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CHAPTER 6

Rey was updating her session reports on one of the computers in the common room when Rose appeared in the doorway behind her.

"Hey there, how's it going?" she called out, holding a steaming mug in each hand.

"Hi Rose! What are you doing here?"

The brunette joined her and the two friends hugged each other warmly.

"I'm borrowing material for Brookdale. I saw on the schedule that you were done for this morning, so I thought I'd stop by and bring you a cup of coffee."

"You're a sweetheart!" Rey gushed as she grabbed the cup Rose held out to her and took a sip right away.

After an hour in front of her screen, she really needed a good dose of caffeine.

"So what's new at the clinic?" Rey asked, getting up and following Rose to the small sitting area.

"Well, Charlie's leaving in a week. How would you feel about replacing him? It'd be nice to work together again."

It was so tempting. Rose was a real ray of sunshine and the two of them were a great team.

"Well... Why not?" Rey replied, sinking into the soft cushions of the couch.

She knew there was a lot of work to be done there, and she was interested in helping a different group of patients, far from the gilded world in which the wealthy residents of Whitegrove lived. It was by going to Brookdale for a consultation that Ethan, whose family had very few resources, was able to benefit from proper orthopedic care and equipment.

"Are your patients here all done with their treatment?" asked Rose.

"Harriet Harris and Carol Douglas left two days ago, and I finished with Ethan—at least until the next adjustment of his prostheses. If Charlie returns, he can take over with Lewis O'Hara."

"And Solo?"

Ben had made incredible progress in a short period of time. He was now able to walk without any help, even if his steps were still a bit hesitant. Nothing was stopping him from leaving Whitegrove after his laser treatment in two days and paying for sessions at home if he wanted. She would probably never see him again, except on a movie screen.

"He's almost finished too," she announced.

And that was a good thing, wasn't it? Shouldn't a therapist be happy to see her patient fully recovered after all his hard work? That's why she did this job: to take care of people. So she was happy for him. Really happy...

"It would be great to have you at the clinic then!" Rose enthused. "On the other hand, coming to work at Brookdale would force you to travel a lot every day if you stay here in Greenwich."

"I could find a cheap B&B in Bedford or Crown Heights," Rey announced.

The young woman made a good living, but she wasn't going to spend her entire salary on rent for an apartment in one of New York's most desirable neighborhoods.

"I really wish we could room together, it's silly," Rose sighed, pouting. "But I can't in good conscience let Paige down right now."

"How is she?" Rey asked solicitously.

Rose's sister had recently learned that her boyfriend of a month—and in her dreams, the future father of her children—had in fact been living a double life and spending his evenings not working late at the office, but having sex with one of his colleagues.

"Pretty bad," Rose grimaced. "And by the way, thank you so much for your invitation to spend the weekend at the stud farm. Getting some fresh air in the country will do us both a lot of good. And I love your grandmother! She's so great!"

"And don't forget, you're both invited to her birthday party on April 5th. I'm warning you, half the people from Delmar will probably be there! And I have to say, it'll be good for me to see her this weekend too…"

Rey ended that statement with a sigh just a little too loud and too long, and her perceptive friend immediately guessed that something was wrong.

"Are you okay?" Rose worried.

"I'm fine!" she replied, putting a big smile on her face and trying to sound convincing.

It was only half a lie. Everything was "almost" fine. Except for the nightmares some nights and… Finn.

Rose took a sip of coffee while staring intently at her friend over the rim of her cup.

Rey felt a little ashamed. It was silly. Why hadn't she told Rose that her ex had tried to contact her several times over the past two weeks? The answer was very simple: not telling her meant continuing to pretend that those phone calls never happened.

Why was he calling now? Where was he? Still in London?

The couple had had a wonderful relationship for a year, sharing an apartment, laughter, and good sex, and Rey had believed for a time that Finn was the one for her. Brilliant and passionate, he was one of the most popular young executives at First Order Worldwide, the famous international advertising agency, and everything had been going so well between them—until last September and that terrible night when Lindsay had attempted suicide.

The image of the young girl lying lifeless on the floor of her bedroom, a bottle of vodka and a bottle of pills both empty near her, would be forever etched in her memory.

If she had just listened to Lindsay's message that afternoon, none of this would have happened.

Finn had never understood why she felt guilty. He spent his evenings at the office, arriving home later and later as she tried to hide her eyes red from crying all evening. In the morning, he would leave for work, smiling and kissing her as if everything was OK, while she had huge dark circles under her eyes. But she'd made excuses for him despite protests from Rose and Poe.

She needed to dust herself off and do something, maybe ask Amilyn for support. She was the only one who could help herself.

