Page 67 of Be Your Forever
“Choosing you has been the easiest thing I’ve ever done in my life. I choose you always, and I will choose you for the rest of my life—or as long as you’ll have me.” She wiggles her way into my chest, pressing a kiss on my chest.
“You saved me,” Bri whispers before sleep takes her.
“You never needed saving, Bri. You’ve always been a damn warrior.” I pull the covers over us, and I’m out moments later.
Brianna
Tell me your dick is small without telling me your dick is small
September2026
“Tell me, how have you been since our last session?” Dr. Jacqui asks.
“I’ve been good. Everything with my parents went well. Sharing everything with them felt freeing. I went into it afraid they’d judge and hate me, but none of that happened.”
“That’s fantastic, Bri. Expressing your feelings isn’t easy, and you did it anyway. You really seem to be taking charge of your life again. It’s wonderful to witness. Have you talked to your brother yet?”
“No. I’m still working up to that one, but I drove myself to therapy today.”
“Is this the first time you’ve driven since the incident?”
“It’s my first time driving myself to therapy, but it’s not my first time behind the wheel. Another thing that Asher has been helping me with.”
I explain how Asher has been working with me to overcome my fear of driving and how extremely patient he’s been with me. I’m sure my cheeks are hella red with how much I gush about him. But what’s not to swoon over? The man is a literal book boyfriend. After years of pinning after imaginary men, I found myself a real one.
“That’s wonderful. It sounds like you are choosing to not let fear control you anymore. How does that feel?” she asks.
“It’s amazing. The initial shock has worn off, but it’s still nerve-wracking at times. It’s something I’m continually trying to bulldoze my way through. Asher just makes it even better.”
“I love this for you. Now, what’s your plan with Max?”
Ugh, she always brings it back to the topic at hand. I mean, am I surprised? That’s what therapy is for.
“I’m still trying to figure that out, but Asher promised to come with me for extra support.”
“That’s wonderful. I know we’ve been working on preparing you for phase three of EMDR. You’re doing a lot of the heavy lifting already, and I’m so proud of all the work you’ve put in already.”
I made the decision to try EMDR a few sessions ago. The more research I did, the more I felt like this was the final step in healing for me. I don’t want what happened to me to take over my entire life. I’ve learned a lot about myself during this whole experience. Things that have opened my eyes to issues that I never really thought about before.
I have always been someone who thrives off control. I tend to gravitate toward the role of the leader. I just never really understood why. If things didn’t go a certain way, that’s when my imposter syndrome kicked in. In order to avoid that, I always made sure everything was planned out. And then when everything happened, my entire world was flipped upside down. Nothing in my life was mine anymore, and trying to come to terms with that has been hard to wrap my head around.
“Yeah, it’s been exhausting…this healing thing,” I joke, which makes my therapist laugh.
“Yeah, it’s definitely not easy. How are you coping with everything? What are you doing for self-care?”
“I’ve been reading again,” I say, my eyes flicking to my hands fidgeting in my lap.
"It's something me and Asher have been doing together every night, actually." I pause, sucking in a breath, knowing the bomb I am about to drop.
"We lay with each other every night. He kept the books I donated months ago and..."Just say it, Bri. SAY IT!
"And I even asked him to move in with me."
Butterflies erupt in my stomach, taking flight and bringing every loving emotion with them.
"Bri," she begins. I wait for her to scold me, judge me, tell me it's too soon. "That's amazing. I am so happy for you."
She reaches over and squeezes my hand, and for the first time in ages, I feel light as a feather.
