Broken 💔

Chapter 15

Two days passed and as promised, Connie had scheduled a therapy appointment for Steven. But it wasn't with her mother

After an exhausting week, Amethyst wanted to provide some comfort as well in her own way. She and Steven were found playing video games in his room. Ever since he returned home from his vacation, Amethyst spent each night watching Lonely Blade movies with him. And sometimes he would invite Amethyst to watch Crying Breakfast Friends 

Of course Garnet was always ready to give a hug and put his worries to rest. She would even sometimes give him piggyback rides around the house. Although most of them were just Steven sitting on top of her hair

When Greg heard from this therapist, he gave Steven a ride over to Connie's house. When they walked inside, there was Connie and her mom standing in the entrance. Along with another woman. She seemed to be shorter than Mrs. Maheswaran but about the same age. She had slightly lighter skin than Connie, dark brown hair, and green eyes

"Hello Steven. I'm Dr Pavlov. I'm you're therapist. Your lovely friend Connie here called me and said you needed help." Steven became really anxious and wasn't sure what to do

Connie gave him a hug and whispered some encouragement. As well a peck on the cheek which made him blush. Greg decided to give him and the therapist some privacy

"Don't worry bud, I'll be in the kitchen if you need me." He gave Steven a pat on the head and disappeared into the other room

Pavlov pulled up a chair while Steven sat on the couch. For security, he sat closest to the door. He placed his hands in his lap and stared down at his feet

Dr Pavlov began the intake session. "So Steven, tell me about yourself. What's your homelife like?" She gracefully pulled out a pen and notebook from her bag. That made Steven a little uncomfortable and even more anxious. But he tried his best just to focus on the question

"Well, my dad raised me and then when I was 10 I started living with the gems. Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl have always been like mother figures to me. Except Amethyst. She's more like a sister."

"And what about your birth mother? Connie told me that she gave up her physical form to have you." Steven cringed at the mention of Pink

"Um, can we not talk about that please?" Pavlov abided and moved on to the next question. But she took note of his reaction

"What was your childhood like?"

"Fine I guess. Pretty normal aside from gem stuff......" He proceeded to explain how he's been through so many near death experiences and that the gems expected him to be like Pink Diamond

By the time they were done, Steven was shaking a bit from having to relive the past. They planned to meet again next week. But at her office instead

When Greg and Steven returned home, Steven was physically and emotionally exhausted. He had enough of today and just wanted to tune it all out. No more emotional baggage to deal with

He made his way to his bedroom and tried to rest. For a while he was tossing and turning. He struggled to get comfortable. But this time it wasn't because of his mental state. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his right side. Steven decided to get up and find Pearl. It really hurt to move around but he didn't have any other option 

"Pearl! I need help." He found her in the kitchen doing dishes. Her motherly instincts kicked in. She ran up to the boy

"What's wrong Steven?" Pearl got on her knees and placed her hands on Steven's shoulders

"My right side hurts really bad. I can't get comfortable in bed." She felt so bad for the poor kid

"I think we have some leftover pain medication from the hospital." She grabbed a pill bottle from the medicine cabinet. Once she got it open she took out a pill, poured a glass of water, and it all to Steven

Pearl guided him over to the couch. "It should start working in a few minutes." She sat down while Steven quietly stood in front of her. She gestured her arms out towards him. "Come here."

Steven smiled and walked into her arms. Pearl grabbed him and lifted him up into her lap. She began cradling him sorta like an infant. "Does this make the pain feel better?" The boy nodded as he snuggled closer into her body. He loved the warmth that Pearl provided. It made him feel safer and more at home. For these few moments, it felt like they were the only two people in the world

The gruesome pain eventually subsided. But with it came drowsiness. Steven softly smiled as he relaxed in his adoptive mother's arms. He gently squeezed her body. "I love you." He closed his eyes as he continued to hug Pearl

"I love you too." She pulled him in closer and carefully rocked back and forth. Steven rested his head on her shoulder and drifted peacefully to sleep

This reminded Pearl of when Steven was a baby and Greg let her bottle feed him sometimes. It was about a year after Rose disappeared. Pearl had only just started warming up to the child. One particular time, Steven looked up at her with wide eyes and smiled really big. It made her blush as her eyes filled with tears. By the time the tears streamed down her face, she returned a smile at the small child

"Don't worry Rose, I'll protect him."