Page 31 of Revere: A Legacy Novel

“And that’s fine,” Cara said. “Plus, we can catch up a bit. I’m surprised you made a trip all the way over to Ontario, though, when you know you could have waited for me to come over.”

Catherine shrugged. “Maybe I panicked a bit, too.”

“Maybe?”

“I did.”

Cara nodded. “Why would you panic? Are your anxieties resurfacing? Have you found your depression becoming frequent again?”

“Not at all,” Catherine said.

That was true.

She learned a lot from three years of therapy with Cara. Mostly, that she was allowed to be who she was, and that person was just fine. She was normal. She was sane. She was stronger than she gave herself credit for.

Catherine could be sad, or angry. She could feel nervous, and have anxiety. It didn’t automatically mean she was going to slip into another spiraling depression with crippling anxiety. And even if one of those spells came about, she had the tools to deal with them now.

“Then what is it?” Cara asked softly. “What caused you to make a trip across the border to sit with me today, Catherine?”

Catherine wet her lips.

Now or never.

Cara would be the first person she admitted to that Cross Donati had sort of, kind of showed back up in her life when she least expected him to. Sure, her parents knew about the run in, but that was it. They didn’t know how Catherine wavered for two weeks about an offer of a date from Cross, or how badly she had wanted to say yes, before she finally texted to refuse. They didn’t know that she refused because she was terrified what might happen if she said yes. They certainly didn’t know that Catherine then proceeded to spend another two weeks, after she already refused his date, convincing herself not to pick up her phone and just say yes.

So here she was, with Cara.

She needed to talk.

Someone needed to listen.

“Well?” Cara pressed. “What is it, Catherine?”

“Him.”

Cara straightened on the chaise, but her expression gave nothing away. Catherine really didn’t need to explain further, or give Cara a proper name to attach to the mysterious him. A great portion of her therapy with Cara had involved discussions about Cross, and Catherine’s relationship with him.

Mostly, that she had allowed it to be unhealthy by her actions and choices. She, like with many other things in her life, had been attempting to sabotage the one thing she loved above all else because that’s what she did. She pushed and pushed and pushed until something snapped.

Why would Cross be any different?

“Well,” Cara murmured softly.

Catherine swallowed the thickness forming in her throat. “Yeah.”

“Give me a run down on what’s happened.”

“Not a lot.”

“Still,” Cara said with a wave of her hand.

Catherine went over the rundown of what had happened. From that first run in at the restaurant, to the call that followed a month ago, and finally, her last text message two weeks ago that refused Cross’s offer. Cara stayed quiet until Catherine was finished.

“And this is the first time in how many years that you two have had contact?” Cara asked.

“Almost seven years.”

“You were … okay with it, though.”