Team Catradora

18 -Therapy

Three minutes after they served dinner, Angella suggested therapy.

It was so promising, this dinner. Adora and Glimmer put all their effort into making something nice for Angela. Maybe they went a little overboard, but it was better than being underwhelming.

They used glass china to set the table. The glass was so sparkly, it reflected the ceiling lights. Plastic daisies were placed on the dining table, alongside a white tablecloth.

Before Angela brought up therapy, everything seemed like it was working out-

Besides the burnt omelets, that was...

Okay, using fancy china for omelets was kinda ridiculous, if Adora thought about it too hard. It was like they were having breakfast with the queen. But regular dishes felt wrong to use. It was supposed to show that she and Glimmer were sorry for all the chaos they caused Angela, and part of their apology had to be in the presentation, right?

Especially since Adora could taste the burn spots on her eggs.

Well, they tried.

"We could try it for a few weeks," Angela said. "Clearly, we all have things about ourselves we could work on."

Glimmer coughed while chewing.

"After this week, I realized that we have terrible communicative skills." Angela studied Glimmer closely. By now Glimmer was gawking while Angela took a bite of her food. "This meal is wonderful, shows you care. A therapist could help you work on the things you're apologizing about with this meal."

"I don't understand." Glimmer leaned back in her seat. "I don't need therapy."

"It's not a punishment." She snuck a glance at Adora. "We're can't deal with our emotions-"

"I'm sorry," Adora blurted out. It was almost a reflex.

"Again, this isn't a punishment." Angela shifted her gaze to face both of them. "I want everyone to deal with their emotions in a healthy way. And I think therapy can help with that. Even if you both go to the school councilor, I'd be happy."

"Mom." Glimmer crossed her arms. "I-I get why you want to take us to therapy, but don't you think this is a little extreme?" She nudged Adora's side, and looked at her expectantly.

Adora swallowed her food. "Uh..." after everything that happened this week, she wasn't sure if she could go back to denying her grief.

Oh, god. Didn't she just decide to deal with her grief in a healthy way? "I don't know," she said, finally.

"What?"

"I'm sorry, Glimmer." Adora smiled, as if that would ease the tension from the room. "But I freaked out this week because I had no one to talk to. Maybe going somewhere would help. Who knows?" Maybe then Adora wouldn't be such a failure.

"That's wonderful." Angela placed her hand over Adora's. "I can find a therapist for you and we can try-"

"I'm not sure about this." Glimmer looked at her meal. "Therapy is such a big step. Can't I fix this without anyone psychoanalyzing me?"

"You don't have to go," Adora said, after a moment. "But I need to. I want to get better, and I need help to do that."

"I'm solving my problems on my own," glimmer said,but her voice was quieter than before. "So just give me one more chance. I promise I'll do better." She shrugged. "I always solve my own problems. Let me do it again."

Who was she trying to convince here? Angela, or herself?

"I want to fix what happened," she said, "but I don't want to go to a therapist. I know I can do this on my own, so give me a chance."