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Alette's POV

I waited inside Dr. Esa's office for her to come join me for our session.

The office was brightly lit, with mainly white furniture and colourful décor. It made me feel better about being here. Not because there was anything wrong therapy, it was a wonderful thing, but because I found it hard to confront my feelings and think about my past.

My thoughts were interrupted when Dr. Esa walked into the room and gave me a smile.

"Hello Faye, how are you doing today?" she asks, sitting down in the chair across from me. Dr. Esa was a beautiful woman with the warmest brown eyes and deep glowing brown skin. She was a wonderful listener, which I suppose was her job, but she was still amazing at it.

Uncle Syl was friends with her through work, and had helped me set up my first ever appointment with her two years ago. It was difficult adjusting to a new therapist because I had had a horrible experience the first time I tried.

Dr. Esa uncapped her pen and gave me another smile, waiting patiently for an answer, whenever I chose to give it.

"Hi, I'm um...okay, I'm doing okay. How are you?" I asked her.

"I'm doing wonderful sweetie! School is going okay? And work? How are you friends?"

She fired off questions, and I knew that she wouldn't get mad if I didn't answer everything. She let me go at my own pace. She was wonderful.

"My classes are going okay, I'm only taking three, and well, they're online so it's no biggie. Work is okay, it gets busy, but Miss Gigi lets me try new recipes so that's good, oh and...I made a new friend," I mumble the last part shyly.

"Oh how great! That's so nice, who is it?"

I nodded, agreeing with her, "I met him at the tattoo shop, Tai took me there a little bit ago. It was scary at first, there were too many people there, but then Tai took me to a separate room because he had something to do. After waiting for a million years, Aresius, that's his name, walked in. He also helped me when I got stuck a few days later. He said he would see me again soon....he promised actually...so um...yeah I'm waiting for that." I dropped my eyes down to my hands and played with my fingers.

Dr. Esa caught onto my tone and she asked gently, "Are you worried that he won't come back? Even though he promised?"

I could feel my eyes tearing up. I nodded slowly, swallowing back my tears.

"He promised though. He also said he doesn't break his promises," I said, trying to be hopeful.

"I understand you may feel as though he won't follow through with his promise, but that is out of your control Faye. If you choose to allow your thoughts to spiral into the direction, you're going to feel the negative side effects of that. Instead, why don't we try and acknowledge the fact that he went as far as to promise you he would try to see you again, meaning he has some kind of intent. That counts for something right?"

I nodded, because she was right. Dr. Esa and I talked often about how sometimes my anxiety and fear was caused by my faulty thoughts or unhelpful behaviours. By understanding that my distorted thinking and actions could be causing me harm, I could find ways to better deal with the situations that came my way.

"It is a wonderful thing that you made the attempt to speak to a new person, and want to enjoy their company. You're facing a fear, even if talking to one new person and having a desire to make plans with them may not seem like a huge deal, it definitely is. It is for you, and that is why it's so important, because a year ago, or two years ago, you would have found it difficult to even say hello to someone. When you speak to a customer at the bakery, or you say excuse me to someone at the grocery store, that is progress because you're facing your fear in some kind of way. Good job Faye," she smiled at me.

I smiled shyly back acknowledging that I had come a long way, and while I was still dealing with attachment issues, and while I may find it hard to serve customers sometimes without having a panic attack, I was doing better.

"It's good to give yourself a pat on the back when you do well, and even when you don't, because why not? We're so quick to belittle ourselves when we make the smallest of mistakes, so we should do the opposite and give ourselves credit where credit is due." Preach Dr. Esa.

I nodded again, and looked out the window in her office at the buildings in the city taking a moment to gather my thoughts.

"I also visited my parents a few days ago," I said finally and she hummed in acknowledgement.

I turned my head to look at her again, "Does it make me a bad daughter if I don't cry every time I visit them anymore? I just feel like, at one point I realized that they wouldn't ever come back, but that doesn't mean they're gone forever. They're all around me, in the sky, in the wind, in the flowers...in my heart."

