Princess Charming (gxg)

Part 46

The next morning when I woke up, seeing Hallie sleeping next to me in bed was better than I could have ever imagined.

She's right where she belongs.

I got up quietly to not wake Hallie. I then walked to the bathroom to pee, wash my face, and brush my teeth. As I walked by the game room, I couldn't help but smile to myself. It was now going to be occupied again.

After I washed up, I walked past the bedroom again to see Hallie still asleep. I also heard Cora downstairs. Even though I fell asleep late, I got up pretty early. I decided to go tell Cora that Hallie was in the bedroom.

Right when I got to the kitchen, Cora asked me, "Is Hallie upstairs? I thought I heard you two talking last night."

"I'm really sorry if we woke you." I said, "Yes, Hallie is upstairs."

Cora gave me a smile. "You didn't wake me, you know my sleep has been off since I got pregnant. I'm glad Hallie is here."

"Is it okay if she moves back in?" I asked Cora.

She nodded, "More than okay."

After Cora left, I made myself a cup of coffee, and I made Hallie an iced coffee. It was now toward the end of May, and it was warm outside already. I figured an iced coffee would be nice.

When I walked into the bedroom, Hallie was was sitting up in the bed. Her hair was a bit messy- and it looked cute as ever.

She smiled at me when I walked in. "I was just about to go see where you were. Good morning."

I walked over and handed her the coffee. "I figured you would maybe want this."

"Thank you." Hallie said, "I really appreciate it."

"Anytime." I said, "I'll make you coffee any morning."

Hallie glanced and me and grinned. "You know exactly how I like it too."

Hallie sipped her drink as she brushed her hair, put it back in a ponytail, and got dressed. She then brushed her teeth and came back into the bedroom.

"So, I guess I will take you back to the Red Room to pick up your car?" I asked Hallie.

She nodded and said, "Yes, if that's fine with you. I also texted Chloe this morning that I'll be moving out. She said I could come by whenever and grab my things. I don't have much. I can always go there when I get my car and then meet you back here."

"You don't need help grabbing your things from Chloe's?" I asked.

"You can definitely come, but honestly- I don't have that much. And I just want to get my things and come back here as soon as possible." Hallie said.

"Okay." I nodded, "I'll be here."

I knew exactly what I was going to do while I waited for Hallie to grab her belongings.

After driving her to her car, and driving back home- I grabbed a piece of paper out of my wallet that I had been keeping there for weeks. It was the name of a therapist that Cora suggested to me. One of her friends saw the therapist- her name was Michelle. She had her own private practice.

I sat on my bed, my heart pounding as I typed the number to the therapist into my phone.

I have to do this.

After a ring, a friendly voice came through the phone.

"Thank you for calling the office of Michelle Holman, my name is Julie, how can I help you today?"

I felt myself unable to speak for a moment.

"Hello? Are you there?" Julie said.

"Uh, yes." I spoke, "My name is Alina Koval. I was hoping to make an appointment with Michelle."

"Would you be a new patient?" Julie asked me.

"Yes." I said, "Michelle was recommended to me."

"That's good to hear." Julie said, "Michelle has an opening for a new patient appointment next Wednesday at 1 PM. Does that work for you? If it does, I will then get your insurance information."

That's less than a week away. Fuck.

"Um, yes. I'll take that appointment." I said.

I was on the phone with Julie for about 10 more minutes as she took my information.

"Are you on any medications?" she asked me.

"I am on Wellbutrin." I said.

I still felt shame saying that out loud. I wasn't sure if that would ever go away.

After I hung up with the therapist's office, I sat on my bed, mentally trying to prepare myself for an appointment days away.

I was a bit startled when I heard the front door open, and then Hallie's light footsteps coming up the stairs.

She walked in holding a large duffel bag. "It felt a little bit weird to use the key to this house again, I'm not going to lie."

"Well, you better get used to it." I said to her, with a smile.

She set the bag down and sat on the bed next to me. "I'll empty the bag shortly." she said, and then she looked at me. "Are you alright? You look a little bit shaken."

"I made an appointment with a therapist." I said, "It's next Wednesday."

Hallie's eyes slightly widened. "Oh. Well, I'm super proud of you for even taking the step to make an appointment. I know that it can be really scary to talk about your emotions and trauma. But I promise- it is going to help."

"I'll take your word for it." I said to Hallie.

Hallie then said, "I quit my job at the strip club. I went in and told the manager that I wasn't going to be able to work there anymore."

"Thank god." I said, "I'm glad you did."

Hallie looked down and then said, "I know I need to make more money. I can't sustain just working like 12 hours a week at the daycare."

"Working at the strip club must've been really tough for you." I said, looking at her.

"It sent me into panic mode for the 6 shifts I worked there." Hallie said, "But I'm serious about getting another job and making more money."

"Honestly- so am I." I said, "It's been a year since I graduated college. Working as a Phlebotomist is not bad, but I need to get serious about what I really want to do. It'll also help us be able to get our own place one day too. I'm honestly thinking I might go back to school."

"I fully support whatever you do." Hallie said, putting her hand on mine, "I'll help you look up schools and programs."

"Do you want to go to The Alcove?" I asked Hallie, "We can get coffee and pastries and research some jobs for you- as much or as little as you'd like- and we can look at some schools for me."

"That sounds great." Hallie said, eagerly.

When Hallie and I got to The Alcove, Gray was working, and greeted us warmly. They also gave us a free raspberry white chocolate cupcake.

Hallie and I both brought our laptops with us, and we opened them up and started doing some research. I found myself looking at jobs for Hallie, and she naturally started looking at schools for me.

It feels like we are working toward our future.

I glanced at Hallie as she had her brow furrowed, looking at information on her laptop and writing it down in a notebook.

I thought back to our first date at The Alcove. I was so nervous, yet so comfortable with her at the same time.

She must've felt my gaze on her, because she looked up at me and smiled.

She still makes me feel more comfortable than anyone ever has. And nervous- in the best way possible.

A/N- Thank you for reading ❤️ this story is going to have around 5 more chapters. Possibly more, but definitely not less than 5. I am going to be posting another story that I have started very soon as well, which you can check out if you'd like! Thank you for following along with this journey. Alina and Hallie have been some of my favorite characters to write.