The Student Therapist

Chapter 26

I'm not going anywhere

Lisa's exact words reverberated in my head while I took shelter under the hot spray of water in my own shower. It hadn't been that long since I was home last and yet it felt like it had been years. Weirdly enough, because Lisa was here last time too. It felt normal for herr to be waiting for me in the living room.

You and I just make sense.

That one sent a shiver down my spine in the best way. It came when I had just turned off the faucet, leaving a sudden veil of silence in the bathroom. My heart picks up a little, the tiny butterflies in my stomach begin to flutter and something within me felt whole. I could and sure as she had been when said it thirty minutes ago.

Thinking about Lisa's sweet words was a welcomed distraction in the middle of the chaos. It was nerve-wracking for a completely different reason, and yet it didn't feel explosive or on the brink of failure. It was exciting.. unexpected but not unwelcome.

My mind lingered on Lisa while I changed into something more comfortable and sat down in front of my mirror to brush my hair. I regarded myself in the mirror for a moment, simply analyzing my own reflection, almost instantly recognizing the dark circles under my eyes.

"Jennie?" Lisa's voice between quick knocks on the outside of my door startle me before I see the door start to open. "Are you decent?"

I can't help but smirk a little and joke. "Would it matter if I was?"

A moment later, she takes a step inside and spots me sitting across the room, fully clothed, and lets out a dramatic sigh. "I thought that maybe I'd get lucky." After I laugh, she cracks a smile. "Can I sit in here? It's getting cold downstairs."

Completely aware that my mom probably hadn't turned the heat on yet. I try to seem nochalant as I nod. 'Yeah, sure. That cream blanket on my bed is super warm."

Her gaze trails to my bed, where my favorite cream blanket was sprawled on the tower half and I watch her eyes light up. "Is that knit>" Lisa asks as she takes a fews long strides across the room before collapsing on the edge of the bed and taking it in her hands. "This is the softest thing I've ever touched."

I grin at myself in the mirror as I drag the brush through my damp knots. "I know, right?"

"I'll pay you for this if you let me take it home." Lisa deadpans. Hr gaze completely serious. "How much do you want for it?"

The eager edge in her voice had a boyish playfulness that instantly made me smile while I look at her through the mirror. "You're not buying it from me."

"58,000 won." She counters, not wasting any time.

"There's no amount of money that you could offer me that would make me sell that to you." I tell her confidently. I untangle the last section of hair with my comb and stand up yo face Lisa. "It's priceless."

Lisa's gaze slides down my body slowly upon examining my clothes for the first time. They were nothing special.. a pair of black sweatpants that I had to roll at the top and a black cropped tank top that left a small amount of skin on my stomach exposed and yet the way she looking at them, you would've thought she had X-ray vision.

My breath catches in my throat unexpectedly when her eyes slowly rake down my body before climbing their way back up to meet mine. They looked cloudy, yet complemented her half smirk half smile exceptionally as she looked at me and pat the spot beside her. I smiled a little myself and slowly approached the spot and sat down beside her.

"You're beautiful." Lisa murmurs so casually and lowly that I almost didn't think she actually said it. "Do you want some magic blanket?"

I laugh at the nickname she had given the knit blanket, and nod. She grins at me and then scoots back until she's sitting with her back against the headboard. I follow suit and get comfortable beside her, but I barely settle in before she grabs me and pulls me into her.