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Elena Rivers had never meant to stay.
The job at Willow Creek Counseling Center was supposed to be temporary -- a six-month position, just long enough to feel like she was doing something useful again.
After all, she had spent nearly a decade as a grief therapist, guiding people through darkness until her own shadows became too heavy to carry. She thought a change would be healing.
She never expected to fall in love with a room full of teenage girls whose lives were far messier than her own.
The yellow couch in her office had seen everything. Anger, denial, exhaustion, tears, and sometimes, even joy. Girls came in scared, and left slightly braver, if not entirely healed. Elena sat beside them through every step. Offering tissues, silence, and truths they didn't want but needed to hear.
Then came Aubrey.
Sixteen. Fierce. Guarded. Pregnant.
She walked in like she didn't need anyone and sat on the floor instead of the couch.
"I'm not stupid," Aubrey said. "I know I messed up."
Elena didn't respond. She just waited.
*****
Over the months, Aubrey came to every appointment. She stopped flinching when Elena asked about her parents. She even brought her ultrasound picture in one day -- creased and fingerprinted. She'd named the baby Lilly, and despite her bravado, she'd started to hope.
Until the second ultrasound.
Until the doctor said: "We need to run some more tests."
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