Free Therapy by Kathryn Perez

we have yet another awkward moment. If I’m going to keep seeing him, I hope these moments stop being weird soon.
    He rocks back and forth on the balls of his feet, looking down, and then back up at me. “Um, thanks again. And about what happened in the pool? I promise it will never happen again, Jess. I really am sorry. Friends, okay?” he says with conviction and sincerity.
    Why do those words feel more like a sentence rather than a caring promise? I’m glad he wants to be my friend, but I’m not sure how to do that, or if that’s all I want.
    “Okay, Jace, but I have to tell you that I’ve never just been a guy’s friend before. I’m not sure how good of a friend I can be to you,” I say shyly.
    He grins slightly; then he puts his arm around me, resting it on my shoulders casually in a totally non-intimate way.
    “Jess, I’ve never had a girl as just a friend either. We can figure it out as we go. How does that sound?” he asks as we walk toward my car.
    His phone buzzes and he pulls it out of his pocket. As he focuses on the screen, his walking slows down to a stop. The light expression he wore moments ago grows worrisome.
    “What is it?” I ask. He looks up at me and the worry has morphed into fury. “What? Tell me.”
    He drops his head and turns his back to me, placing his hands on his hips. He looks up briefly, shaking his head back and forth, takes a deep breath, and turns back around to face me.
    “Something terrible has been put online about you. I can guarantee I know exactly who did it, and I promise you I’ll handle this today. Just don’t even look at these pictures, Jess. Stay offline until I get those bitches to take them down.”
    I know what pictures he’s talking about and I cringe with shame as heat creeps up from my chest to my neck to my face. This is so embarrassing. I just want to fold up inside of myself right now and disappear.
    “Okay? Do you hear me?” he insists.
    I just nod. My chin begins to quiver and he instantly comes over and puts his arms around me. “I’m sorry they’re still doing this shit to you. I promise I’ll take care of this today once and for all.”
    I hug him back and try to keep it together. He just holds me for a while, letting me feel what I need to without judgment. In his arms, I feel a sense of security that I’ve never felt in my life. If he wants to just be my friend, then that’s what I’ll give him. I doubt there’s anything that I’ll deny Jace Collins. Now or ever.

“What is a friend?
    A single soul dwelling in two bodies.”
    —Aristotle

    I’VE JUST GOTTEN home from school and Mom and Dad are fighting because of her drinking. I can’t take another minute of their bickering, so instead of walking through the shit storm that’s going on in the kitchen, I pull my window up and pop the screen off. I swing one leg then the other over and hop out. My feet hit the green grass and I turn, pulling the window back down. My rusty old swing set sits off to the side of the backyard; the swings sway lazily in the breeze. It’s hard to imagine that years ago my sober mother laughed and played with me there. When my grandma passed away she took it hard. Something inside of her broke, and she never quite recovered from the loss. Alcohol was her escape. Now it’s her prison.
    I walk over to the swings and sit on one. I push off the ground slightly and start to swing. Thoughts of Jace and all of the things that have happened over the past two months since we became friends make me smile. He kept his promise. The photos were taken down that night and never mentioned again, though the stares at school became increasingly worse . School’s still not a fun place for me because even though Elizabeth and Hailey stopped taunting me, I still get their death glares. People still look at me like I’m a walking disease, but for the most part no one says anything directly to me anymore. I still get a few notes taped to my locker from time to time, but I