REMINISCENT

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT: Relapse (FINAL EDIT)

Ashley's POV
Talk around school has been revolving around the same three things—finals, graduation, and the biggest party of all time. This year's seniors are really going all out, determined to leave a mark that the underclassmen will talk about for years.

Asides from the usual topics, there've been rumors flying around too. I try not to listen, but you know how gossip sticks. The craziest one? The principal is either being fired or quietly "retiring" because of some alleged affair with a senior. I don't know how true it is, but it kinda sucks. I kind of liked her—she was the rare kind of principal who didn't treat us like mindless delinquents. Shame she's going out like this.

Anyway, I've slipped back into my usual bitch self—sarcastic, detached, borderline disrespectful. I'm not proud of it, but it's easier than being emotional. I don't really spend time with my group anymore, and I'm glad they haven't pushed or treated me differently. Honestly, it's like I never opened up to them at all.

What hurts, though, is detaching from Chanel. She's been around Jake more—maybe she always was and I just didn't notice before—but now it kind of stings. I don't even know why. Maybe I just expect people to tolerate me, even when I'm at my worst. Unrealistic, I know.

The days blur together: school, therapy, rinse, repeat. Ever since that argument with Jake, I've been forcing myself to go, but half the time, ok all the time, I sit in silence. Before, I'd even considered reducing my sessions, thinking maybe I was "better." But Jake... he always knows things he shouldn't. He somehow stopped me before I could even bring it up, sparking another pointless fight. How could he have known? Was I that predictable? Or is he just that good?

Anyway, now I'm more reluctant to go for therapy because Aiden started but Charlie of course talked me out of stopping so I still force myself to go everyday but still I remain silent, nothing unusual.

Aiden starting therapy coincidentally where I go pissed me off, I knew it wasn't a coincidence—I'm sure of it. I looked for Charlie's card everywhere, and when I couldn't find it, I knew exactly who had taken it. Jake. That asshole practically shoved Aiden into my space, knowing I wanted the opposite. I don't have proof, but I don't need it. It has Jake written all over it.

My walks back home are more therapeutic than my actual therapy sessions these days. The rhythm of my steps, the quiet, the air—it all calms me more than sitting in that chair where flashbacks claw at me. It still feels like those early days, after the accident, when therapy was just another reminder of what I'd lost.

I sighed as I climbed onto my porch.

"Hi, Ashley. Is my round self the one making you hate coming over anymore?"

Chantel's voice made me glance up. She was waddling down her steps, purse and keys in hand, her third-trimester belly leading the way.

"Hi, Chantel. No, that's not it. I've just been buried in finals prep, you know?" I smiled at her. "You look great, by the way."

She beamed. "Oh, thank you, Ashley. You're so sweet." Tossing her purse into the passenger seat, she leaned against the car door. "Take care and good luck with exams!" She waved before sliding inside.

Her taillights disappeared down the street, and with them went my brief moment of ease. The smile slipped off my face as I opened the door to my house. Female voices and laughter drifted from the living room, and my chest tightened. I wasn't in the mood for company.

But when I rounded the corner, my stomach dropped.

Aiden's mom.

She was sitting on our couch like she'd been here a thousand times before, smiling warmly. "Hi, Ashley."