The Ones Who Saved Us

Chapter 17

Avalee's POV

The last way I wanted to spend my Saturday morning was in therapy, but as Papa said, I have no choice if I wanted to get better. And boy, did I want that more than anything.

Alessandro and Papa had left me in the waiting room to talk with my therapist about any concerns they had about my mental health and what changes they wanted to see. She would once again talk with them at the end of my session but with me in the room.

Before calling them in, my therapist, Anna, had assured me that we didn't have to dive into anything too serious today. The first session would be focused on the two of us building a relationship and getting to know about how I was struggling on a daily basis. We didn't have to talk about my past, but I knew it would come up eventually.

At least after this I had Hunter to look forward to.

The door to Anna's office opened as Papa and Alessandro stepped out with Anna behind them. "Hey, tesoro," Papa said, walking over to me and pulling me into a hug. "You got this. We'll be outside the whole time in case you need us."

I walked towards Anna's office, passing by my brother who gave a comforting squeeze to my hand. Anna led me inside, and I plopped down onto the sofa across from her armchair, bringing my legs up so that I was sitting cross-legged. When Anna took a seat, she smiled at me and took note of how nervous I was. "Sweetheart, you have no reason to be scared or nervous. Think of this as a normal conversation between two friends."

"Except you're a friend my family hired to listen to my problems and fix me," I said.

Anna chuckled. "That's one way to put it, I guess. The only thing you got wrong is that I'm not here to fix you." Noticing my confusion, she said, "I was in your position once. I was a complete mess when your father rescued me and all those other girls from that brothel thirteen years ago. It's taken a long time, but I'm finally able to live with my past."

Leaning forward in her chair, she continued, "Ava, I'm here to help you cope with what you've been through and to help you find more healthy ways to deal with everything. You're not broken, you don't need to be fixed."

I absorbed every single word, becoming more hopeful that I would be okay— that everything would be okay. "How long did it take?" I asked.

"Years, but there's still some days when I have trouble and my mind will linger for too long on those horrible days," she said. "It was a hard journey but not an impossible one. Ava, you have your entire family on your side. I can already tell by the conversation with your father and brother that they will never give up on you."

I couldn't help the smile that tugged on my lips. My family and I had a rough start after I was arrested, but they were trying to make things right. And for that, I was grateful.

We spent the next hour talking about school, my friends, even Arya. Anna had kept her promise and avoided the subject of my past.

All my brothers knew that I was pansexual. Alessandro and Leo were the first ones I had told during my abortion, and their support gave me the courage to come out to the rest of my family. There wasn't much to talk about when we were in Demetri's captivity, so I had told Papa at that time.

The only ones who knew about my feelings for Arya were Emilio, Matteo, and Teddy. That didn't matter now, though, that she had a boyfriend, but I was trying to be happy for her as a friend, a friend who wanted nothing more than for her to be happy.

When the session ended, Anna called in Papa and Alessandro for one last talk. Once they were seated on either side of me, she said, "Alessandro, Antonio. Your sister is a tough kid, and I can tell that these sessions will be helpful for her in the healing process, but she'll need your constant support."