Therapy [KRISTEN STEWART] (DISCONTINUED)

10

On Friday evening, as Kristen was online, trying to distract herself from her mostly miserable reality, she received a message from Anton on Instagram, asking her how she was. How could she respond? How was she? What a tricky situation. She had a roof on her head, food in the fridge, clothes covering her skin... one would say she was alright. Mentally? It was like a battle. She was living in fear that she would be caught by someone. Her parents were starting to be more protective of her. She couldn't let them see her weak.

Kristen quickly typed her reply and went to get food. She usually didn't snack after dinner, afraid of destroying her figure. When she came back with pieces of cucumbers she noticed she had a new message from Anton, who was proposing her to have a study session on the next day.

Just as Kristen was about to politely decline, she received a message. It was sent from her dance teacher. Their classes had been cancelled. And then she remembered: her singing lessons had been postponed as well. That meant she was free on Saturday. For the first time in a long time. And a study session sounded perfect to her. She could ask Anton for some tricks he had in his sleeve to maintain perfect grades. Or he could help her catch up on her homework? They also had a project to present for English class. She could even ask him what colour his tie was going to be for his suit for the prom.

On the next morning, Kristen woke up to a notification from Instagram that made her smile. Anton had posted a new photo with a pleasant surprise:

@antonyelchinphoto:

For @suck_upon

@username1: Who the fuck is @suck_upon?

@username2: Ooooh, Anton has a girlfriend!  :* :* :*

Kristen didn't stop giggling at the comments, secretly wishing they were true. She remembered when she had dated Anton and the way they had treated each other like they were the most important person in each other's universe. Sometimes she missed that. Especially when it was too hard to breathe. The thought of the lack of having a special one next to her saddened her. Nowadays, it seemed like no one understood her.

She quickly replied to his photo, still unable to handle what she had just seen with her own eyes. Anton? With curly hair? Like in the good old days? It was like a dream come true for her. She adored his hair. According to her, one had to be crazy not to.

Seconds later, he had already replied to her comment:

@suck_upon: @antonyelchinphoto, your curls 😍

@antonyelchinphoto: @suck_upon I'm not straightening them today 😉

@suck_upon: @antonyelchinphoto 🥰

Glancing at the time on her phone, Kristen realized that while she had plenty of time to get ready for her study session, she had to stop lying in her bed and to get up.

After her shower, she hesitated what to wear. She wanted to look great. Jeans couldn't cut it. It was too hot for that. She wasn't sure about shorts. What about overalls?

In the end, she settled on a skirt. She did not forget to put lace shorts underneath her skirt, knowing if the wind blew it, at least there was no risk of her underwear being seen. That was one thing she had learned in dance class.

On the way to the library, Kristen listened to music. That was going to be her time for herself before the studying session. The minute she stepped into that library, she knew she had to pour everything and work as hard as she possibly could to complete as many assignments as she could. She was already planning a night full of writing and playing instruments.

The first thing Anton told Kristen when he saw her, left her stunned:

"You should wear skirts more often."

Kristen let out an inappropriate chuckle, "Why? Because my skin is showing?

That caused Anton to stare at her wide-eyed, "No? Because you look lovely?"

Kristen felt blush appearing on her face. She gulped, reminding herself that it was time to study and set down her stuff on the table Anton had reserved.

For the next few hours, all they did was focus on their lessons. They had tackled the easiest tasks first as Anton always did. Their project had been finished and all that was left was for Anton to tutor Kristen in Science and Maths - her weakest subjects. Poor her - she simply didn't seem to get it!

She rested her head in her hands. "Why can't I understand this, but you can? I can't be that dumb, can I?"

All Anton wished was for Kristen to see how great of a person she was. He wanted her to stop criticizing herself and to open her eyes to see what everyone else saw in her. 

If only he knew about the attacks.