Page 47 of Risking it All

“Do you want me to talk to him?”

“No. It’s complicated and he hurt me. Now, why don’t we go back into group before Zuri has a complete meltdown? It’s not like we’ve been the easiest group today.”

Melanie giggled and when we returned to Zuri’s office, Zuri’s superior sat in a chair next to her. Ah, so Zuri called in the big guns. It made me feel bad. Zuri, with all the crap we gave her, did try, and she did seem to care. I wondered if our brief mutiny would be a mark against her.

“Hello.” The woman gave us a kind smile. She had blond hair, appeared to be in her late fifties, maybe early sixties, and stared at me as if she could see into my soul. “As I was explaining to the rest of the group, my name is Mrs. Collins, and I’m going to sit in for the rest of the session today. How does everyone feel about that?”

That was one of those we-don’t-have-a choice questions, so we all mumbled some sort of, “That’s fine.”

“Zuri filled me in how things became intense a few minutes ago, and I believe it would be good for us to talk about how we’re feeling.”

Silence from all of us.

“Zuri tells me you all are now working together at the amusement park. Did something happen at work?”

“Relic needs to apologize to Macie.” Melanie glared at Relic. He slowly raised one eyebrow, not like he was mad, but more like he was proud of Melanie. I had a feeling not many people confronted him.

“Okay,” Mrs. Collins said deliberately. “Without giving details of the issues, Macie, do you feel like Relic needs to apologize?”

Anger flared within me, and I crossed my arms. Relic should have been apologizing on his knees since that night at Game Place. “Relic can do whatever Relic wants to do.”

Relic stared at me from across the circle, his legs lazily stretched out and he mirrored me with his arms crossed. I did anything but look at him because he lost that privilege.

“Relic, without going into what transpired between you and Macie, do you feel like you owe Macie an apology?” Mrs. Collins prodded.

His shoulders fell, his posture no longer so razor edged. Relic leaned forward, rubbing his hands together. “I do.”

“Then why don’t you?” Mrs. Collins asked.

Relic glanced at me, and for the first time, I didn’t tear my gaze away. I still hurt, but I wanted to know where this was heading. “She won’t believe me.”

“Why not?” Mrs. Collins pressed.

He looked at Mrs. Collins this time and some of the edge returned. “Because who would believeme?”

Me.How he said it. It wasn’t just a word, but a weight. A two-million-pound weight that was chained around him and he was being forced to walk the plank into the sea. I swallowed hard. His life being different from mine… Is that why he didn’t think he could talk to me?

“I may not have exactly given Relic an opportunity to explain,” I said, offering the truth.

“Would you like to give Relic an opportunity?” Mrs. Collins asked.

Everyone stared at me: Lev with his hands clasped together and Melanie sitting on both of her hands as if restraining herself from jumping into the conversation. Even Zuri leaned forward as if she were waiting on bated breath for the answer.

“Sure,” I said, but then added, “but I don’t want to do this in front of everyone. It’s private.”

Lev clapped, Melanie bounced in her seat, and even Demarius smiled.

“Okay,” Mrs. Collins said. “How about the three of you follow Zuri to the cafeteria? I brought ice cream so we could have sundaes because I had heard you all had been doing so well.”

“Ice cream!” Lev happily announced, and he skipped out of the room. Melanie, Demarius, and Zuri followed.

Once they were gone, Mrs. Collins glanced between me and Relic. “Would the two of you like me or Zuri to stay to help you work through this issue?”

“No,” Relic and I answered simultaneously.

“I’m going to give you some privacy to discuss, and I’ll be in the hallway if you need anything. But I am going to put this out there for you both to contemplate. Everyone in this room looks up to the two of you. They feed off your energy. If you talk, they talk. If you stay silent, they stay silent. The two of you have a great opportunity to help some very wonderful people by being open to this process. Who knows, maybe it can help the two of you, as well.”

Mrs. Collins left, and Relic and I stared at one another. He looked toward the door, and when he didn’t see anyone, he said, “I’m sorry, Macie.”

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