"Crying doesn't always equate to sorrow or sadness Faye, just because you don't cry, doesn't mean that you don't love them, or you don't care for them."

"Yeah..." I agreed, "I do miss them so much. I just feel like I always thought about what they would want me to do, and that they would be upset if I was lingering in the past, and they would want me to move on, but, I understand now that it's more important that I figured out what I want to do, and how I want to move one. I gave myself time, and put myself in a dark place because I felt as if I didn't have a life without them, and I was a burden on Grams and Uncle Syl after they passed away, and then I had to go through...the other stuff.... which made me feel as though surviving that accident was the greatest curse of my life, but I don't feel that way anymore."

"Sometimes, the greatest gift you can give yourself is a little bit of understanding." Dr. Esa said sincerely.

I smiled, my heart feeling lighter.

"I also have a suggestion I wanted to make, just something for you to think about, maybe discuss with your Grandmother, uncle, and friends?" She looked at me, put the cap on her pen and closing up her notebook.

I sat up straighter, intrigued at what she could ask me.

"How would you feel about switching from online school to in-person classes?" she asked, looking at me intently.

My eyes widened, attending university in person?

"It's just something to think about, I'm not saying you have to do it at all, but I think you've made wonderful progress, and you're doing a great job at recognizing and understanding your own thoughts and emotions. You're becoming more self-aware, which is in turn helping your anxiety by a ten-fold. Make a pros and cons list, or talk to your friends about it, whatever you want, think about it okay?" Her tone was reassuring, as she had noticed my shocked expression.

I exhaled, "I...okay, I'll think about it."

She smiled brightly, and I looked at the time, which had flown by. It was time to go. We both said our goodbyes, and I left her office feeling energized, but also apprehensive. I had done online school for so long now, that thinking about going back to real life school was so frightening.

I walked to the elevator and pressed the button, pulling my phone out from my pocket. My battery was unbelievably low. I had a message from Uncle Syl; probably telling me he was on his way to pick me up. I unlocked my phone and clicked onto his name.

My brows furrowed as I stepped into the empty elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor. He usually just says he's outside or waiting for me in the car.

I pressed his contact information and the call button. The phone rang a few times before:

"Hi Faye," he said breathlessly on the line.

"Hi Syl, is everything okay?"

"Yes everything is okay, I'm fine, I just...there's this work emergency and I have to catch a flight in like ten minutes," there was a lot of noise in the background.

"Oh...oh...that's okay don't worry Syl, I'll um...I can walk home...or take the bus, don't worry!" I said while worrying. It was too far to walk home, and I didn't know the bus route and I was too scared to take a cab so-

"Faye, take a deep breath kiddo, you're fine, you're okay," Uncle Syl said calmly, "I asked someone to pick you up and drop you home, don't wor-no John I needed the other files!"

The elevator stopped at the ground floor and I stepped out, waiting for him to finish screaming at whomever the heck this John guy was.

"Sorry," he said after a few moments, "I asked someone to drop you home...well, they actually offered to do so, I have to go now, but you'll find them outside. You'll know who it is when you see them okay? I love you Faye, be safe, and I'll call you when I land."

He hung up before I could answer.

"I love you too Syl," I whispered under my breath, and hoped the wind would carry my words to him so he knew.

I walked out of the building, my mind spinning. What did he mean when he said someone offered to give me a ride? Who was it? Was it Tai? If it was Tai, why didn't he just say that Tai was picking me up? How was I going to know who was-

My eyeballs almost popped out of my eye socket, and my mouth fell to the ground.

Him.

He was standing about twenty feet away from me. He leaned against a sleek black car, dressed in black slacks, a dark grey button-up and a black coat. An angel.

A smile bloomed on my face and I almost tripped over my feet because of how fast I was walking towards him.

My heart thundered as I reached him.

"Hi," I mumbled shyly, looking down at my feet. He didn't reply so I peeked up at him through my lashes, and saw that he was staring at me.

"Hi," I said louder, this time looking at him.

"Good evening Alette," he replied. Holy cheeseballs.

