On A Thread

Chapter 1

The petite lady spun around in her swivel chair doing a once over on Brie. She had been facing the window for the first fifteen minutes of their session. Brie had been punctual this time, two minutes before the scheduled time was punctual enough, better than showing up an hour late with a flimsy excuse of yoga-that happened last time-but the woman had refused to speak.
"Miss Brie," she clicked her tongue, "I don't expect that you should know what this means."
Her brows furrowed.
Sensing Brie's obvious confusion, she further explained, "I join things together. Come on Brie, you're telling me to help you break things apart."
A few beat passed. The silence was uncomfortable.
Brie's therapist, Linda had always been a chatter box, she had something to say even when Brie refused to talk, but this silence, Brie didn't need it. She cracked an uncomfortable smile and leaned forward, she thought to reach for Lynn's hand but decided against it, she was never the sentimental type and always said things as they were, sometimes without giving it any thoughts. Maybe that was how come she had gotten to this point.
She took a long breath, readying herself, "he..." She glanced away, Lynn's passive face almost discouraging. "He's trying hard Linda. But-"
It was Linda's turn to lean in, "but what? What is the problem?"
Brie sighed, "I can't forgive him just yet." Feeling defeated, she stood up and wandered to the coffee corner. She tore open an instant coffee into a cup
Linda relapsed into her chair, the squeak of it being the loudest sound in the room. She gathered her hands on her laps and heaved loudly.
"What do you want to do now?"
"I don't know." She spun around, her hands suspended mid air. "I have no clue Linda." Her own helplessness formed a boulder in her throat so hard she couldn't swallow.
Josh and her marriage was of high regards in their small town where they had gotten married and for the early period when they moved to a bigger city. Josh and Brielle's love story was cliched from a sappy romance book, their first meet even sappier. The inseparable duo met in college, sophomore, Josh had bumped into her, his sturdy build sending her transfer documents in the air, a very cliche eye contact and awkward talk. She could remember the petrichor in the air mingled with cologne that almost all the male humans wore, but with Josh she associated him with the sweet smell of approaching rain. Only that he had come to her like an unplanned storm, a heavy downpour.
He had been rather flushed and pinched the bridge of his nose countless times.
"I'm... I'm sorry." He stuttered.
Josh was the first man to stutter because of Brie. She didn't care whether his stutter was from habit or his nerves, she was simply excited. Brie didn't feel particularly pretty even though her dad always said her eyes were like crystal orbs and she was the most delicate piece of the Creator's art. She'd believed that much considering her eyes are big and round but she hated her freckles and her difficult hair, she wasn't curvy and didn't have a bubble butt, not that she couldn't, she wasn't just part of the 5am club who'd hit the gym. At 5am, Brie was getting to the best part of sleep.
That day, Josh had stuttered and said she had the prettiest eyes. The two stood there till the rain met them. Josh had put his school bag over his head, while Brie's file holder served as her umbrella and they both ran for shed.
They didn't see each other again after the first time not even by coincidence however both were surprised to meet each other in commerce class. For Brie, it was vivid the way his eyes lit up when he spotted her, like her, he had been waiting for fate to roll a dice in their favor. That began their little love story and many escapades in the new, not yet completed science lab. They were wild and in love, taking quicky breaks in the science lab, for goodness sake, they had no business with science.
They were obvious and raw with their emotions that soon enough the whole school and subsequently the whole town knew whenever, though few they had a fight, it was always evident when they weren't sitting together, whispering into each other's ears for most of the lecture. Their marriage was an event shared in the excitement of graduation six years ago in their small town. What seemed to be unbreakable was breaking apart. That's a given if one or both of them kept swinging a sledgehammer time and time again.
"...Let him go." Linda's voice intruded Brie's reminisce.
She didn't even know how long she'd been zoned out for. "What?"
"Let him go." She repeated while lighting her cinnamon scented incense. Brie hated the smell of that foul pot.
Chill wrapped around Brie on the mere thought of letting Joshua go. She wasn't ready for that harsh blow, not that she couldn't, she simply wouldn't. Besides, all she needed was time alone, to grieve, to be allowed to feel angry even though she knew well that her selfish freedom was hurting Josh. Was hurting her marriage.
He had hurt her too hadn't he?
He had taken her delicate heart and handled it so carelessly, if her dad was alive he would have come to take her away from her marital home. It felt to unfair to not retaliate.
She stilled herself and stiffly placed the glass on the table. "I just need time and space away from him." Her eyes were beginning to pool as she looked up at Linda, "I can't..." She wiped her face. "I can't let him go just yet. Just time and therapy." She said, uncertainty making a hollow in her chest. If she wasn't even sure how could it work. She didn't wait for Linda's opinion and just picked up her bag and left.
"See you next week." Linda called at the shut door.