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MAYA WAS ACROSS from me, sitting in the same position as the last time I'd seen her. Today, she wore her hair down, in some loose waves, though I noticed some of her rings missing. As always, she had a soft smile on her face that made me immediately feel warm.
''How are you today, Freya?'' She asked as she clicked her pen and opened the notebook, all while maintaining eye contact with me.
I returned the smile, ''I'm alright. A little bit tired, but it was a busy day at work.''
She nodded her head, ''Tell me about it.''
I winced, ''Well, my boss just scored an amazing business deal and he managed to buy off one of the publishing houses he was after, which itself is amazing... But, the paperwork? It was exhausting, to say the least.''
Maya chuckled, ''Yes, I can imagine.''
And I left out the part where my father was the one who ended with the shorter end of the stick. I haven't seen him around the office, nor did he call me, but from what mom told me, he was pissed beyond words that someone so much younger than him managed to beat him at his own game. He was acting like a child.
''Are you still having nightmares?'' Maya asked.
I stilled for a moment. With a deep breath, I shrugged my shoulders, ''Not too often. Sometimes they get very vivid and dark, other times it's just the vibe that is giving me the creeps and I wake up.'' Maya's silence encouraged me to continue, ''And the odd part is... I asked a friend of mine to track him down in prison, just to make sure that my paranoia is just that... paranoia.''
''And?''
I released a shaky breath, ''A fight broke out two weeks ago and it was bad. Some of the inmates ganged up on him and they brought knives to a fist fight, he's been in the hospital ever since, and now I'm worried that he'll try to escape.''
''I don't think it's that easy. But I understand your worries.''
''I even thought about switching apartments, or moving back in with my parents. I get terrified sometimes that he'll come back to finish what he started and if he ever decides to do that, there is no one who would be able to save me. Milo is unstable, unpredictable and very dangerous. I know it's taking a toll on my mental health even thinking about this, but I can't shut him out. Wherever I go, I am on the edge, afraid that he'll jump out of nowhere.''
Maya blinked, scribbled down in her notebook, her hand moving quickly over the paper, ''Have you told anyone about this?''
I shook my head, ''No. Who could I tell? My parents would get worried, and my friends would either think I'm being way too paranoid or they would simply never let me out of their sight again, and I don't know which one is worse.''
Maya licked her bottom lip, ''Listen, Freya. You went through something traumatic, and you barely made it out alive. It's okay to let people worry about you and be cautious of your surroundings. Sometimes, they could notice the things that you'd miss.''
