The Ones Who Failed Us

Chapter 26

My leg was bouncing uncontrollably as Alessandro drove the two of us to the business headquarters. It had been a busy day for us with the follow-up at the abortion clinic and retaking my placement test for school. The abortion had been successful with no complications, and I was now enrolled in the hardest classes for ninth graders, courtesy of Alessandro.

I don't know why, but I guess Alessandro wanted to get all of the errands over with, so I'm now on my way to therapy. For my first solo session. It was hard enough opening up to my brothers, but a stranger? No thank you.

Noticing my increasing levels of anxiety, Alessandro stretched his arm towards me and gave a reassuring squeeze to my knee, stopping the bouncing motion. "You're going to be okay. It's only thirty minutes this time, not the full hour." I pushed my brother's hand away from me and kept my gaze on the window as I observed my surroundings. Sighing, he continued, "You know, Sophia said Teddy did really well at his appointment earlier today. If he did it, so can you. I know you don't want to go, but it'll be better for you in the long run. Trust me."

I ignored my brother as he continued spouting words of encouragement throughout the drive. None of it mattered because there was no way I would tell Sophia anything about me. Well, at least nothing related to the last four years. All I wanted to do was keep the memories of Sir and Demetri in the past, and that meant talking about it as little as possible.

We finally arrived at the building, and Alessandro quickly led me to the room where I would be having my session. "Hi, Alessandro," Sophia called as we neared the door of the room. She pulled my brother in for a hug before turning towards me. "It's good to see you again, Ava. Are you ready for your session?"

I turned towards Alessandro, pleading with my eyes for him to stay, but all he did was shake his head at me. He placed his hand on my shoulder. "I'll be in my office upstairs working if you need me. It's only thirty minutes. Will you be okay?"

I don't want to do this. Please stay with me.

Instead, I nodded my head and followed Sophia into the room. There was an armchair on one side of the room as well as a sofa with a small coffee table opposite to it. The walls were covered in pictures of my brothers and parents. Pictures of Christmases, birthdays, vacations. Days that Teddy and I had missed out when we were living in Georgia, living separate from the rest of our family.

I wish they were with me right now. I can't do this alone.

"You can have a seat anywhere," Sophia said, bringing my attention away from the lost memories and back to her.

I sat down on the sofa propping my feet up on the coffee table in front of me as Sophia took a seat on the armchair. Avoiding her eyes, I started fidgeting with my fingers, desperate for the session to be over.

Clearing her throat, Sophia said, "I can tell you're nervous, but this is nothing more than a simple conversation. If it helps, you can even pretend like I'm one of your brothers." I looked up at her, resulting in Sophia sending a small smile my way. "Why don't we start off with something easy? How has school been?"

"Fine, I guess." Sophia's lips tug downwards upon hearing my short reply. Feeling guilty, I decided to elaborate a bit more. "Um, I'm being moved up to harder classes now. I have the same classes as Teddy now."

"That's amazing, Ava! I'm sure your brothers are so proud of you."

I shrugged my shoulders. "I guess. I'm just happy that I have more classes with Teddy now."

"And why's that? Most older siblings would hate having their younger sibling in the same grade as them. I know I would," she laughed.

I paused for a second, not sure whether to answer truthfully. Knowing my brothers would want me to open up, I said, "I'll be able to protect him better."