18
GWEN
A COUPLE WEEKS LATER
Sitting in the group room at the rec center, I had to fight the urge to kick my feet like a little girl.
Sebastian;Those jeans you were wearing at the café today. You should wear them more often.
Gwen; Oh, is that right?
His response was instant. As it tended to be in the evening after he’d finished working. Sebastian;Mhmm. Wear them again this weekend?
Cheeks hot, tingles spreading through my lower stomach, I texted back.
Gwen;Only if you wear those gray sweatpants.
And at my side on the floral sofa in the meeting room of the rec center, Simone said, “Bow-chick-a-wow-wow.”
“Shut up.” I shut my phone and slid it into my hoodie pocket.
“Wait, what’s going on?” Delilah dropped onto the sofa on my other side, a plate of cookies from the table by the door in hand. “What did I miss?”
“Sebastian flirting with Gwen.” Simone reached over me and snatched a cookie. “And Gwen blushing like a little girl.”
I shot her a look. “Can you just not?”
“‘Can you just not?’” Simone mocked.
“Aw, what did he say?” Delilah asked, glancing around for my phone.
It dinged again. I fumbled around in my pocket, clicking the switch for silence. “Ya know, I don’t think that my private text messages are something that I have to share at group therapy.” I grabbed a cookie off Delilah’s plate. “But maybe I would if Simone didn’t have to make fun of me every chance she got.”
“I’m not making fun of you.” Simone waved me off. “It just makes me happy to see you happy.”
Was I happy? With Sebastian, I had no complaints. What I was happiest for was that David was dead, and no one had figured it out yet.
Simone’s face was looking much better. Aside from the ten pounds of makeup she was wearing to hide the bruising, all the swelling had receded.
So far, it looked like mine and Simone’s plan had worked. A week or so after David’s attack, she’d returned to her apartment. Of course there were questions, but everyone believed her story.
“How’s that going, Gwen?” Rhiannon asked, voice carrying from somewhere in the room.
There were a couple dozen of us in here, some sitting, some still standing, waiting for the clock to hit 6:30 and our session to start. She appeared through the crowd, settling into a sofa across from me.
“Seeing someone for the first time after you left, I mean.” Rhiannon took a sip from the steaming tea in her hand. “We haven’t talked much about it.”
“It’s going.” I forced a smile. “How does Sebastian think it’s going?”
“Alright, alright. I won’t pry.” Chuckling, she wagged a finger at me. “But thatwasa topic I thought we could address tonight.” She gestured around the room and raised her voice over the roaring crowd. “Come on, everybody. Let’s have a seat.”
“What was a topic you thought we could address tonight?” I asked her.
“Dating after what we’ve all been through.” She took another gulp. “But don’t worry. I won’t single you out.”
A shudder coursed through me. Because even if she didn’t directly address me and Sebastian, she would find some way to make this a lecture about me and Sebastian.
The room quieted as everyone found a couch or beanbag. Once everyone was seated, Rhiannon glanced around the room. “How many of us have tried dating after we left?”
