Elude [H.S.]

FIFTY

Stepping into the apartment, I put my keys down on the small table near the door, and I begin to shrug my suit jacket off. As I walk further in, I'm met with the wonderful smell of herbs and spices, and I can hear music softly playing from the kitchen. I smile as I then pick up on Maeve's humming as well.

Today was my first day at my new job, and I was honestly a bit afraid of how she'd be alone by herself at the apartment all day. It was the first time we'd be apart for so long since she moved in with me, but she assured me that she would be just fine. She said she'd catch up on some reading while doing some cleaning here and there.

She was starting therapy later this week after doing a lot of research for ones in the area. She wanted one that was female for sure, and she also read a lot of reviews on the one she chose to see what others had to say about her. They did a small meeting via Zoom as an introduction earlier today and when I called Maeve on my lunch break, she told me that she thinks it's going to be a wonderful fit. It warmed my heart to hear just how excited she was to take this next step for herself. I was so proud of her for wanting to take these steps.

After waking her up from that dream the other day, and holding her just last night due to her having another one, I knew that she needed to talk to somebody about what she was going through. I know Maeve, and she holds a lot internally because she doesn't want to burden others. Thankfully, she was getting better about that with me, but I know there's still a lot she harbors in her mind.

We talked about therapy more overall while laying in bed the night I witnessed her having the first nightmare, and she told me that she had tried to seek it out after she first got with Conrad. She said that after settling in the environment with him, that's when Mallory's passing was starting to grow heavy on her again. She explained that while she was actively working, she had so much going on in her head about making her ends meet that she didn't have time to focus on much else but that. You can imagine just how angry I was when I found out that Conrad told her she didn't need therapy, and that it would make her come off as weak.

If she had been going to therapy all along, she probably would've left Conrad a long time ago because she would've realized his manipulation. I'm sure that's exactly why he didn't want her going.

As I round the corner to the kitchen, my eyes trace over Maeve's frame as she stands with her back to me. Her hair is pulled into a low ponytail with a white ribbon tying it together, and she's wearing a blue dress with white flowers.