My happiness was cut short when I realized that he might not even be here for me. Uncle Syl never mentioned who was coming so maybe he was just in the area. My heart fell and I took a step away from him. His jaw clenched at my sudden movements.

"Sorry...I have to go and um look for someone. Uncle Sy-um my uncle said that someone was here to pick me up because he had to go somewhere so I...just have to look for them," I told him quietly.

I was about to turn away when he cleared his throat and stepped away from the car, towards me.

"I'm taking you home," he said.

Oh.

"Are you sure? You probably have things to do, I'm sorry Uncle Syl asked you to pick me up," I whispered.

"He didn't ask me, I asked him." Woah.

I nodded my head awestruck.

He opened the passenger side door for me, and I sat inside the car. The dark seats were made of soft leather, and I felt myself sinking in them. His whole car smelled as divine as him.

He walked around to the driver's side and opened the door. Getting into the car, he started it, and rested one hand on the wheel, the other on the gear.

"Seatbelt," he said lowly.

"Oh yes! Sorry," I turned red and reached for the seat belt. His presence felt even bigger in the small space of the car. Our proximity made my heart thud. I hope he couldn't hear that.

He looked over at me, checking to see if my seatbelt was on, and then looked straight ahead. I looked towards his hands, his rings glittering in the city lights, and saw that his knuckles were turning white from his tight grip. My brows furrowed in confusion but before I could ask him, he pulled away from the curb and began driving.

With only one hand on the wheel, and the other resting on his leg, he looked beyond delicious. Bad Alette, stop thinking things like that, I chastised myself in my head, and looked down at my folded hands in my lap; my face was bright red, I could feel it.

I opened my mouth to speak again, when a ringing on the display screen of the car cut me off. He pressed answer on the screen and Uncle Syl's panicked voice filtered through the speakers of the car.

"Did you pick her up yet? Were you at the right place? She's not picking up her phone I don't know where she could have go-"

"I'm here Syl, Adler picked me up," I cut off his rambling. Uncle Syl let out an audible sigh of relief.

"Hi Faye, thank goodness you're okay, I've already boarded the plane, I'll call you when I land. Get home safe, I love you," he said.

"I love you too Uncle Syl, have a safe flight!"

"Take care Adler," Uncle Syl said, his voice suddenly stern. It might have sounded like he was saying goodbye to Adler, but I knew what he actually meant take care of Alette.

"Fly safe," was all he replied and turned off the call.

I looked down at my lap, feeling like a burden. But he offered to do this, I reassured myself.

With that thought, I turned my head back to stare at him. After a few moments of staring, the silence became too loud for me.

"Adler wher-"

"That's not my name."

"But I thought everyone called you that...that's what Uncle Syl said," I mumbled, confused.

"Not you," he said simply.

"Oh," I hesitate, "So you want me to call you...Aresius?"

He looked over at me for a second before focusing his eyes back on the road. He nods his head at my question.

"Cool, I get special privileges!" I said giddily.

I caught his lips quirking up for a momentary smile.

I stopped staring at him, because it was creepy at this point, and I turned my head to look out the window. The sky outside was dark, and the city was full of life. I tended to stay away from the downtown area, preferring my part of the city that was less populated, where the university and bakery were located. I preferred my house the most though; it was tucked away in nature, away from crowds and noises.

As the car came to a stop at a red light, the sight of a family eating ice cream whilst crossing the street made my tummy rumble. That sounded like a literal monster.

He looked over at me; he was probably frightened by that noise.

"Sorry," I said sheepishly, "I saw some ice cream."

The light turned green and he drove off. Instead of turning in the direction that would lead us back to my house, he turns the other way. Maybe a shortcut?

I sit back in my seat and resume staring at him, his hands on the wheel, and what looked like the starting of a tattoo peeking out from underneath his shirt.

The car comes to a halt and I take my eyes off of him to look at why we stopped.

He had parked the car outside of the ice cream store!

