Worth Fighting For
Therapy wasn’t something Echo enjoyed, in fact she hated it with a vengeance. The idea of telling another stranger her life story wasn’t her ideal way to spend her Wednesday afternoon. Yet she knew, just like before, it was necessary if she wanted to move on with her life, if she wanted to move forward. Echo wasn’t stupid, she knew with her elder half sister back in the picture, things would go back to how it was before. Samantha’s greed and hatred would be a major player in the games she would rope her friends in to playing with her. Together they would try and destroy everything Samantha wasn’t the center of attention for. People would get hurt, just like everyone other time Samantha had appeared and brought her toxic ways with her.
Despite how much the midnight haired woman tried, she couldn’t forget her first time in therapy. Her father Lucas had put all them into it, so they could understand and handle the grief of losing their mother at such young ages. Echo went through it again five years later, when she was eleven, after the first cruel attack by Samantha. Her third time was after the car accident, after the physio and healing from the injuries. Things were looking up after Samantha finally got a little taste of consequences for her actions. But now she was back, Echo had felt as if everything was falling apart again. The happy moments didn’t feel like it, instead they felt like a ticking time bomb for Samantha’s inevitable demands and never ending tantrums.
“You okay” whispered Jesus, from the seat to her right, concern shone brightly in his ocean blue eyes. Almost as if he could feel her fear and anxiety, as if he could feel her dread of what was to come and her impending trip down memory lane. “You can still walk away” calmly spoke Jesus, recalling his own time in therapy. By the end of it, he felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. A weight he didn’t even realize he was carrying. At the same time the brunette knew things were different for his fiancee, she knew what was weighing her down and preventing her from enjoying life. She knew why they were back and what had to be done to stop it. He knew she felt powerless to stop what was so clearly coming.
“No I can’t” replied Echo, looking into his ocean blue eyes, sadness in her own. “Walking away is equal to giving up. I may hate talking about my feelings to strangers, but its gonna help. I already feel powerless against Samantha, I already feel as if there’s nothing I can do to prevent the oncoming storm. Doing this will help control all the memories, all the hate and toxicity. It will help me to stand against her without fearing what else she will take away or destroy” elaborated the midnight haired woman, a sad smile appearing on her lips for mere seconds before disappearing, as if it was never there. She could recall all the doctors appointments growing up, all the therapy. It was a wonder she or her siblings had turned out relatively normally, especially with all the things they had gone through, all the things Samantha had done, losing their mother, even Lucas’s recent diagnosis.
“Echo, you’ve never been afraid to stand up to Samantha, to tell her to get lost when she tried to play her games and ruin something else. You’ve never been afraid to tell anyone what’s on your mind. You’re the strongest person I know. Even when you don’t always see it. Just remember I’ll be at your side through thick and thin” voiced Jesus, being sure to keep his language clean and his voice just above a whisper. He knew she was fearless in the face of a lot of things, although she did fear something at the moment. Losing her beloved dad, the person she had looked up to and taught her to be strong, the man who helped to shape who she was today.
As if the time had suddenly flew by, a woman dressed in a casual black dress and white patterned cardigan appeared from a previous locked door. Calling Echo’s name and motioning for her to follow. Jesus simply wished her luck, he sighed before looking around for his own therapist to appear. Knowing there was a lot he too had to talk about. Although he wouldn’t admit it, Samantha’s reappearance and brought back feelings and memories he’d rather forget. Things he had discovered he was having trouble fighting alone. While the brunette waited, he opened a note on his phone, titling it “Things worth fighting for”, before he began to list them.
“There’s always something worth fighting for. Something that keeps us going” whispered Jesus to himself, allowing his phone’s screen saver to come on. Granting his request to see those whom meant something to him. Those he considers his chosen family, Shay, Evie, Orion, Diego, Ronnie, Alden, Kai, Tessa, Aaron, the Salvatore Brothers and Echo. In every photo of Echo to appear, she was either laughing or smiling. She was perfect, just like Caroline had reminded him of. “I know there are tough times ahead, but together we can get through anything. Because we have something Samantha and her group of tormentors will never understand. Friendship, love and a bound that’s close to unbreakable. We’ve gotten through so much together, this shouldn’t be any different. United we will always stand” spoke the brunette to the pictures apart of his screen saver.
At the same time he began to think what the future of happiness would truly be. What it would include. He hoped Lucas would be there, surrounded by his grandchildren as he had once stated Isabelle had wanted too. He hoped Ronnie would finally see what’s been in front of her the entire time, who’s been fighting for her for so long. Kai and Tessa’s little family growing, Shay and Alden with their own family. Caroline and Enzo finally tying the knot, Aaron finding that special someone, Boone willing to give love a chance again. Daryl and Evie with the life they’d spoken about since getting married. Hopefully Samantha and her loyal followers would be nowhere to be seen, a distant memory of harder times.
“Paul” called another therapist, a sternest about him. Like the last one, he was dressed smartly but also causally. Jesus stood and walked towards him, following behind as they entered the maze of corridors and halls, all with bland white walls. If Jesus was honest, he didn’t want to do therapy either, but knew like Echo did. If they were going to move on and find the strength to keep moving forward, then it was a necessary step. Even more so if that meant both he and Echo could leave Samantha and her never ending toxic drama in the past, where it truly belonged.
