Chapter 3

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"Nice to see you again, Aurora," Dr. Bruno said, opening the door to his office.

I nodded and returned his genuine smile as I sat down on his white couch. I had been coming to Dr. Bruno weekly for two years, just after that incident happened.

"So tell me," he started and leaned forward in his chair, "what's new?"

"I, uh, got a nightmare last night again." I replied looking into my lap, "I was doing fine with the sleeping pills, but they just don't work anymore. And I don't want to keep relying on them for the rest of my life. I don't want to be so weak where I can't even sleep without a medication anymore."

"And that's understandable," he nodded, "Nobody should ever have to go through what you did. Now, what occurred in this nightmare?"

"Well, Parker was there, and he pushed me on t-the bed. And r-ripped off my sk-skirt. And i-it all happened again." I felt my body shaking from the memory that happened only a little bit over there years ago. My eyes were suddenly rimmed with tears that would inevitably fall. "The dream was so vivid. It was as if I w-were re-reliving through it again; like I was suddenly stripped of my clothing along with my purity."

"But, it won't happen again. He's far from you now and your friends always watch for your safety. He's at another high school, Aurora."

I knew that already. I just physically couldn't let myself believe I was completely safe from Parker, the boy that raped me in eighth grade.

"But I can't keep relying on my friends or those pills!" I replied, louder than necessary to convey my exasperation, on the verge of angry sobs. " He's not in jail so it can still happen again! It was like I had no power when he assaulted me! I can't continue to be so weak. Yes, he raped me. Yes, it's in the past now. But even the mere thought of him makes me shiver. He's miles away from me, but somehow, he still has the ability to make me utterly and entirely powerless."

"And I despise having a weakness."

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"Thanks for the ride, Xander," I looked up at him. Cooper was busy studying so he couldn't pick me up from therapy. And since he didn't believe that I was fine with it, he sent Xander to pick me up. Great.

He slightly smiled. "Anytime, gem. I'll always be here, you know."

I nodded and opened my door slightly. "See you at practice, teammate," I cringed, sarcasm dripping from each word.

"Bye, gem," he said with a small smile.

"Oh, Xander," I shouted, causing him to turn around. "I might be too nice to get my revenge on you, but I still despise you, you know."

He hoarsely chuckled and nodded. "I won't forget it."

I shook my head at him, and proceeded to completely open the door.

"Oh my god!" I yelled, covering my eyes, "Olivia, what the actual hell!"

"Sorry, Rory!" She said, the unknown guy pulling his shirt on. "Bye, Brandon. I'll be expecting a call from you!" Olivia told the guy as he passed by me and closed the door behind him.

"That was revolting." I scrunched my nose as soon as I heard the door slam shut.

"Sorry, I didn't think you'd be back so soon. But to be fair, you should be used to it by now," she replied with a cheeky smile, reminding me of the several times I accidentally walked in on her and random guys. "But enough about this, how what your therapy?"

"Eh," I shrugged, not wanting to discuss it, "Xander picked me up because Cooper was being an annoying, little shit and couldn't drive me." I joked.

"So Xander gave you a ride?" Olivia smirked at her innuendo.

"You have the maturity of a fifth grade boy," I laughed while shaking my head. "And I've decided to not get revenge on him out of the kindness of my own heart."

"Why?" She absentmindedly asked while she zipped up her pencil skirt and fluffed up her hair in the mirror. "Because you realized that you don't want to mess with him?"

"No," I shrugged and flopped down on my bed, "I think it's more that I'm actually going to have to live with it since he's in my classes, and he's on the track team."

"I want to bet money that you guys will be the best-est of friends by the end of next month."

"You're funny," I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "Why are you getting all dressed up? You just had a guy over."

"We were supposed to go to some party, but we got a little sidetracked."

I will admit, seeing my friends go to parties every weekend and having stories to tell about them makes me envy them. Their raw memories which would last a lifetime of their high school experiences made me want to accompany parties with them, but I just couldn't bring myself to go to one. Not again.

"Oh, have fun."

She sighed, her shoulders drooping. "You should come with. Cooper and I are going and meeting up there, we'll be with you the entire time."

Some part of me ached to go, but the logical part of me had my head shaking. "I can't, Liv."

"You're stopping yourself from experiencing life, though. These are your high school years when you don't need to worry about anything. Just go?" She pleaded. "I want you to have fun, and we'll watch over you this time."

I hated being dependent on someone or needing someone to protect me. "As much as I want to, you know I can't. And Cooper wouldn't let me go, anyways."

This happened several times a week; Olivia would try to convince me to go some party with her, and Cooper would talk some sense into her that I couldn't 'risk anything again.' I did appreciate them both though. Olivia only wanted me to stop my fear from letting me live my life, but Cooper wanted me to be safe from anything wrong that could go wrong.

"Fine," Olivia said, opening the door. "I'll see you later, okay?"

I nodded with a small smile. "Bye, Liv."

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Thanks for reading, lovelies! Don't forget to press that lil star to vote! I actually appreciate your read/vote/comment way more than you might think :)

Also, what do you think happened with Aurora and why would it cause her to go to boarding school? (You probably already know since I made sure it was super obvious lol.)

i love you,

-sophia

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