This is L.o.v.e. like it should be

LV. Monday blues

Someone knocked on the door and opened it slightly.

"May I, miss Ava?", One of the assistants was peeking through.

Ava didn’t recognize her; she was probably from another department. The work day was almost over, hopefully she didn’t bring up more work.

"Yes, come in," Ava replied after sizing her.

The assistant gently closed the door and came closer to Ava's desk.

"Miss Ava, Dr. Paul sent me here because you missed your appointment this morning."

"Oh!", Ava completely forgot about it. "I did..."

"Can we set a date for your next appointment?"

"I don't think I need the sessions anymore.", Ava replied in a confident tone.

"I'm sorry, but Dr. Paul still has to file the final report with the results of the therapy sessions, which means you will have to talk directly with him."

Ava sighed.

"Of course, you are right.", Ava fidgeted on her chair, annoyed at the possibility of having to talk about everything that happened in these last few days. She finally said: "Friday?"

"Friday is such a big gap between sessions. Can you fit it in your schedule sooner?"

Ava squeezed her lips and nodded, feeling like she had no other option. Either she faced Paul again and possibly reliving everything that happened, or risk having a negative report filed, and she couldn't afford a negative report.

"Tomorrow morning, then."

"9:00 a.m.?"

"Ok. I'll be there. Thank you."

The assistant marked the visit in her agenda and left with a friendly smile.

A couple of minutes later, Phoebe knocked on the door and opened it without waiting for an answer.

"So, let's go, lady. It's time!", Phoebe shouted out, standing in the entrance.

"Is it?", Ava smiled nervously. "Of course, it is."

Phoebe felt the tension in Ava's manners and voice, so she stepped in the office, closed the door and asked: "What's bugging you?"

"Mm?", Ava looked at her seeming a bit lost.

"Don't give me that mm thing. Just spill it!"

"I don't know...", Ava answered, but as soon as she did, she reminded herself of their talk and decided to be completely honest with Phoebe: "Actually, I do know. I have a therapy session tomorrow morning and I don't want to go."

"Oh...", Phoebe seemed caught off guard for a moment, but she quickly recovered. "I understand, you just want to forget about everything that happened these past days and move on, right? Well, if that’s the case, just don't say anything."

"Don't say anything?", Ava was surprised by her friend's solution.

"Yes, you have to show up for the session, of course. But you can save yourself from thinking or talking about it, the shrink can't force you to talk about anything if you don’t want to."

"And if he gives me a bad report?"

"It's all about moving on, Ava. In your case, that's the only thing wrong with you, not your mental health. I'm sure Paul noticed it already."

"You are right... It's all about moving on!", Ava smiled weakly, she knew there was a new fight ahead of her: rediscovering herself without Julien Bardi, the cheater. He would never again be a prince charming.

She got up from her comfortable chair and, still thinking, she asked: "Do I have to hate him to make move on?"

"You were not built for hate, Ava. You’ll have to find another way."

Ava gave her a big smile. Once again, Phoebe was right.

"Ok, let's go", Phoebe said, opening the door suddenly. The abrupt way in which she opened the door made Clarisse, who was leaning on it, stumble forward and almost fall.

"You!!!", Phoebe turned red instantly.

"Clarisse? Were you spying on us?", Ava was dumbfounded.

"Please!", Clarisse answered immediately, readjusting her hair. "I was just passing by!"

"And your ear happened to get stuck to the door, right?", Phoebe asked her in a sarcastic tone, making Ava giggle.

"What? Do you really think I...?", Clarisse feigned outrage.

"I definitely do. You don’t work in this department and everyone else has gone home already. Did you happen to get lost after working in this company for...? Wait! I don't know for how long this person have been working here."

"Does it matter?", Ava asked, picking up her purse. "Let's just get out of here." Ava replied, she wasn’t about to be dragged into another altercation with Clarisse. She had better plans.