Grab a Hoodie

Ari had been having a rough week.

Not a terrible week. Nothing big enough that she could point to and say, that’s why I feel like this.

That almost made it worse.

She had just been tired.

Tired from constantly trying to keep up. Tired from answering “I’m good” when people asked. Tired from convincing everyone — and herself — that she could handle everything.

Every little thing had started adding up.

A stressful day at school.

A conversation she kept replaying in her head.

Things she needed to do that kept piling higher.

Little moments where she wanted to say, “I’m overwhelmed,” but instead she smiled and said she was fine.

Because she always did.

She didn’t want to be the person who was always struggling. She didn’t want people to worry about her. She didn’t want to feel like a burden.

So she kept everything to herself.

Until she couldn’t anymore.

By the time she finally picked up her phone, her hands felt heavy.

She opened her messages with Beckett and stared at the screen for a few seconds before typing.

hey do you have a minute to talk

She set her phone down and tried to convince herself she didn’t care if he answered right away.

She just needed someone to talk to for a minute. Someone who could make everything feel a little quieter.

A few hours passed.

When her phone finally buzzed, she grabbed it instantly.

hey, sorry, i was busy. just saw this.

A second message came through.

Wait, that sounded kind of frantic. are you okay?

Ari swallowed.

i’m fine, just forget about it.

The response came almost immediately.

No whats wrong? Are you ok?

She rolled her eyes, even though she smiled a little.

beckett i’m literally fine

you always say that when you’re not

Ari stared at the message.

Before she could respond, another one appeared.

grab a hoodie

She frowned.

why?

No reply

Ari laughed quietly.

that explains absolutely nothing

But she still got up and grabbed her hoodie.

A few minutes later, a familiar pair of headlights appeared outside her window.

She looked out and shook her head, smiling despite herself.

Of course he came.

She quietly slipped outside and climbed into the car.

Beckett didn’t ask questions right away.

He just turned the music down low and started driving.

They didn’t go anywhere special.

They just drove.

The kind of drive where Ari didn’t have to fill the silence. Where she didn’t have to pretend she was okay because Beckett wasn’t asking her to be.

Eventually, they pulled into a quiet parking spot and sat there.

For a while, neither of them said anything.

Then Beckett glanced over.

“So…”

Ari looked at him.

“So?”

“What happened?”

She looked away.

“Nothing.”

He gave her a look.

“Ari.”

“I’m fine.”

He nodded slowly.

“Okay.”

She looked back at him, surprised.

But then he continued.

“Okay. But if you want to talk about it, I’m here.”

And somehow, that made it harder to keep pretending.

Because he wasn’t pushing.

He wasn’t demanding an explanation.

He was just reminding her that she didn’t have to carry everything alone.

After a moment, Ari slowly leaned her head against his shoulder.

“I’m just tired,” she whispered.

Beckett looked down at her.

“Tired?”

She nodded.

“Not like sleepy tired.”

Her voice cracked slightly.

“I’m just tired of always saying I’m okay when I’m not.”

Beckett stayed quiet.

“I feel like I’ve been holding everything in for so long, and I don’t even know how to talk about it anymore.”

His expression softened.

“Ari…”

“I don’t want people to think I can’t handle things.”

“You know what I think?”

She looked up at him.

“What?”

“I think you’ve spent so much time trying to prove you can handle everything that you forgot you’re allowed to have hard days.”

She looked down.

“I just don’t want to be too much.”

Beckett immediately shook his head.

“You’re not.”

Ari stayed quiet.

“You’re not too much. You’re not a burden. You’re not annoying for needing someone.”

Her eyes watered slightly.

“I don’t know why I do that.”

“Do what?”

“Pretend I’m fine.”

Beckett smiled a little.

“Because you care about everyone else before yourself.”

She didn’t respond.

Because he was right.

“I just wish I didn’t feel like I had to be okay all the time.”

“You don’t have to be okay all the time with me.”

The car went quiet again.

But this time, it felt different.

Lighter.

Ari took a deep breath.

“I hate that you always know when I’m lying.”

He smiled.

“I hate that you think you have to lie.”

She didn’t have an answer for that.

So she just stayed there, leaning against his shoulder, letting herself finally stop pretending.

And for the first time in a while, Ari didn’t feel like she had to carry everything by herself.