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“For a little while? Not forever?”

Dammit, Halle was making this hard. “Not forever, but I don’t know how long I need.”

“I can wait, Lydia.”

Good grief, this woman. “Halle—”

“I’ll wait, and in the meantime, we can build a friendship. No pressure. No expectations.”

“You really want to be friends. That’s enough?” Lydia needed them to be on the same page.

“Yes. Being your friend is more than enough.”

“For how long?”

“For as long as you need. I’m not going anywhere, Lyds.”

Was this a good idea? Could they really stick within the bounds of friendship? That night on the kitchen floor sprung to mind. Knowing what Halle’s lips tasted like, Lydia wasn’t so sure they could stay platonic.

“Okay. Friends.” Sticking out her hand, Lydia smiled when Halle shook it. “You need to sort things with Fe. There, that’s my first bit of friendly advice. She misses you.”

Halle puffed out her cheeks. “She crossed the line, Lyds. I don’t want to go into it, but she really fucked up.” Lydia knew how badly Fe had buggered up, but she couldn’t tell Halle that.

“She’s going to therapy.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Even Mum had a word!” Lydia grinned, hoping Halle would see the light side of her comment.

“Yeesh. Mrs. Archer getting involved! That’s—”

“Unheard of,” Lydia chuckled. “But clearly needed. Please, just think about talking to her.”

“All right. I’ll think about it. Can we stop talking about Fe now, though? I need to process before I’m ready to do anything.”

“Sure. Want to know about my new house?”

Chapter 16

“How is everything so far, Lydia?” Elise Maynard asked, looking as wonderful as ever, sitting behind her large desk. Did she just wake up looking that good?

“Good, great actually. I started my period two days ago.”

“And how have you found it so far?”

“Great!” Lydia never thought she’d use that adjective to describe how she felt towards her period. How times had changed. “I had some discomfort, but nothing close to what I felt before.” Being able to function like a regular human was wonderful.

“Any vomiting? Cramps?”

“No vomiting. I actually slept through the start of it, which is a first. A few cramps, but nothing too bad.” When Lydia had woken to find she was bleeding, the first thing she felt was panic, wondering when the pain would start. After an hour of mild discomfort, she dared to believe this was her new normal. Nothing could have censored her joy that day.

“And your mood?”

“I haven’t experienced the black cloud at all. I still felt hungry, but I ate sensibly until that feeling passed. I’m bleeding, but it’s a lot lighter.” That was an understatement. Instead of using the extra heavy pads she was accustomed to, Lydia could pop in a panty liner and be safe from leaks.

“That’s a great start, Lydia. Remember, you might bleed for longer than usual. Don’t panic, it’s quite normal.”

“I’m prepared.” Lydia took a second to quell her rising emotions. “Elise, I just have to say thank you once again. It’s no exaggeration when I say you’ve changed my life. I know there will be difficulties, but I already feel so much better. Like I have my life back again. I don’t know how to repay what you’ve given me.”