NovelAppChapter 0443 / Ava stands up and walks towards me the | moment I get outside the door.
“How was it?” she asks, her eyes shifting | between mine.
If I am being honest, then I’m surprised she’s still here. When she said that she would wait for me, I didn’t expect her to.
Ijust thought she would wait till I was inside, then leave. I never thought she’d wait the entire one and a half hour.
“It was surprisingly nice,” I reply, not really sure how to put it.
I'liked the session more than I thought I would. For so long, I kept what I was feeling inside me. Sure, I told Molly, but I never allowed myself to feel the emotions. I never told her how I felt. The heartbreak, the pain, the emptiness, all of it, I kept it to myself.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt| Being able to do that with Mia was eye- opening. I don’t know how she did it. I | don’t know how she got me to open up...
But everything just came tumbling out of my mouth and heart. Every feeling I've tried fleeing from. Every pain I’ve tried burying. Everything just tumbled out of | me. | I'm nowhere near okay, but I feel good. I feel great that I was able to release that part of myself that I’ve been trying to bury.
“That’s good, come on then” Ava tells me gently. “Let’s get you cleaned up, and then we can get some ice cream.” I feel like I've lost my mind or something.
Ice cream? With Ava? Did I wake up in an alternate universe or some shit? Before I can even question her on her actions, she pulls me to a corridor. We enter the washrooms and she turns me so that I'm facing the mirror.
| gasp in shock when I stare at my face.
, “Ilearned early on to carry wipes when "coming in for my session,” she saysas she pulls out wipes, concealer and mascara from her handbag.
I continue staring at myself in the mirror.
My eyes were red and puffy, and my mascara was smudged all over my face. If I had known this would be the aftermath, I'would have gone with a waterproof mascara instead.
In my defense, I didn’t expect Mia to break my defenses and have me bawling like a child. I've always held myself upright and uptight. For Mia to be able to break through my defenses is honestly shocking.
I’m pulled out of my thoughts when Ava hands me the wipes. Slowly, I take them from her hand and begin wiping the mascara. We stay silent as I get myself cleaned up. Once I'm done, I use the concealer to cover the blotchiness under
my eyes. Thank God Ava and I have the same skin tone.
“How do look?” I ask when everything is done.
“Better?” she says it more as a question than a statement.
Tjust shrug my shoulder. “That’1l do.” We pack everything up and leave the washrooms.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmAfter setting up my next appointment, we leave the building. We were outside and I was just about thank her when she speaks.
“There is a small ice cream shop across, do you want to join me?” She had mentioned it before we went to the restroom, but it still catches me by surprise. I didn’t know what to do. Do I accept her invitation? Do I reject it? “It’s okay if you don’t want to, and I
| don’t want to be pushy,” she says when she notices my dilemma. “It’s just | something I think you’d like. My first therapy session was hard, getting ice cream later and collecting my thoughts helped.” | Ithink about it for a minute before nodding. “Sure, why not?” She smiles at me brightly, and for the first time, I truly see the beautiful woman who was hidden under years of neglect and mistreatment.
We cross the road and head to the shop. It was small and cozy. It kind of reminded me of a grandmother’s house. Not my grandmother though. My grandma was a cold woman who cared mostly about wealth and status.
We get seats near a window, in a far corner. The whole place was comfortable, and I get why Ava liked this place.
“I'still can’t believe we are here,
together,” I say after our ice creams arrive. “And we are not pulling each \ other's hair out.” Lt She laughs, her eyes shining. “I know, right? If someone told me this a few years back, I would have laughed in their faces and told them hell to the no.” I'can’t stop the grin that spreads across my face. “You really hated me, didn’t you?” I wasn’t asking to be malicious, I was just curious.
Ava stops laughing and becomes serious.
“I didn’t really hate you, Emma. I was jealous of you. There is a difference. You had everything I wanted. Rowan’s love and that of our family and his family while I had nothing but hate and indifference from them, | had no one but myself. That is until Noah came along.”
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