Page 48 of Roman and the Hopeless Romantic
“I’m not going to pretend I understand that, but are you ready? I’m taking you to your appointment.”
“Yeah, I’m ready.” She couldn’t remember the last time she smiled so much at her dad or smiled so much in general. She always believed life shifts could be felt. Her entire world changed when her mom was struck with that bullet… and it ripped open her soul.
But this time, the change was more subtle. Damage happened with the force of a bludgeon. Healing came with the calm of a glassy sea.
She snagged a caramel on the way out the door, but when she bit into it, it wasn’t her mom taking up her thoughts. Her mom was gone, but maybe her dad wasn’t as far away as he seemed.
The ride to Annie’s office was quiet, but the comfortable sort of quiet that existed between them.
“Thanks, Dad.” She unbuckled her seatbelt and slid from the car.
“Cass?”
She turned back to the car.
“It’s nice to see you happy again. It reminds me of your mom.” His lips curved up into an unnatural smile.
The lightness inside her didn’t go away as the receptionist showed her into Annie’s office. It must have shown on her face, because Annie smiled. “I take it the honesty thing has gone well?”
Cassie threw herself on the couch, remembering the first thing she’d done in her honesty assignment—ask Roman to kiss her. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.” In a single week, she’d mended things with Roman, talked to Jesse about their mom for the first time in a while, and actually hugged her dad. It was a start.
She told Annie everything, leaving nothing out. By the end, Annie’s smile stretched from one ear to the other. “Cassie, I don’t know if you realize how big of a leap you’ve taken in a single week. You’ve been coming to me for almost two years now, and this is the break we’ve been waiting for. You tackled your first big wall, now, we head for the second one.”
Cassie sat up. “Can’t we just be happy with this for a while?”
“Our aim is to always move forward. This week, I have two assignments for you.”
“That seems like a bit much.” She was happy staying at home and reveling in her recent success. But that wasn’t what her dad paid Annie for.
“You and I have spoken of a lot of things in your life and the night of your trauma. It’s time to push the event into your past.”
“I don’t want to forget.”
“This isn’t about forgetting, if that were even possible. Find something that reminds you of what happened and get rid of it. Remove it from your life. I don’t expect it to erase your memory. It’s more of a symbolic gesture. Once you are able to let go, the event can become more of a memory and less of a present trauma.”
Cassie breathed out slowly. “I think I can do that. No, I know I can. I’m ready.”
She nodded. “I know you are.”
“What’s the second task?”
Annie tapped her pen against her notepad. “Say yes.”
“What?” Cassie stilled her fidgeting.
“It’s time you become a part of the world again. Like the honesty assignment, this is about not letting your worries and your fears guide your words or actions. I want you to accept the next invitation you receive to go out in public—granted it’s with someone you trust.”
Cassie couldn’t breathe. Public? Where anything could happen?
“Remember your breathing exercises.” Annie’s voice barely penetrated her panicking mind. “Calm yourself, control the nerves.”
Cassie followed her directive until her breathing evened enough for her to push out the words “I’ll try.”
Annie smiled. “That’s all I can ask.”
Their time ended, and Cassie practically ran from the building to find her dad waiting for her. His familiar form hunched over a newspaper in the driver’s seat of his black Ford Escape.
She climbed into the car, and he folded the paper.
“How did it go?”
The question surprised her. Her dad didn’t show much interest in her sessions except to pay the bill every month. But what had Annie said last week? Something about her dad calling her.
She offered him a tentative smile, thinking of the assignments Annie gave her. She swallowed down the emotion thickening in her throat. “Good. It went good.”
If she managed to succeed this week, it would be a miracle.
