinn and Linda just stare at her.
Quinn: …We’re sorry.
Heather: No… no no no no no no no…
That's all she could say to herself as she constantly as Quinn tries to help her up.
Quinn: Hey he did a good job-
Heather: Shut up…
Quinn: N-No I mean it! He-
Heather: I SAID SHUT UP!
Quinn: But Lady Hea-
Heather: SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!
She says as she runs outside in the pouring rain. She couldn’t believe this… she can’t believe it! Why does this happen? What has she done to deserve this? All she can do is look back…
It all started when her mom was diagnosed. Heather wasn’t allowed to see her again… But after this, her father has been even more cruel than usual.
Dad: Hey. Smile.
Heather continued to frown until her dad looked up at her.
Dad: I said smile.
But she just can’t do it… Out of rage, her dad got up and smashed the glass on her face, causing a huge cut on the side of her eye to her cheek.
Dad: What did I just say! Look what you made me do! I can’t have my daughter looking like a sad mess in front of the public!
