The Starling Saviour

Chapter 9

'Here you go,' Isaac pushed a mug towards me.

'Thank you,' I sniffled. 'Herbal tea?'

'It's something to help you get through today,' Isaac smiled, taking my hand. 'You're a good person, Aria. You deserve people to care about you.'

'Are you sure about that?' I asked Isaac subjectively. 'Ever since I left home, I've not been cared about. Well, apart from you and Elliot. And when someone does 'care' about me, they do something like what... he did.'

'Other people care about you,' Isaac pointed out, sitting opposite me. 'Helena. Moira. Laurel. Even the whole of the SCPD!'

'Laurel doesn't care about me,' I denied. 'She just cares about being with Tommy. She made it out to be all my fault. I just got here, for goodness sake!'

'You couldn't have known what was going to happen,' Isaac said warmly. 'You couldn't know what happened between Laurel and Tommy last year either. You weren't here!'

'That's the problem,' I dwelled on my past. 'I couldn't keep my relationship with Tommy together if I wasn't even there! It was bound to happen. He was obviously going to move on. He gave up on me.'

'Many people didn't,' Isaac said optimistically. 'The police officers carried on the search. And, for all her faults, Laurel also helped her dad try to find you.'

'Well, she's not helping me now,' I added angrily.

'You need to make up with her,' Isaac said seriously, looking into my eyes. 'She's just confused. You need to show her the truth.'

'Okay,' I said with a slight shrug.

'I probably should get going,' Isaac announced, taking his jacket from the coat stand near the door. 'I don't want to be late for my first day being Assistant Head of the Computing and Statistics Department.'

'Have fun,' I laughed at Isaac, before taking a sip from my tea.

I still had a day until I started work at the SCPD. Monday was just around the corner, but for now I had to relax like Lance had said. Unfortunately for me, the struggles of very recent happenings had made it virtually impossible to relax.

I couldn't speak to Laurel. Not that day, anyway. I needed things to settle down before I tried to fix everything.

My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.

'Hi.'

It was Laurel.

Immediately closing the door on her, she stopped it from locking and came inside.

'Why are you here?' I asked frustratedly, wanting her to just go away.

'I'm here to say sorry,' Laurel started genuinely. 'I shouldn't have shouted at you like that. It wasn't your fault, what Tommy did.'

Keeping quiet, I turned my head away, still angry at her.

'I want us to be friends, Aria,' Laurel carried on. 'You've been through so much, and I want to help you to settle into the city.'

'Well you shouldn't have said that you wouldn't care if I was dead!' I exploded, my rage getting the better of me. 'You may have used Tommy as an excuse for it, but I know what you really meant!'

'I really didn't mean it, Aria,' Laurel apologised again, wide-eyed. 'I have to go to the law school now, but if you still want to be my friend, I'll be at my apartment at 6.'

'Okay,' I dismissed her coldly, still looking away from her.

I knew I was being petty, but I couldn't forgive her. She knew that when I was found I would want to be with Tommy, so how could she expect me to forgive her for assuming I would be dead?