no savior.

no surprises

KJ's POV

"Hi, Charlie," the girl peeks behind me, and Charlie stands upon her presence and I look between them. Something a kin to a smile crosses her face. Noted. "Charlie, you're free to go," she stands and I motion towards the now open seat, "Wanna have a seat?"

"It's Ella," she corrects me as she takes a seat, "You know, with the 'll' . Like the Spanish word for 'she'."

"Gotcha," I nod, taking a seat of my own, "How are you doing today?"

"I live unwanted in a group home," she laughs dryly, "You know exactly how I'm doing."

Fiesty... "Well," I produce her file, "I didn't exactly want to go off circumstances, or at least not the one's listed in your file. Charges for arson, breaking and entering, battery and assault, theft... This could be the counselor in me talking, but I wanna believe there's more to you than circumstances."

"What if there's not?" she crosses her arms, challenging me, "You don't know me."

"I'd like to get to know you," I shrug, "Beyond your criminal record that is."

We stare at each other, me awaiting a response and her not providing one. I shrug, "Or we can just stare at each other and make this hour the most painful hour ever."

Still no response. "Okay cool." I slide back over to my desk and begin working on something else.

"That's it?" she seems surprised.

"I'm not gonna fight with you kid. I'm grown and get paid whether you talk or don't," I pull my laptop from my bag, and begin looking into getting some bean bags into the office. One thousand dollars for a bean bag chair? You tried it.

"What if I told you that I want to die?" she asks. I turn to her, "I'd warn you that I'm a mandated reporter, so anything you say that I deem is a threat to you or others, I have to notify Ms. Lea, and then you'd probably make up some convoluted hypothetical where it's you but it's not you and and I know it's not you but can't do anything because it isn't you technically."

"What if I told you I'm in love?" she asks again.

"I'd ask 'who?' and 'why?'" I reply, "But I should warn you--- I'm an adult who thinks I know everything so all your answers would be met with immediate skepticism."

"What if I told you I watched a man die?"

"I'd be intrigued," I give her a once over, "but not surprised."

"Why are you doing this?" she asks, and I momentarily divert my attention back to her.

"Well I figured that if I got some better sitting options in here I could make it seem more comforting and less 'kill me now,' ya feel?"

"No I mean why are you a counselor?"

"Because between you in me," I lean in, "The right counselor is the only reason why I'm on the other side of this desk and not dead in a casket." I sit back, "That's why I'm here. Because I want to be the right counselor for you kids as well."

She nods, "Can I go?"

I glance at the clock, "Go for it."

She sits in my office a couple minutes longer, then stands and exits.

Layne's POV

Dear Momma,

You don't like when I bring my gay problems to you, which is why I write to you I think, because I want you to love me without the asterisk. I want you to love me, and not have it be because I'm not gay or that I pretend not to be around you and the family.