Rooftops

Hank sat atop the roof, clutching his bottle for dear life; one hand on the bottle, the other on the edge of the roof:nails digging in. Inhale, breathe in, exhale, breathe out, inhale, breathe in. He shook his head to get his shaggy hair out of his eyes, raising his head slightly to concentrate on the moon. It really was magnificent tonight, full and so big you could count individual craters on the surface. It was also casting a faint orange hue onto the night sky.

"Yeah, maybe this will help" Hank thought, desperate to find some peace, his heart was still racing, thud-thud, thud-thud, thud-thud. Easy does it; inhale, breathe in, exhale, breathe out, inhale, breathe in, exhale, breathe out, inhale, breathe out. He sat there, eyes focused on the great orange orb in the sky; hands still in place, mind focused on breathing and nothing else.

Unconsciously Hank's hand rose to his mouth, he took a sip from the bottle. It had gotten a bit warm by now, but it was reassuring nonetheless. He took another sip then slowly replaced his hand on the roof, trying not to let his arm tremble on the descent.

Behind Hank the upstairs window opened then closed again. WIth two steps Jen sat next to him. She fold her hands on her lap.

"Beautiful night, isn't it?" She asked then paused, "Listen Hank, everyone was just joking. We really didn't mean any of it. For crissakes, you hate heights, why would you come up here of all places?"

Hank still sat silently, bottle hand rocking slightly back and forth.

"Heh..You're right, Jen, of all places..I shouldn't have come up here. Its just hard sometimes, and those people in there...they're supposed to be my friends.."

"I know Hank, I know. We're really sorry. Like I said, we were just giving you a hard time; we went too far. Come back inside, please Hank!"

Hank turned his head slightly towards her, away from the moon. "I'd like to come in, but I feel like if I stood up, if I moved at all...the whole world would crash down on me" His eyes were terrified, they pleaded for her to help him.

"Ahh, alright Hank, we can do this. Take my hand, good, there ya go. Now we'll take this inch by inch 'til we get back inside the window. I won't let you hand go for an instant." Jen smiled reassuringly, and they started to scoot backwards. Bit by bit, inch by inch 'til they were on the other side of the window again.

Hank collapsed against the inside of the wall. He sighed greatly, then asked "So you're sure no one will say anything else?"

"Not a peep, We'll grab you a fresh beer, just..stay off the roof, alright?"

"Right!" He smiled sheepishly, "No more rooftops"