Chapter 17

Gina

I sat frozen, watching the scene play out next to me: Athena confessing her loneliness and Mona now sobbing hysterically. What should I do? I was supposed to be the strong one, the one who knew what to do. Had I lost that part? Or maybe I’d never had it in the first place.

I couldn’t move; didn’t know how to all of a sudden. Who should I choose to comfort first, and who should be left behind? I couldn’t make up my mind, and so I was left motionless on the sofa. Suddenly, Mona rose, and my heart leapt. She would leave; she’d had enough. I should have made a decision, I should have stayed at home, not leaving for the gym every night. It was too late now. Maybe it always had been, and what we had was never meant to last. I wanted to cry out, tell her to think it over when she threw her arms around Athena.

I stared at her, holding on for dear life. She… didn’t leave. She decided to stay. I… I’d always thought she’d see through me in the end, see who I really was, and decide it wasn’t for her. Meeting her had been the happiest moment in my life, and nothing good ever lasted in my life. Her shoulders shook with sobs, and Athena hesitantly put her arms around her, realising she wasn’t alone after all.

I moved almost automatically as if my mind and heart had longed for this all along, and I’d never allowed it. I stood up, rounded the table and came back on the other side of the sofa. For a moment, I stared at them, clasping each other, then kneeled and took Athena’s hand. I leaned my cheek against Mona’s back, and there and then, I knew I wouldn’t lose them again.