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‘Girls, Gabriella has arrived. Can you help get her settled?”

“Sure thing,” a female voice yells back.

“They’ll look after you,” Suzanne says reassuringly, giving my shoulder a squeeze before walking off.

I stand there, like a lost lamb, wringing my hands and then pinging the elastic I have on my left wrist, looking round the room, waiting for whoever just replied to appear. The sound of laughter grows closer and I turn my head to see a blonde and a brunette step through the door from what looks to be a kitchen.

They chat amongst themselves until they both stop in their tracks and eye me up and down. With them both dressed in black leggings and oversized sweatshirts, I feel so out of placein my designer summer dress my mother insisted I wear. Determined to try and appear confident when I felt like a shrinking violet, I clear my throat, offering my hand with a smile. ‘Hi, I’m Gabriella. It’s lovely to meet you,” I say, my voice a little shaky.

They take it in turns to shake my hand, eyeing me suspiciously.

“Hey, I’m Ali. This is Ria,” the blonde with the most stunning blue eyes I have ever seen says.

“Hey,” Ria says with a big smile. She’s just as beautiful as Ali, and I suddenly feel so inadequate standing in front of them. At a guess, I’d say they were a few years older than me.

“So, if you are anything like us, you might be thinking this place sucks. You don’t wanna be here, and it’s a load of shit,” Ali starts.

“Ali, language. We’ve just met her,” Ria scolds.

“You good with cuss words, Little G?”

Little G?

A weird little zap of excitement at her giving me a nickname hits me.

I giggle. “Yeah, I’m good.”

“Good. So, as I was saying, you may think this is all bullshit—that’s how I felt when I came here and so did Ria but, this place is epic. Suzanne is the best and even though we are eighteen and nineteen now, we still come because, well, it’s a place where we aren’t judged and can just be us.”

Sounding exactly what I need, I sigh in relief, my shoulders relaxing.

“It’s great here. I love it here more than home.” Ria smiles. I smile back, already feeling at ease around them.

“Just a heads up. The only girl you need to watch out for is Nancy over there. She likes to think she’s better than all of us, and FYI, she’ll swipe those Prada’s straight off your feet, so keepyour feet rooted to the floor at all times.” Ali points over to a blonde in the corner who has her head buried in a magazine.

Ria rolls her eyes. “She’s not that bad.”

Ali furrows her brows. “Not that bad? Remember when Hannah got that new jacket, and it mysteriously went missing?” she says making air quotes with her fingers. “Then a week later Nancy happened to have got one for her birthday. Yeah, my ass she did.”

I snort a very un-lady-like laugh. God, I love them already.

“Noted,” I say.

“So, where are you from?” Ria asks, gesturing for me to follow her. We head over to a large sectional couch and sit down. They both relax on the couch, tucking their legs under their butts. I, on the other hand sit, ramrod straight on the end, legs together, still clutching the strap of my purse.

“Ugh, we just moved to New York,” is all I say.

“What made you move?” Ali asks.

An awkward silence falls between us as I lower my head, searching my mind for something to say. Do I just blurt out and tell them? I go to speak, but Ali beats me to it.

“You know what? That was a dumb question to ask, and you don’t have to answer. There’s a mutual understanding here. We all know to an extent why we are here. Just know that when you are ready to talk about it, we are here to listen, okay? Whatever it is, you can tell us. We won’t judge. We all have a story here.”

I nod, appreciating her kindness and understanding as a feeling of relief washes over me. I’ve never had a safe space to talk about how I really feel. I’ve always said what I thought my parents wanted to hear. My lip trembles at the thought, and I try to stop it, biting down so hard I taste copper.

Don’t cry. Don’t cry.

“You look like you need a hug. Can I hug you?” Ria asks, already crawling across the large corner couch to sit beside me before I can answer.