Save Me

Chapter 20

It had been a week since Emma revealed that she had been raped. Admitting this brought forth old memories and thus anxiety.

Everywhere she looked, she recognized her former adoptive father. Her heart began to race, sweat pearls formed on her forehead and she began to shiver. But after squinting a few times he was gone again and instead there stood a confused-looking passer-by.

Emma locked herself up in her room more often and the nightmares came back.

In addition, Emma had decided to continue therapy with Regina, but Mary Margaret and David said it would be better if they kept their distance for a while.

When Emma woke up one night screaming loudly again, David decided to make a new appointment with Regina. It couldn't go on like this.

And the very next day, Emma was in the car on her way to Regina.

She stared quietly out of the car window and drowned in her thoughts.

Emma was excited. She was looking forward to finally seeing Regina again, but she knew that soon she would have to talk about everything. And that made her nervous. There were a thousand questions in her head that Regina could ask, and Emma did not want to answer a single one of them.

David noticed that Emma's breathing was getting faster and saw her fingers starting to tremble.

"Emma? Emma! "He said, waking the girl out of her thoughts.

With wide eyes, the blonde looked at the sheriff.

"It's okay, Emma. We're almost at Reginas, "he tried to calm the girl, but Emma just nodded and looked out the window again.

A few minutes later, the car came to a halt. Emma thanked the man briefly and got out.

Nervously, she opened the door to the building and climbed up a few steps.

When she stood in front of Regina's office, she took a deep breath. Then the blonde knocked and entered.

Unlike usual, Regina was not sitting at her desk but on the couch. There was a file in her hand that she was reading.

"Hello, Emma. Sit down, "Regina smiled before placing the file next to her.

Emma's heart began to beat faster again. But this time it was not the panic that rose inside her, but something else. She just could not assign it yet. The butterflies in her stomach gave her a very good idea of ​​what it could be though.

Emma blushed a little as she took a few steps forward. She hesitated before sitting down next to Regina.

The brunette smiled barely noticeably.

"It's nice to see you again!" Regina began, smiling friendly.

Emma smiled right back and nodded. Her eyes lit up as she answered, "Yes, I am so happy to see you too!"

Regina grinned at the girl for a moment before asking, "How are you, Emma?"

The blonde knew that this was a standard question that Regina probably asked each of her patients. But for Emma it felt like Regina was really interested in her answer. Like she really wanted to know how Emma felt. She smiled at the woman before answering. "I'm fine thank you"

Regina's smile faded as she nodded and said, "I talked to David. He said that you're falling back into old patterns of behavior. "

Emma just nodded. Why did the brunette even ask, if she already knew how Emma felt?!

Regina saw Emma's features change as the girl got angry. Carefully, she put her hand on Emmas and smiled apologetically.

Emma started to pull her hand away, but the warmth of Regina's finger made her skin tingle. Emma said nothing as she just looked at their hands for a moment. This little gesture made Emma feel secure and all her pent-up emotions came up.

When the blonde looked up she had tears in her eyes. Desperately, she tried to blink them away and forced a smile. But when the first tear escaped her eye, Emma could not hold it back anymore and she began to sob aloud.

Regina immediately took the girl in her arms and stroked her back. "Shh, Emma. Everything's okay, "she kept whispering in Emma's ear.

The blonde buried her face in the shoulder of her psychologist. "I see him everywhere," she said during sobs and pressed herself closer to Regina.

The brunette immediately understood and whispered, "You're safe here, Emma," her hand still stroking Emma's back reassuringly, "I will not let anything happen to you. Not now, not ever"

Emma looked up as the sentence hit her directly in her heart. Her face was only inches from Regina's. She let her eyes sink to Regina's lips for a moment.

I'd be so easy to press her lips on Reginas right now.

Way too often she tried to free herself from kisses in her past. Wanted to vomit and sometimes did. But this time it felt different. Her stomach tingled and she had the urge to do exactly what she wanted to escape of for years.

But reality caught up with her quickly and the girl sat up. She wiped her tears from her face and gave Regina a fake smile.

Absentminded, Regina watched Emma for a few seconds. Because just like Emma she had the desire to kiss the girl. But when the blonde freed herself from the embrace, the woman saw Emmas walls rebuilding. The fake smile just confirmed that guess.

"Everything okay?" She asked carefully.

The blonde just nodded.

"The truth, Emma"

Emma looked up and into Regina's eyes. She knew she could trust her therapist but was not ready for talking about anything yet.

"I ..." she tried to start, but stopped because she did not know what to say, looking for help by making eye contact with the woman.

"You do not have to explain anything to me, Emma. I just don't want you to lie to me "

Emma nodded and muttered a quiet "sorry"

Regina put her hand back on Emmas and squeezed it briefly. Her eyes moved to the clock on the wall and the brunette pulled her hand away before she wrote something on a pad and said, "It's late, Emma. David is certainly already waiting downstairs "

Emma also looked at the clock and realized that she was already 5 minutes too long with Regina. She nodded and stood up.

"Bye," the blonde said and made her way to the door.

Regina smiled at her and said goodbye.

When Emma arrived at the door, she turned around once more. Regina was still staring at her. The blonde blushed and quickly looked away. Then she disappeared out the door.

But Regina stared after her for some time. Looking at the now closed door. Could she really develop feelings for a patient?