I'm here

Seventeen

Three months since Kiana had faced the world, she was now okay. She wasn't going to say she was 'better' or felt 'amazing' as she didn't. She was simply making progress and that led her to being okay.

She was okay.

She had been back at work for a day now.

She was glad to be helping people again. She was glad to see people that felt as low as she did now better than ever and she was hopeful to get to that stage.

As her work day ended, Kiana said her goodbyes to her last patient, a father who worried about his son and their lack of relationship.

She had sent Sophie home before the session begun as she knew this would be a long one.

The man had left her office feeling better than when he had come in, taking Kiana's advice to try and be around his son more, take an interest in his life or start asking his son if he felt as though there was something he wanted to talk about but didn't feel like he could because of his and his father's strained relationship.

Kiana began to pack up her things, ready to lock up and make her way home. She breathed a sigh of relief that she made it though the day. She was now sixty five days sober.

She wasn't going to use weed or alcohol to assist her through meetings as that would make her spiral down the wrong path.

She didn't need that.

A knock sounded at her door. She grabbed the knife she had in her draw for defence. Kiana wasn't over reacting as she had talked to a lot of addicts who were in recovery but ever since that onetime one of them attacked her in her office due to a relapse, she had been traumatised and wary.

"Tesero... it's me" Kiana heard. She knew exactly who it was. It was Luca. He sounded weak, defeated. Not his usual self. She didn't like it.

She put the knife back in it's hiding place and unlocked the door for him. He looked terrible. Worse than the time he had first walked into her office. His eyes were bloodshot. His hair was dishevelled. He still tried to look good and dressed up to mask how he was really feeling but you could still tell he wasn't okay.

He wasn't high, she knew all the signs. He was broken. Kiana looked up at the man as his slouched stance and downcast eyes made her realise he wasn't okay.

Kiana guided him into her office. She sat him on one of the sofas and sat next to him. He immediately cuddled into her shoulder.

"Please... please Kiana can you help me. I-I...I really need your help" he chocked out.

He was a shell of the man that had walked into her office the first time. She felt bad, she had pushed him away but really he was deflecting, she should of seen it. He was saying all those inappropriate comments because he didn't want her to really start to pick him apart and find out what was truly wrong.

How could she be so stupid? He sniffled, indicating he had begun to cry. It hurt her seeing him like this. She missed the cocky, arrogant Luca.

She rubbed his back, in a soothing motion to calm him down.

"Luca listen to me, I'm here for you" She whispered

Luca and Kiana stayed in that position what felt like an eternity for him but in reality was an hour.

It was nothing like the first hour he had spent with her when he had first met her. He chuckled to himself at the thought. "What's so funny?" Kiana asked.

"J-Just the fact that we've been sat here for an hour, the same amount of time that I had with you when I first met you... how times change" he answered.

Kiana reflected back to that time, yes times had changed.

She smiled at the thought of how he mustered up some type of joke to lighten the mood, showing the signs of him being close to sharing what was wrong.

Kiana looked back down at the man now in her lap, when she noticed his light snores. He'd cried himself to sleep. She slowly got up from under him and begin to look for a blanket.

As Kiana had just about untangled herself from the man infront of her, he grabbed her wrist whispering "please don't leave me".

She had no intention of leaving him she was simply getting a blanket for him. When she heard him plead for her not to leave it broke her a little bit. She heard the loneliness in his voice and knew she couldn't leave him.

"Don't worry, I'm just going next door to grab a blanket" she smiled.

Luca hesitantly let go of Kiana's wrist. He watched her venture off into Jack's office. Kiana knew that he had blankets for when his fiancé came over to nap in her early stages of pregnancy. She grabbed the blanket and went back to her office. Luca was wide awake waiting for her to come back. He had stripped down to his boxers for something comfortable to sleep in.

Kiana looked away from his body as this was not the time to think about sex, they were both healing, and handed him the blanket. She began to make her way to the other sofa in an attempt to make it more comfortable for her to sleep for the night.

Without a word said Luca guided her back to his sofa, and began to undress her. He had no sexual intentions behind this act, he just wanted to sleep next to her. He left her just in her underwear.

Subconsciously, Kiana began to cover up her body. He picked up his shirt, which he'd previously discarded and put it on Kiana. He slowly buttoned it up. The shirt covered Kiana fully and she felt less exposed.

He laid back on the sofa and brought her next to him. When she finally got comfortable, he wrapped his arm around her and cuddled her.

Neither of them spoke, but in that moment they both knew they needed each other to be there for each other.

They both had their own problems but the other being there somewhat made it better.