Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 112892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
“Twice now I’ve done things just kind of to chase away the bad thoughts.”
“You mean like all the reality TV you and Aaron were watching?”
She frowned. “I guess that makes three times.”
Crap, I hadn’t wanted to add to her list. But I had to admit I was curious about what the other two out-of-character things she’d done were.
“What do I do?”
I bit back a sign. Neither she nor Cody had given me much information to go on. But for her sake, I’d try. “You’re dealing with a lot, Mia. You wouldn’t be living in this house if you didn’t have a difficult past. We all did. And now this, after you waited and planned to be here with Sara. It’s not fair for either of you that it didn’t work out. But Sara... she’s getting help.”
“She’s in rehab,” she said.
“I know, but in addition to helping her detoxify, there are also counselors and therapists there. Hopefully they’re helping her deal with everything she needs to. I know it’s not a quick process, but there are people there for her. For you, well, you’ve got people too, just in a slightly different way.”
I wasn’t sure if this was helping, but I continued on. “You’ve got me, you’ve got your friends here—Cody and Aaron and Jenna. But we’ve also got a university counseling center. It’s part of your student health insurance. And I think you should consider going there.”
“For therapy?”
“For whatever you need. A lot of students go there. I did, earlier in the semester after… after I got some bad news. I tried two different therapists before I found a guy I liked. And now I go every other week.”
For the first time, she looked directly at me. Not judging. More like thinking things through.
I sighed. “It’s not a sign of weakness to need help. You’ve figured out that you’re not acting like yourself. That’s the first step. And you want to do something about it—that’s the second step. The third, in my opinion, is talking it through with someone at the counseling center.”
“Maybe.” She didn’t sound that convinced, but maybe she needed some time to think on it.
“I could walk you over there tomorrow, if you’d like.”
She stood up. “I’ll think about it. If I decide to do it, I can go on my own.”
I stood up also. “All right, but you don’t have to do everything on your own. I know Sara’s not here, but we are. And we care about you.”
Hopefully she believed that.
Mia moved to the door, put her hand on the knob, and then hesitated.
“Can I talk to you again after I think about it?”
“Sure.”
“Maybe this time tomorrow?”
“Sure—oh, wait. I have a thing I have to go to.”
“Of course.” She nodded, her cheeks turning pink. “It’s Friday evening. I should’ve realized you’d have plans.”
“No, it’s not like…” I put my hand on her arm to stop her from bolting. Then I sighed, changing my plans for the third time in the past half hour. “Do you like babysitting?”
20
MIA
“Two more minutes,” Diego said, and I wasn’t sure if he was talking to me or little Liam. We were on the floor in the living room, playing with blocks. I’d stack three on top of each other, Liam would knock them down.
“Bath time after that,” Diego called. That time, I was pretty damn sure he was talking to Liam.
Currently, I had the better end of the deal in this babysitting gig. Liam was a sweet little guy with wispy blond hair, and every time he giggled, it made me laugh. Poor Diego was watching us from the kitchen where he was washing toddler-sized bowls and cups. Who knew one small boy could create that many dirty dishes?
When he finished, he wiped his hands on a kitchen towel and tossed it on the table as he came over. "Okay, little man." Diego crouched down next to Liam who turned his head away, as if as long as he couldn’t see Diego, he was safe from bath time.
“Five more minutes?” I asked, saying what Liam clearly wanted to ask.
Diego smiled at the little boy. “You can play until I get the bath ready.”
“Do you know how to do that?”
“No.” Diego got to his feet. “But the internet does.”
When he left, I took Liam’s chubby little hands in mine. “Your Uncle Diego is going to be a good dad someday.”
We played for a few more minutes before I hugged the little boy to me and got to my feet. “Let’s go make sure Uncle Diego didn’t flood the bathroom.”
When we entered the bathroom, Liam took one look at Diego and made a happy, gurgling sound. Then he took one look at the bath Diego had drawn and screamed.
Suddenly, getting Liam anywhere near the tub was about as easy as shoving a cat in a cat carrier. How did a kid that small get so strong?