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“That’s not our thing and that’s not a thing to be proud of,” I scold.
“Hey, I got my tooth fixed. That was responsible,” he argues. It’s true, he did get it fixed.
“That’s because it was starting to crack your whole tooth. You had no choice,” I say, “And your mother literally dragged you there.” He rolls his eyes. “And stayed until the whole thing was finished to make sure you didn’t try to leave.”
“Such a shame, since I know how much you loved my little chip.” He smiles and makes a dopey face.
I roll my eyes. “I felt bad for you. Poor guy. Grown man, falling off his skateboard and breaking his teeth.”
He laughs and then grabs my hands, moving towards the skateboard.
“Hayden, I can’t. I’m going to fall,” I whisper-yell.
“You think I would let you fall?” he asks me incredulously.
“That’s literally how all of this started.” I pull my hand out of his to motion between the two of us.
“But I tried to catch you that time. I didn’t let you get hurt. I would never let you get hurt,” he promises, the joking turns serious.
“I know, amor.” I sigh, placing my hand back in his, taking a deep breath. I step onto the skateboard, squeezing the life out of his hands as I start to wobble.
“You’re good, I got you,” he promises. I step on with my other foot and shriek as my legs start to give out. “I got you, baby.”
“How do you do this?” I cry. He laughs. But then he slowly starts moving me and I skate along the sidewalk, with him walking me slowly.
“You’re a pro already,” he says and I laugh.
“This is terrifying and I don’t know how you do this, let alone your little jumps and stuff.”
He mumbles what sounds like ‘jumps and stuff’ with a scoff. “I started when I was seven, so a lot of practice and bumps to the head.”
“Yeah that explains a lot.” I smirk and he playfully glares at me.
“Look out Tony Hawk,” he laughs and keeps moving me along the sidewalk, both of us laughing and savoring the happiness that continually pours onto us these days.
THIRTY-EIGHT
NOW, WINTER
I open the door to Naomi’s office and the room looks exactly as it always does. With the couch facing the armchair that holds Naomi as she waits for me. The plants scattered throughout and the large window overlooking the buildings around us. I had to cancel the last two sessions, so now I feel like I’m about to divulge three sessions worth of information and trauma.
I walk to the couch and drop my bag on the floor. “Good evening, Ana,” she says with a smile.
“Hey, Naomi,” I say, sinking into the couch as my hands immediately begin to pick at the threads.
“How are you today?” she asks.
As always, I think about the question for a moment because Naomi asking this is different from someone just saying ‘hey, how are you?’ but not actually wanting to know the answer. Someone that would run away in fear for their life if you actually told them how you truly were. “I’m…okay,” I say ironically.
She narrows her eyes a bit, “Okay?”
I take a deep breath. “Yes. And I don’t mean that as a placeholder word. It’s not a lie, today.” I almost wince, remembering some of the beginning days when I would only say that I was okay and refused to talk about anything.
“Can you expand upon that?” she asks with a small smile.
“I…I think I went on a date,” I say, watching her expression. Surprise floats across her face and she doesn’t even try to hide it.
“With David?” She asks.
