My Therapy

Chapter 14

WARNING: SUGGESTION OF SMUT
SUGGESTED BY: @mariehobingergf

I shouldn’t be here.

I keep telling myself that as Georgia shuts the door behind me, leaving it mostly closed but not locked, the kind of careless decision you only make when you’re already doing something you shouldn’t.

My chest feels tight. My fingers keep tapping against my thigh.
I’m restless. On edge. Stupid.

Georgia notices, of course she does.
She always notices.

“You’re jumpy,” she says, leaning back against the desk with her arms folded, eyes locked on mine.

“I’m fine,” I lie, even though my voice shakes.

She tilts her head. “You don’t have to pretend with me.”

There it is.
The line she knows gets under my skin.
The one that makes me feel seen, even when I wish she wouldn’t look at me at all.

I shouldn’t have come here.
But I needed space. Needed air.
Needed… something I can’t name.

“It’s just… Maddie,” I say, rubbing the back of my neck. “I shouldn’t be...”

“Here?” Georgia finishes, pushing off the desk and walking towards me.
Slow. Controlled. Certain.

I swallow hard.

Her presence is overwhelming.
Familiar in all the wrong ways.

“You came, Ella,” she whispers. “That has to mean something.”

“No,” I say instantly. Too fast. Too defensive.
“It doesn’t mean anything.”

But we both know that’s not true.

Georgia steps closer.
Close enough that I can feel the warmth of her breath on my cheek.

My heart is hammering.
My hands shaking.

“Tell me to stop,” she murmurs.

I open my mouth, and nothing comes out.

Because part of me wants to.
The good part. The loyal part. The part that loves Madison so much it hurts.

But then there’s the part of me I hate.
The part that wants comfort, escape, distraction, anything but the quiet panic in my own head.

Georgia sees that second part.
She always has.

“Ella…” she whispers, fingers brushing mine.

I shiver.

“I shouldn’t…” I breathe.

“So don’t,” she says, “if you don’t want to.”

Her hand slips over mine, warm, steady, grounding and destructive all at once.

My resolve cracks.

I cave.

And then...

A sharp gasp from the doorway.

I freeze.
Georgia freezes.

My head snaps around so fast my neck nearly clicks.

Madison is standing there.

Her face...
God.

Her face wrecks me instantly.

Wide eyes.
Shaking hands.
Heartbreak written all over her.

“Maddie...” I choke out, stepping forward instinctively.

She steps back like I burned her.

No.
No. No. No.

This can’t be happening.
She wasn’t supposed to...
I didn’t think she’d...

“Madison, please,” I whisper, reaching for her again.

She flinches.

Her voice is barely there when she speaks.
“I came for my hoodie.”

The words hit me harder than any tackle ever could.

I shake my head desperately. “It’s not what you think. I swear, I didn’t... I wasn’t...”

“Don’t lie,” she says, voice breaking in the middle. “Not right now.”

My stomach drops.
My knees almost go with it.

I look at Georgia for a second, she doesn’t move. Doesn’t speak. Doesn’t help.
Of course she doesn’t.

“Maddie, please just let me explain,” I beg, taking another step toward her.

She backs away again.
And it feels like she’s tearing pieces out of me each time she moves.

“I trusted you,” she whispers.

Tears burn my eyes instantly. “I know. I know you did. And I...I messed up. I panicked. I... Maddie, please, don’t walk away.”

But she already is.

I take a step after her, or try to, but my legs won’t work right.
My whole body feels heavy.

She doesn’t look back.
Not once.

“Madison!” I call, voice cracking apart. “Please! Don’t go!”

The hallway swallows her up anyway.

The door closes.

And I realise I’ve just broken the only heart I ever wanted to protect.