AURORA MANAGED to escape her friends' protectiveness, and lack of trust, when she called to meet her Sponsor. Aurora couldn't shake the thoughts of disappointment from her mind; she felt guilty for having fun. She quickly walked into a café in town, before meeting eyes with Spencer who had placed a hot chocolate down for Rory at an empty seat opposite him.
"Morning," Spencer greeted, trying to read Rory's facial expressions to predict why he was meeting her here. He added, "I was gonna get you a coffee, but I remembered you don't mix well with caffeine." He smiled gently.
"Thank you." Rory replied, sitting down quickly and taking a sip of the hot drink, her whole body fidgeting in response to her thoughts.
"You take a fall?" Spencer questioned curiously.
"No," Rory said quickly, "Still clean."
The man urged, "You been doin' your 12 steps?"
"Yeah," Rory sniffed, her hands fiddling with one another. She listed, "Admitting my life had become unmanageable under the influence of drugs, promptly admit when wrong, meditation, praying to a higher being. Nothing is working."
"Being an addict doesn't just go away over night, Rory. You learn to live with it." Spencer replied, "Have you spoken to your friends about your experience? Made amends? Moved on?"
"I don't know," Rory rubbed the tears out of her eyes in distress, "Nobody trusts me anymore. How am I meant to move on from the past when nobody else can? It took over my life. I can't forget that."
"I'm not telling you to forget it. I'm telling you to acknowledge your mistakes and use it to do better." Spencer exclaimed firmly, "Your next step is making amends with people that you hurt along the way."
"Saying sorry won't make it go away, Spencer." Rory snapped, clenching her jaw as she tried to lower her voice, "This isn't a joke. This is my fucking life, S—"
"Hey." The man interrupted sharply, looking at her with a look of reassurance yet warning to calm her down. He took a breath, "I never said this was a joke, Rory. You called me here, so you know I'm doing what's best for you." Spencer hesitated, "Trust me, I've been exactly where you are."
Rory brushed the hair out of her face, her fingers fidgeting widely on the coffee table, "So, I have to apologise to everyone. What if they don't forgive me?"
Spencer explained, "This is about you starting a fresh, not them. Apologising to the people you hurt will benefit you. Like, lifting a weight from your shoulders. If they don't forgive you, then fuck them." He smiled gently, "Okay?"
Rory swallowed the lump in her throat and, when she spoke, her voice was shaky and quiet, "I just feel so alone."
"Why do you feel alone?" Spencer asked, though he already knew the answer because he was once in Rory's shoes.
Rory looked at him, hesitating, because no one had ever asked her that before. She cleared her throat, with a sarcastic shrug, "Maybe because nobody else is an addict."
"Watch the tone." Spencer warned gently, before prompting, "Why did you meet me this morning?"
"I had a few drinks last night. I felt bad." Rory explained, "Drinking isn't my problem but the thoughts I have after makes it worse in my head." She sighed, "I felt like I was letting you down."
