h4Chapter 369: Therapy II/h4

    Was this a joke of the universe?

    Were the Fates getting off at this y—throwing Ewan in her face at every slightest opportunity? Were they that eager to make her unravel, to make her finally drag her hair in frustration?

    And worse? He sat there, sipping from a mug—tea or whatever—as if she hadn’t stepped in, as if he hadn’t heard her voice, as if he hadn’t heard her name, as if she wasn’t even present.

    Was this what they hade to? She wondered, still watching him, shock yet coloring her features and stance. This wasn’t what she had in mind when she had told him to stop invading her space.

    Couldn’t they be friends? Couldn’t he at least look at her with a smile, with a greeting, like before? Was it really all or nothing?

    "Doctor Athena, are you okay? You can have your seat, please... Don’t worry about my friend, he will be leaving soon."

    A pause, where Damian kicked Ewan’s foot. "Right about now."

    And Athena couldn’t help but ponder if Damian had been in the gang too, if he had been the doctor of the gang. She wouldn’t be surprised; nothing surprised her anymore.

    Yet standing, she watched, heart on a bnce, as Ewan got to his feet, shed a Cheshire grin at his friend, then faced her and Susan—who, she was sure, was wondering what was going on between them.

    "Athena. Susan."

    He only smiled when he looked at Susan, Athena noted, nostrils ring in annoyance.

    "How are you doing?" he asked, directed at Susan too.

    She watched—surprised to say the least—when Susan developed a spring to her steps, covering the distance between her and Ewan, engaging in idle talk, teeth shing, while Damian looked on with mild surprise. He had already taken a seat.

    "Okay, see you then," Ewan finished, then walked past Athena, as if she was invisible.

    "Why are you two acting like that? Did you fight again?" Susan asked, taking her seat before Damian, who looked at Athena too, expectantly.

    "What about you, talking andughing with him? I didn’t know you two were that close." Athena didn’t recognize the irritation in her own voice.

    Susanughed. "You gotta be kidding me, Athena. That’s the way we roll. And it’s why I am surprised that you aren’t that way with him any longer. Did something happen? You two were tight a couple of days ago—what happened? I thought you epted being friends for the sake of the kids..."

    And yet the douchebag thought he could mess with her feelings...

    Angrily, without a word to Susan or to her new therapist, she stomped out of the apartment, momentarily stunned when she opened the door and saw Ewan kicking the tires of his car like they were fighting.

    Her own anger disced somewhat. So, she wasn’t the only frustrated person. Good.

    She maintained silence, watching him cuss, watching him ruffle his hair—which begged for her touch—watching him kick the tires and hit the trunk of his car.

    Oh yes, she loved it that he was mad, that she wasn’t the only crazy person.

    "Are you okay?" she inquired, with a patronizing smile, all while realizing that she had missed the presence of his car in thepound because she had been too caught up in her own thoughts.

    As she covered the space between them, she also realized that her car wasn’t in thepound. Where had Rodney gone? Another break?

    That train of thought was cut off when Ewan turned fully to her, his eyes—which had been full of emotions earlier—going nk. But Athena wouldn’t be fooled.

    "What are you doing here?" he asked aloofly when she stopped before him, arms folded across her chest.

    "I came out to ask you questions before you left, then I saw you fighting your tires..."

    "And...?"

    Athena frowned, sucked her lower lip—deriving sick pleasure when Ewan’s eyes immediately stuck on her lips.

    "Why are you avoiding me?" she found herself asking, rxing a little after that.

    "You told me to leave your space. I’m just doing that. Is it a crime now, to listen to someone you care about?"

    Athena shook her head. "Of course not."

    A pause, where she licked her lower lip—unconsciously, to her credit.

    "I just..." Another pause. Another lip bite. "When I told you to get out of my space, I meant it in the romantic aspect. I didn’t want my feelings for Antonio to be confused or something. But you have been a good ally for some days during this Morgan crisis, and you will still be in the uing days—we still have to find out who is behind it... I just..."

    A weighty pause. "I guess I just want us to maintain that same camaraderie. To be friends, for the kids’ sake at least. I don’t want the kids asking me if there’s an issue between us again."

    "They asked?" Ewan couldn’t help the twinge of curiosity.

    "Yes. This morning. They weren’t happy you didn’t stay for breakfast."

    Ewan sighed wearily. "I thought you wouldn’t be happy with that. I figured I was already on a thin thread by sleeping over, by sleeping on the same bed with them... didn’t want to cross some boundary."

    Athena chuckled then, herughter sending tendrils of warmth down Ewan’s spine. "You can stay over, Ewan. You are not crossing any boundary."

    Athena’s smile widened as a smile perched on his lips.

    "Thank you. And about your request..."

    A pause, where he stepped closer to her, causing her smile to fidget and her heart to beat out of rhythm.

    "I don’t think we can be friends, Athena," he said in a husky voice. "I don’t trust myself to respect that boundary. Just youughing alone..."

    Athena raised her hand, breath bing uneven as she stepped away. "Stop. Stop talking like that." She looked everywhere but at him.

    "That’s what I’m talking about. You feel it too, don’t you?"

    Athena didn’t bother with a response.

    "And that’s why we can’t be friends, Athena. I don’t want to confuse your feelings with Antonio."