Eira’s POV
Isla and I sat on the patio of the side home. As the weather was nice and everyone was out, we decided to sit there, alone and away from others.
"So how are you doing these days?" Isla asked, "Any of these five still bully you? If they do, you can let me know. As your doctor I have a right to give them an earful. You don’t have to be afraid."
I wasn’t afraid, and had never been. The ones who fear dying and have anything to lose, only those are afraid of something.
"They are good with me," I explained.
She hummed. "Seems like you are closer to Raven now."
"I am trying, but I am not that close to him yet," I said honestly. "He is more likely to respect everyone’s feelings."
"That’s true. But I do feel some change in him," she said, "The way he looks at you when you praise him, it seems meaningful to him."
I wasn’t sure if she was just trying to make me feel better, but I loved hearing it. "Do you feel so?"
She nodded. "His expressions said that. Reading kids is not that difficult. They are innocent and are like an open book."
I decided to trust her words as she had been the straightforward person with me. "Since that day I argued with Kael about Raven, I did try to change myself."
She smiled. "Oh. So you two have already started arguing over your child, not bad."
I wondered why she said it wasn’t bad.
She said, "It shows how important he is for you two and everyone."
"He is."
Isla looked towards them. They were busy with Raven on the other side of the garden. "Among the five who do you feel more connected with?"
"Rafe?" I said but then, my gaze followed someone on its own. "Roman. I feel connected with him as well." Even at a distance, I stared at him for a moment longer.
"Roman had always been a good person. Caring and giving," she said, "And Rafe had always been a difficult one, but his level of understanding people is amazing. If he sits in front of me now, he has the ability to turn this session about me, instead of you."
I hummed in response.
Isla wasn’t wrong. He had some knack to turn the conversation in his favour and leave others speechless to even fight back.
As I talked with her, I felt like I have started to understand them now.
"What else? You have mated with Kael, what do you feel about it?" she asked suddenly.
"I am not sure. In fact I don’t want to think about anything."
She might not like my answer, but she didn’t know the thorn stuck in my heart which was difficult to pluck out.
"Then, let’s leave him, and talk about only yourself," Isla said, "How do you look forward to your life ahead? As you mate with them, do you look forward to having a child with them?"
This made me freeze. I had nothing of that sort in my mind. I had Raven and then my own son to find and to take care of.
"You don’t want to?" she asked as I was silent.
I shook my head. "I am just focusing on my existing kids. I asked Kael to search for Ray."
"You did?" Isla asked, clearly pleased with it.
I hummed. "And he promised he would. I assured him that Raven will always remain our first child and Ray second."
"You are truly thoughtful," she said, "You will make a good mother."
I looked at her with conflicted emotions as I wasn’t confident in myself. Most of the time I felt confused and careful around Raven to not do anything to upset him.
"Do you think so?" I asked again.
"Trust in yourself, you will get the answer," she said. "And then you can trust in me, if you wish to."
I hummed. I somewhat trusted this woman now. If not for her, I wouldn’t start to expect to have my son with me.
We talked for a while more about some random things outside which made me realize how away I was from what’s happening around. Before, my world was limited to those dark damn rusty rooms, and now it is limited to this vast estate.
At least here I get to see the sunlight, greenery, and even get to breathe fresh air. Before, every day was filled with darkness and rusty mushy air.
When my son is back, he won’t have to grow up in darkness now.
As we finished the session, Isla said, "If you like something, or someone, you can try to be open about it. You are still so young, and you have a right to feel what you had been kept devoid of."
It made me wonder if this mind reader doctor had seen through me when I was talking about Roman.
Seeing me puzzled, she smiled, "As I said before, Roman is a good person. And so are others. You just have to learn to trust them and see them for what they are."
So she indeed had seen through me. There is nothing I can hide from this woman and Rafe.
I simply hummed. After last night’s event with Roman, I could tell what I am feeling for him. I have started liking him.
I just didn’t know how to handle it.
"You will learn over the time," Isla said, "Just follow your heart."
I hummed, not bothering she once more could read my mind.
"You know, to become a complete person that you want to be, one needs to experience all kinds of emotions. And I see you are just doing that. I am so happy that you are letting yourself be free from the cage you had built around yourself. Keep it up."
Her words were encouraging. Slowly I had started to expect to live a normal life as well.
As the session was over, Isla said, "Once you are allowed to go out and there’s no dangers for you, we can go on shopping, have coffee or meal, and we can even gossip about this things like friends. I am sure you need one. I will also introduce my daughter to you."
I nodded. I looked forward to it.
Other than Alice, I never has a friend. Though older than me, Isla was a good woman.