Different But Same (Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz)

LXXI. You Are Capable

Two hours had passed. Lainey anxiously sat at the breakfast bar waiting for the arrival of Doctor Miller.

She tapped her nails against the cool surface of the countertop, her head filled with stupid reasons why he may not show up to be with her. Did he actually still love her?

Lainey LaRusso's mind truly was her own biggest enemy. She glanced at her phone on the counter beside her - her lock-screen was a photo she had taken of Eli on one of their dates. His loose, red hair framed his face perfectly. Back when times were simpler, back when she wasn't so fucked up.

She drew a shaky breath and realised he loved her still. She knew he did deep down. Of course he did.

Sam and Eli still weren't back from his place, which she found odd but she brushed it off. Or tried to. Her mind had a way of being so cruel with her as she sat by herself. She so badly wanted to do something with her time, but she couldn't bring herself to do so.

Then, a knock sounded at the front door. Doctor Miller arrived and Eli was still nowhere to be seen, and he'd told her he'd be there for her. She sighed as she and Doctor Miller walked into the front room to talk. Anthony had let her in.

"My boyfriend did say he'd join us," Lainey explained as she took a seat on the couch - Doctor Miller did the same on the opposite couch.

"Is he not here?" Doctor Miller asked.

"He was, but he went out."

"Okay."

Just as Doctor Miller was about to begin, Eli rushed in.

"I'm so sorry!" he stated as he sat beside Lainey. "Did I miss much?" he asked.

"We're just getting started, actually," Doctor Miller stated. "It's Eli, right?"

Eli nodded as he made himself comfortable.

"I've heard all about you," Doctor Miller explained.

"Oh?"

"So." Doctor Miller cleared her throat. "Why did you want to join Lainey today?" she asked.

"To be there for her. I've always said I'd attend a session with her, so now here I am."

"Do you think you've done a good job being there for her?"

"I've tried my best," he explained.

"That's all we can do."

"I know you always want to protect Lainey, Eli - is this correct?"

"That's all I ever want to do," he replied. "Everything I do is to keep her safe."

"How does this make you feel?" Doctor Miller asked Lainey.

"Sometimes it makes me feel helpless. I understand you like to protect me, I do the same for you. But I am my own person who can fight my own battles. Sometimes it feels like I'm being suffocated by so much protection that I almost don't know who I am."

"Try to remember what we said about being honest - sometimes it's good to open up to the ones we love," Doctor Miller added.

Lainey nodded. "I know - I am grateful for the support," she explained as she looked at Eli. "But sometimes it's just... I don't know. Maybe it just gets too much and I close myself off. I know I close myself off, and I'm sorry for that. But— I just like to be able to control my own situations."

"I know." Eli smiled. "I just hate to see you hurting."

"You too."

"Looks like you got into a fight?" Doctor Miller asked Eli as she examined his face.