It's Always Been You (Miraculous Ladybug Future)

XIII

｡*ﾟ+.*.｡Sara｡*ﾟ+.*.｡

Three weeks have passed since what happened at Odette's party. Twenty-one days since I almost confessed my feelings for Hugo.

During this time, I've been a little busy. I've been seeing a new therapist, different from the one I had back at seven. I've been working on myself. I started a diary, and I told my parents what had happened the morning after. The whole story.

"I... This boy tried to rape me at the party. Cécile says he probably put something in my drink when I entrusted him with it. Then he took me up to a bedroom and forced himself on me."

My parents stare at me in shock, their faces puncturing a hole in my heart.

"Luckily, another boy picked the lock and got me out of there before anything happened."

My mother sighs and hugs me tight. So does my father.

They proceeded to press charges on Paul. Turns out I'm not the only girl he has assaulted. He's done things to a few other girls before, and I'm lucky that nothing happened at the party after all.

He got moved into juvenile detention about a week ago, and my parents thought it a good idea that I start seeing a therapist. Now every two weeks I go to a woman named Lauren and... talk about what happened, basically.

Wednesday was the first session with her. She asked me to describe what I see in some pictures. I didn't know how it related to anything, but she said it was to get to know my mind better.

"What do you see here, Sara?" My therapist asks, pointing to the last picture she holds.

"It's a crib. A baby's crib. But it's empty. The room is otherwise empty, too."

Lauren takes notes on what I'd said and puts the pictures away.

"Let's talk about what happened. That moment, what thoughts were crossing your mind? How did you feel?

I cried that day, in her office. But that can only be good. It's good to cry. Lauren made sure to hug me and tell me exactly that.

Me and Cécile have gotten closer than ever before, too. She's been there for me at all times, I could not be more grateful for her. I told her I was thankful that she had told Hugo, and that I trust them both with my secrets.

As for me and Hugo, well, we've hung out a couple times now that school is out, but everything lowkey. We haven't talked about what happened that night at all, and I think we should because things are awkward right now. Especially after knowing he knows about everything.

That's why he's coming over right now.

The doorbell rings and I go to the front door to greet him. "Hi." I say.

"Hey. How are you?" He asks, as I motion him inside the house.

"Good, things are okay, I guess."

He takes his shoes off and leaves them beside the door. I laugh at his mismatched socks, one blue, one white. "Oh come on!" He laughs. "It's not like we all don't do it."

I roll my eyes and laugh. "Let me show you my apartment. My parents should be arriving anytime now, they went out to get groceries."

I start by showing him the living room. He admires all the artwork hung on the walls, and is shocked when I tell him my father painted it all.

"Wow, that's so amazing." He gasps. "Oh my god. Is that you?"

My face turns red. He's looking at all the family pictures, and there's a big one of me when I was about five or six.