Snowed in with the Barista

Romantic And Everything

Lilith's POV:

Iris rested the back of her head on my chest while I read through chapter one.

(A/N: For any confusion, this is chapter one of the book she's reading.)

" "Yes, Reliy. No! I will not let you."

*knock* *knock*

"Hold on, Reliy." I set the phone down and walked over to the door of my office.

"Ah, Miss. Rose. Please do come in." I say with a welcoming smile.

She takes a seat in the usual chair beside the large glass pane window that overlooks the city. She sits there more than I do, and I work here.

"Just a moment, Ms. Rose." I grip the phone and place it up to my ear.

"Okay, is that all you wanted? Reliy! Stop! I have someone I must accompany. I will see you when I get home. No, I will not say that over the phone! Fine, I love you too, my little buggy bear." I end the call whispering and mumbling the last part.

I calm myself down before standing up from my seat and approaching the second arm chair that sits across from Miss Rose's usual.

"What brings you here today, Miss-" She cut me off.

"Call me Rose, I dislike the 'miss', and you of all people should know that." She sighs.

"Okay, Rose... what brings you here? I thought our appointments were Mondays and Fridays." It has been a little over 3 weeks since I've actually seen her.

She just starred at me for a second, and I could see she wasn't going to reply, so I spoke up again.

"It's a Thursday." She starred at me blankly and then finally spoke.

"I know. I just, I don't know, I felt like I needed to be here." She answered with, while returning her attention back towards the window.

I always and forever will do the talking. However, today felt unusual. We sat there in silence, and I continued to watch her face just looking for a hint of what she may be thinking or feeling, but she was straight faced.

She opened her mouth, about to speak, but stopped herself. Well, that's the most progress we've made today.

"What is it that you're thinking about Rose?" I asked, hoping to encourage her to share her thoughts.

"The past." She said plainly.

"Can you further explain?" I asked, a little intrigued.

"Just... just the past, how my family and friends were, how I saw things from my perspective." She replied, facing me again, and letting go of a breath I didn't know she was holding. It was almost as if a small weight had been lifted off her chest.

"I've been thinking... a lot lately. My sleeping schedule is off track again, and I'm back to thinking about the past. You know, things I can't redo, things I probably wouldn't redo, the things I wish I said, and the things I wish I didn't." She rambled a little.

"I've got an idea for you. You like writing and being descriptive. So I've got a challenge for you since you aren't as easy as an egg to crack, and you have walls that are as high as the beanstock." I responded.

"My idea will be sort of an assignment. I know how much you hate returning to these sessions, so I will give you a month and a half. For the next month and a half, I challenge you to re-write your past. Let the memories flood in. Until then, it's about time this office is closing for the night. I suggest going home and sleeping on it. Think about the idea, Rose." I ended before standing up and walking towards the door with Rose following behind.