Chapter 16

                                    

                                          
Alexa King is back. That's the title on so many news articles about me right now. It's actually kind of weird. I didn't realise me coming back was this newsworthy. I didn't even do an interview to announce I was coming back. All I did was make a short tweet about it. 
                          
People are inquiring about my reasons to come back. I just informed them that I've been to therapy the past few weeks and I'm feeling better. However, I never brought up Elena. She is the main reason I came back. She wanted to know more about my job specifically how my nonprofit works. 
                          
Before I could take her though, I needed to stop by the offices and check on everything. Adam did a good job while I was away which I was thankful for. He helped make my life easier. I did, however, have quite a bit of paperwork to do that Adam wasn't able to do. I figured I could just do it when I got home so I didn't bore Elena to death.
                          
We went to both my safe houses- the apartments and my old pack grounds. Elena was really interested in learning how everything worked. She asked so many questions. I felt like she was my own apprentice. No one ever was as interested in all this than Elena. 
                          
We went around checking on everyone which took a few hours. We checked to make sure everyone was alright and that everyone had everything they need. Elena got along with everyone and was happy to help out if needed.
                          
Around 6, we had to leave. I was in charge of an anonymous group for victims of rape. We meant every two weeks. However, I missed the last meeting due to my break. Elena agreed to go though she was a little bit hesitant about it.
                          
Once we got there, she froze at the door. "I don't know about this," Elena whispered. "I feel like I shouldn't be here. Everyone in there has had worse things happen to them than me. I shouldn't even be upset over this. You stopped him before anything happened."
                          
I sighed and pulled her into a hug. Nothing she was saying was true. But I understood where she was coming from and told her that. I informed her that I felt the same way before I started speaking about what happened. I didn't think I had a right to be depressed because people have had it worse. But that's not true. Yes, people have had it worse but that doesn't mean I can't be depressed. Same goes for Elena.
                          
"No one in there will judge you. That's why the group was created. Everyone in there, myself included, needed a judge free zone," I told her.
                          
She still seemed hesitant but agreed to go in. I counted every one to see how many people showed up today. The group was almost even gender-wise. There were only four more females than males out of 30 people. When I first started these meeting, only a few people showed up and they were all females. I'm glad there's more diversity now.
                          
While scanning the familiar faces, I saw two people I didn't recognise. They must be new. Though I had no idea if they came to the last meeting since I wasn't there.
                          
"Are you ready?" I whispered to Elena. She silently nodded her head. She was nervous but everyone is at their first meeting. "Alright, let's call this meeting to order-" I clapped my hands together and took my seat- "For those of you who don't know, I'm Alexa king. I wasn't at the last meeting for personal reasons but I'm back now. I know Miss Callahan has not been to a meeting before. Have you two?
                          
It turns out that this was this first meeting too. I explained how things went the new people introduced themselves. Their names were Elizabeth and Ethan. They're both 18-year-old twins and were raped by the same guy. They didn't go into much detail besides that but no one was going to push them to say more.
                          
It was Elena's turn to share next. She introduced herself and then explained why she was here. Most people say things like "I needed a safe place" or "I was raped." All responses were completely fine. Not a lot of people tell their story at the first meeting. But there are a few people who do, like Elena. I was surprised she did because she seemed very nervous. But I'm also extremely proud of her.