I whipped my head back to look at him as he unbuckled his seatbelt. He didn't say anything, just made eye contact with me as he grabbed his phone. He tilted his head, towards my seatbelt, and I unbuckled myself on autopilot.

He opened his door and got out of the car. He walked to the passenger side and opened the door for me to get out. I stepped out of the car, looking up at him, is he here because I mentioned it?

My heart raced even faster at that thought.

He tilted his head to the direction of the store and I took the hint, starting to walk in that direction. The place was crowded, with people walking around enjoying the nice weather. The ice cream store itself had a short line, with people mainly ordering and leaving to eat outside. The sight of all the people made me feel jittery, and in my anxious state, I stumbled over my feet slightly.

It was then that he placed his large hand on my back to help guide me. His hand was on the small of my back, and I could feel the heat of it seeping through my thick shirt. Gulp.

My heart beat louder than a drum. I hoped he couldn't hear it. I also hoped he couldn't feel how squishy my back was.

We made it to the line and I looked at the flavours; there were way too many I couldn't even begin to choose.

I could feel Aresius's eyes on me the whole time I looked at our surroundings. A loud group of teens brushed by me, causing me to freeze. I shifted closer to him, so close that my shoulder touched the side of his arm. He made no move to push me away, so I stayed.

The people in front of us moved out of the way after ordering and we walked up to the teenage boy that was taking orders. He wore a pink apron and a baby blue hat. What a cute uniform.

"Good evening, welcome to Lickety Split, what can I get for you?" the boy asked, staring directly at me.

I waited for Aresius to say something, and when he said nothing, I looked up at him. He was already looking at me expectantly.

Oh.

"Hi uh..." I said, trying to make my voice loud enough to be heard over the noise, "Can I just get a scoop of chocolate brownie...oh and also a scoop of strawberry shortcake? And can you please...add sprinkles to that?" I asked the boy.

He nodded, still looking keenly at me.

"That will be all for us."

Aresius's voice broke through the silence, as he placed his hand on my back again. The boy looked up at him and his eyes widened before he gulped and punched in the order.

"Your total is $5.26," the boy said, not looking towards me anymore.

I nodded quickly, and pulled out my small wallet from my pocket. It was a small baby blue cardholder that had my ID and one bankcard in it. But before I could pay, Aresius dropped a twenty-dollar bill onto the counter.

"Keep the change," he muttered, and guided me to the other side, where the pick-up counter was located.

"I could have paid, you didn't even buy anything and I was the one that made you stop here in the first place so I should hav-"

"Next time."

I looked up at him earnestly, nodding my head like a bobblehead toy.

"Yes okay sure! Next time I can pay!" This meant he wanted to see me again. Me!

He looked down at me; his eyes flitted from my eyes to my nose, then down to my lips, and then back at my eyes again.

I felt my breath catch.

"Scoop of brownie and shortcake with sprinkles!"

I shook out of my trance and moved forward to grab it. I took the cup, thanking the worker softly, and grabbed some tissues and spoon.

We both walked out to the car and his hand was on my back again.

I didn't feel as afraid of the big crowd of people, when he did that.

I admired my beautiful cup of ice cream, the brightly coloured sprinkles called for me to eat them. Yikes, sorry sprinkles.

We made it to the car, which he had unlocked with the little black remote. He opened the door for me and I hesitated.

He raised his eyebrow.

"I um...I don't wanna get your car dirty, what if I drop ice cream?" I asked him. His car looked expensive and I didn't want to ruin anything. What if I dropped some ice cream? What if I got sprinkles on the seat? What if I dropped the whole cup on-

Aresius reached forward and grabbed the napkins and my cup of ice cream out of my hands.

"Have a seat," he instructed.

I got into the car, confused. I buckled my seatbelt and looked up at him.

He handed me my ice cream, which I took from him, and then I watched as he unfolded a few of the napkins completely.

I stared dumbfounded as he leaned forward and spread the unfolded napkins onto my lap. He smoothed them down so they completely covered my lap.

He straightened back up and looked at me, "Good now?"

I nodded, "Thank you mister."