Elude [H.S.]

FIFTY-SEVEN

"Now, EJ, you be a good boy while Mommy is away, okay?" I stroke my hand over the light brown fur on top of my sweet kitten's head. "I'll only be gone a little over an hour, and then we can cuddle on the couch until Daddy gets home."

He blinks his large aquamarine colored eyes up at me as I set him down on the pillow from the couch that he's deemed as his own, and I lean down to kiss his forehead.

Harry and I have been home from my parents for a week now, and honestly, EJ has brought us so much joy. It wasn't that we felt a void or anything, but we both agreed that bringing him here just put everything together. He's been the sweetest boy that we could ever dream of. He cuddles up with both of us equally - although he sleeps right against me every night in bed.

I also think that he helped ease me into the fact that I did leave my family back in Maine, which I didn't feel any hesitancy towards, but he helped mend the sadness I could've felt. The excitement of having EJ here and making sure he was comfortable was a pleasant distraction to the sad thoughts I could've had.

I've talked to my mom and dad every day on the phone since I've left. Mason and I are constantly texting. I feel really good. This is the first time since I've left home that I actually feel like me.

When I first left, I was acting like someone I wasn't when I moved in with Natalia. I wanted to act like an adult when I truly wasn't so they didn't look down on me.

Nothing compares to how different I feel now than when I was with Conrad. Even though in the beginning he was sweet and led me to believe he would only want to nurture me in our relationship, that turned out to not be the case fairly quickly.

I'm proud to say that through my therapy with Stephanie, I've stopped blaming myself for allowing him to creep his way into my mind and make me blind to the abuse I encountered. I was young, and he saw it as a way to manipulate me into whatever he wanted me to be - which I was for a while. I was...until Harry.

I walk out of the apartment and lock it up behind me as I head out of the building and towards the subway. It felt so nice that I was able to go to this session by myself and not have to worry about Conrad, or someone he could've potentially hired, lingering around me.

The subway ride from our place to the medical building is short, and I make my way into the office. I sign in, and before I can even properly sit down, Stephanie is inviting me into her room already.

There was something in particular that I really wanted to talk about today, but I wasn't sure how to approach it. I don't even know if it's something that she would be comfortable discussing since it breaches on a bit of a different realm than what we've discussed before.

"Hi, Maeve," Stephanie says happily as she closes the door to her office and I sit down. "You look very well."

I feel a large smile press onto my face as I nod. "I am. I feel really well."