Maya (Book #3)

Epilogue:

EPILOGUE: 

I checked my phone to see the time and sprinted up the steps to the building despite being early. I walked into the waiting room and stood at the front desk, feeling unbearably awkward as I waited for the receptionist to end her call. Once it was over, she looked up at me with a reassuring smile.

"Are you here for the group meeting?" she asked, tilting her head. I nodded, barely able to choke out my name when she requested it. She pressed a button that made a loud buzzing sound and unlocked the door to the hallway, which she nodded towards.

"Down the hall to the right. Don't worry. The first time is always the hardest," she said sympathetically, as I nodded and tried to be less obviously anxious. As I walked down the hall, I brushed my hair and pulled my jacket lower, trying to conceal as much of myself as possible.

Luckily, I had been here before to meet with my new therapist individually. Joining a group would be different, but my therapist assured me that it would be beneficial for me. I had doubts, despite her confidence. Regular therapy couldn't prepare you for this.

I pulled open the heavy green door and tried to stop my hands from jittering by shoving them in the front pocket of my hoodie. When I got inside, I saw a room with ten chairs around a couple of tables that were angled in a circle. The walls were painted in muted tones presumably meant to calm us and there was nothing else in the room besides a whiteboard. It looked like a very small classroom, except the seats were facing each other as opposed to a teacher.

My therapist, who was leading the group, stood up as I entered and welcomed me in, pointing to a seat available right next to her. I skittered over nervously but relaxed when we began chatting and waited for everyone else to arrive.

First, a girl with long blonde hair and black clothes came in with a skateboard tucked under her arm and chose a spot on the other side of our therapist. A mousy girl with brown hair and large, innocent eyes followed behind her, choosing the next seat over and leaving the seats beside me distinctly empty.

A tiny girl with golden brown skin and curly hair walked in next, hugging people and cracking jokes. I overheard one and tried not to laugh myself. She sat at the chair across from me and gave me a cute smile and little wave that I returned. A pale girl with glossy black hair tied back in a low ponytail walked in and adjusted her glasses, taking the next available seat. Minutes later, the last girl came sprinting in and took the seat next to me with a confident smirk in my direction. She had long, dirty blonde hair that hung to her waist like Rapunzel and ocean blue eyes that seemed sharp. Freckles covered her face, and she was wearing a dark-colored hoodie that was very similar to mine. I knew we were on the same wavelength before we even spoke.

Our therapist stood up and welcomed us to the group, before discussing what we were going to go over today.

"For those of you who don't know, my name is Dr. Wooten, and thank you all so much for coming to this group today! I know it can be scary, especially for those of you who are here for the first time, but I promise it can be worth it!" she announced. "This group is for strong women who have faced trauma or abuse of some kind in their life and want to work together to get better," she said, beginning to explain our weekly meeting time and what we do during it.

"What's your name?" the girl next to me whispered quietly, giving me a confident smile. I could tell from her eyes that she wasn't super trusting of others, which made me trust her immediately.

"I'm Maya," I whispered back, worried our therapist would yell at me or kick me out. She chuckled as if she knew what I was thinking.

"I'm Julie," she said softly, giving me a knowing look. "I think we're going to be good friends."