The first session happened two weeks later, the same day that Ashley had an appointment for a sonogram.
They met at 1:00 that afteroon, and were in the counselor's office now. It was a bit overcrowded, but they made it work. No one spoke for the first few minutes, as neither of them really knew what to say, much less where to start. Eventually, Ashley finally decided to speak up.
" I've been friends with Taylor and his brothers for a very long time. BUt when I got pregnant with Arielle at fourteen, I... me and Taylor talked about being parents together. Neither of our parents wanted that for us though, since we were so young." She looked around the room before continuing, wondering if anyone else wanted to chip in. When no one else spoke up, she kept going." My parents moved me to Colorado and tried to get me to have an abortion. But I was too scared and too stubborn. I ran away and never made contact with them again until after I had Arielle."
Taylor finally decided to speak up, and he tried to keep his emotions from getting the better of him. " She never even called or wrote to me about it. I didn't know about my own daughter for sixteen years. I was... am still so mad that I wasn't there for Arielle the way I should have been." He looked over at his daughter, feeling tears come to his eyes. " I should have been there for her first steps, her first date, for her first everything. Then maybe her step-dad wouldn't... wouldn't have..."
" I didn't know, Taylor! If I had known, I would have stopped it!" Ashley practically screamed at him, tears streaming down her face as well. " You have to know how terrible I feel for it all. He didn't used to be like that."
" Ashley, calm down. Let Taylor finish his thoughts and feelings. He has a right to express himself just the same as you and everyone else in the room." Mr. Thompson told her, and gave Taylor a look to tell him to continue.
Taylor talked about how their relationship began, and how he felt as it all unfolded. His parents chipped in about it as well, while everyone else just listened. When the session was over, everyone was on edge and no one said a word to each other on the way out.
Since Zac had offered to come with her to her appointment, she got into his car and looked in Taylor's direction. She could tell he was in a bad mood, and once again felt bad about the way that she had done things. She did after all realize that she could have handled everything differently.
Zac looked at her as soon as he was settled in the drivers seat. " Don't worry about it, Ashley. I am sure that after the next few sessions, it will get easier. It's just going to take time, and we all need to try being paitent with the process."
" I sure hope so." She waved to Arielle, and put her seatbelt on as Zac started to pull out of the parkling lot. " I guess I didn't realize how hard this would be."
" I know. I don't think I thought much about it ether." He hoped that this wouldn't wreck his progross he had already made with his brothers. " Let's just focus on this baby." He suggested. " Have you thought of any names?"
" I was thinking either Caitlyn or Kristina if it's a girl. I"m not sure about any boy's names yet." She told him, hoping he liked the idea.
" Actually, we could tie them together and name it Caitlyn Kristina if it's a girl. That could be nice." He suggested with a smile on his face.
" Yeah." She smiled back at him. " I like that idea."
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Arielle had just gotten off the phone with Avery, and she couldn't help but smile. They just seemed to have so much in common, and he was extremely nice. His mom had cheated on his dad when he was five, and he had a half sister and brother, as they were twins. That of course had split his parents up, and he said that they had tried raising him peacefully. The last couple years before his mom died hadn't gone well though, and he had been seeing a counselor since her death. So he understood part of what she was going through with her parents.
He had asked her if she could show him around town later that evening, and then take her out to dinner after. She had hesitated for a minute. After all, Rachel had made a good point about taking it slow with him. But she wanted to get to know him better, and said yes.
She was going through her closet when someone knocked on her bedroom door. " Come on in."
Christopher walkd in, and he had obviously been crying. His eues were red amd tears were still streaming down his face. " Are you busy?"
" I can spare a few minutes or so." She stopped skimming through her closet, and sat down on the edge of her bed with him. " What's wrong?"
" I just got off the phone with Aubrey a few minutes ago, and she said that she can't just watch me die." He wiped his tears away. " So I guess I no longer have a girlfriend."
Arielle gave him a big hug, and let him cry on her shoulder. " I am so sorry, Christopher." She kissed him on the cheek, keeping her arms around him. " She doesn't know what she is missing out on."
" I don't think she even really liked me anyway." He sobbed. " She know's Taylor is like my dad, and just thought that I would spoil her with his money."
Arielle felt so bad for him. He had been through so much at such a young age. " How would you like to meet a new friend of mine, Christopher? His name is Avery and he is a really cool guy. I don't think he would mind if you joined us."
" I can't join you on a date, sis. That would just be weird." Christopher rested his head on her shoulder. " But thanks for..."
" I am not taking no for an answer, and it isn't really a date. I'm showing him around town and then we are going out to dinner." She told him. " And just in case our friendship does turn into something more, I want you to meet him."
With a nod, Christopher gave in. " What time are we leaving?"
" Forty five minutes. So let me get ready, and then we can go pick him up." Shw kissed him on the cheek again.
Christopher left her alone so she could change, and he went to get ready himself.
She went back to her closet, and ended up picking out a navy off shoulder top and a pair of blue skinny jeans. She also put on a necklace Isaac and Nikki had gotten her for Christmas last year, a sterling silver blue sapphire diamond infinity pendant.
She hadn't expected Christopher to clean up and change, but she thought he looked very handsome in his red button down shirt and blue jeans. She told him so, and he smiled. It was the first time she had seen him sile in a long time.
Natalie and Taylor were in the living room playing Scrabble with Ezra and River. They looked over at Arielle and Christopher, very much happy to see a smile on his face.
" You look so handsome, Christopher." Natalie told him, flashing him a smile and then turning to Arielle. " And you look very beautiful."
Christopher blushed, and thanked her. Arielle smiled back. " Thanks. We should be back in about two and a half hours at the lastest."
With a nod, Taylor took his turn on their game of Scrabble. " Okay. Just call if you think you might be any later."
" We will. Does anyone need anything while we are out?" She asked, grabbing a light jacket and throwing her shoes on.
" Yeah. Can you bring me a chocolate shake from Dairy Queen?" River asked, hoping he wouldn't get a lecture about not really needing a shake, as his parent's often did.
Before Taylor or Natalie could object to that, Arielle responded with a yes and went around to write down what anyone else might want. Even Taylor and Natalie decided it sounded good, and gave her their orders. Then her and Christopher left to go pck up Avery.
