Chapter Text
Weed mentioned‼️
Emma left home when she was eighteen, taking fourteen year old Alex with her.
Their parents had spent years tearing Emma down. Every mistake became proof that she wasn't good enough. Every achievement was dismissed. Every day felt like another reminder that, to them, her worth depended on what she could provide.
The emotional abuse wore her down until she barely recognized herself.
The final fight happened over money.
Emma wasn't earning enough, and her parents made sure she knew it. What started as another argument quickly turned into screaming, insults, and cruel words she'd heard her entire life.
That night, Emma packed what she and Alex could carry.
She took her sister's hand, walked out the front door, and never went back.
—
Emma's phone rang the moment she landed from her trip. As soon as she answered, she heard a calm woman's voice on the other end.
"Hello? Hey, Regina here. I just wanted to check on you and remind you that our first meeting is at 4 p.m. today."
"Alright... thanks," Emma replied shyly. She had never been comfortable talking to people over the phone.
Today was her first therapy appointment.
The only reason she had agreed to see a therapist was because she needed guidance someone to support her through everything she had been carrying. Whatever she said in that room would stay there. No judgment. No one else would know.
"Alex?" Emma called from the kitchen.
"Your food's ready! And please come downstairs i need to talk to you."
Emma had left Alex at home over the weekend while she was away. Thankfully, she wasn't raising a lazy little sister who left the house looking like a disaster.
When Alex came downstairs, she already looked completely stoned. She stood there awkwardly, waiting for her big sister to speak.
"I have an appointment in forty minutes," Emma said, sounding more like a parent than a sister. "I need you to stay home because if you go out, no one will be here to let you back in."
They had grown up together without parents, and somehow Emma had naturally stepped into the role of the responsible older sister. Alex listened to her almost all the time.
"Okay, don't worry, Big Sis. It's not like I go out every day."
She was right. Whenever Alex did go out, she usually came home early.
—
Emma sat in the waiting room, nervously waiting for her first therapy session.
"Emma?"
A raspy voice pulled her from her thoughts. She looked up and quickly stood, following the woman down the hallway.
Regina was a brunette with a white hair clip that matched the rest of her outfit. White jeans. A fitted long-sleeved shirt. Tattoos peeked out from beneath her sleeves, wrapping around both wrists.
She walked with a quiet confidence.
Steady. Unapologetic.
Like the room shifted around her instead of the other way around.
She didn't chase attention.
She already owned it.
Something about her made Emma shiver.
She couldn't explain why.
So fucked up for noticing.
Emma hated that those were the thoughts filling her head instead of the fact that she was about to spill her life to a complete stranger.
Regina spent most of the first session explaining how therapy worked. Confidentiality. Boundaries. Expectations. Then she spoke about emotions how some people learned to bury them so deeply that they no longer recognized what they were feeling.
Emma listened more than she spoke.
She didn't trust Regina yet.
There was something unreadable about her. Beneath the tattoos and the calm voice, it felt like she was carrying stories Emma couldn't begin to guess.
She was blunt, almost intimidating. Every question was direct, every silence intentional.
Emma found herself a little terrified of her.
But maybe...
Maybe that was exactly what she needed.
—
After her therapy session, Emma headed home and went straight to Alex's room.
As soon as she opened the door, she was greeted by the familiar smell of weed. Alex was lying on the floor beside her bong, staring at the ceiling until she noticed Emma.
"Hey, kiddo. I'm back," Emma said with a warm smile.
"Hey, asshead. How was therapy?" Alex asked, propping herself up on her elbows.
Emma shrugged, setting her bag down. "Honestly, it was okay. A good start, I think. She seems like a great therapist."
"I see." Alex reached for her bong and started packing the bowl. "Want a rip?"
Emma laughed softly. "Just one. I'll good for the rest of the evening." She paused before adding, "What do you want for dinner?"
Alex's face brightened. "Ooh, we should make spaghetti."
Emma smiled. "Spaghetti it is."
Cooking their favorite meals together had become one of their traditions. Whenever either of them was craving something they loved, they'd make it together instead of ordering takeout.
They did a lot of things together like that. Emma tried her best to give Alex the kind of life she never had growing up a home filled with laughter, comfort, and little traditions that made the hard days feel a little easier.