And then one evening, as they were eating a small romantic dinner that Rey had prepared, Finn had dropped a bombshell: he'd been offered the post of assistant director of the English branch of F.O.W. The announcement had been made to him a month earlier, and that was why he'd been working so hard recently. It was a fantastic opportunity, one that he couldn't refuse.

Rey, completely stunned, had looked at him uncomprehendingly and asked why he hadn't told her before now. But then she suddenly understood: he had already made up his mind.

"I know your life is here, Rey. You have Maz, your friends, your work."

"And you didn't even consider for a moment asking me if I would agree to follow you? Instead, you just preferred to confront me with it as a done deal?"

The young woman's eyes had filled with tears. It was too much, too much all at once—even though Finn was right. Her life was here. Unlike him, she hadn't for one second ever considered leaving the United States.

And so their relationship had ended there, on that sad October night. Finn had flown to London a week later and she'd left Whitegrove and gone back to her grandmother's house.

"You have that little frown there... right between your eyebrows," Rose showed her with the tip of her index finger.

"What frown?"

"That little wrinkle there, every time something is bothering you and you're procrastinating about whether you're going to tell me or not."

Rey wanted to protest but that would be ridiculous—it was useless to deny it any longer. So she finally rolled her eyes and exhaled heavily, puffing out her cheeks.

"Finn has been trying to reach me for two weeks. I haven't dared to answer yet."

"What?!" Rose almost choked on her coffee.

"I'm so sorry I didn't tell you about this earlier. That was really bad of me."

"But... but... Do you think he's calling from England? What does he want with you after four months of radio silence?" Rose stammered, still a little stunned by the news.

Rey was asking herself the exact same questions, of course.

"Do you think he'll try again? You gonna block his number? What are you going to do?"

Rey finally decided to jump in and stop the flow of questions.

"I don't know about that. I've moved on, Rose, you know that. And I hope he has, too. And the longer this goes on, the more I think it's stupid to keep avoiding him like this. Maybe I should just pick up the phone and see what he wants with me."

Rose made a face.

"I would hope he's calling to apologize! Do you mind if I keep hating him for choosing his career over you?"

"Rose…"

"The thing with Lindsay really had you all shook up, Rey. You needed him. He could have tried to convince his boss, at least postpone his departure, I don't know…"

"But he would have gone anyway. And I didn't want to go live there. We were at an impasse."

"Yeah…" Rose grumbled as she got out of her chair and sat down next to Rey on the couch, putting her arm around her shoulders. The tender gesture wrung a smile out of her. Rose was a bit like the sister she never had. And Rey thanked heaven every day for friends like her, Kaydel, and Poe.

"You're a wonderful person, Rey. You really deserve to find someone who'll win your heart and do anything for you."

Rey pressed her head against her friend's temple and smiled again.

"You too, Rose."

"Oh, I've already found him! It's just that Armitage Hux doesn't know I exist yet!"

The two young women laughed, and then Rose suddenly stood up and kissed Rey on the cheek.

"Alright, well, I've got to go. I'm due back at Brookdale."

"And I've got to make a quick trip into town."

"And you're thinking about coming to work at the clinic?"

"I'm thinking about it," Rey said.

OooooooO

In the early afternoon, Rey had taken advantage of her lunch break to drive into downtown Greenwich. Maz was celebrating her seventieth birthday soon, and Rey's gift to her would be an all-inclusive tour of the Great American West. Her grandmother had always dreamed of this, and Rey, who'd been saving up for a while now to give her this gift, had everything all planned out. Three of Maz's friends from Delmar would go with her on a two-week road trip to California, Las Vegas, Yosemite, Death Valley, and of course the must-see Grand Canyon. Rey was looking for something Maz could unwrap that day, in order to slip the trip itinerary inside it. She absolutely could not wait to see her grandmother's face when she discovered the surprise.

So she parked in the Barnes & Noble parking lot and entered the store. When she'd found what she was looking for in the "travel guide" section, she walked happily towards the checkout. It was then that she stopped dead in front of a display of various celebrity magazines. A headline written in all caps, splashed across the glossy, flashy cover of one of them, had caught her eye.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

HAS BEN SOLO HIT ROCK BOTTOM?

The star of the "Galactic Wars" saga pushes everyone away.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Rey grabbed one of the copies and her good mood suddenly evaporated.

Under the title, a poor quality photo showed Ben walking with his walker on the grounds of the clinic. She was next to him but her face had been blurred. The picture looked like it had been taken from the sky, but the actor was still very recognizable. It was unbelievable.

Shit... How the hell had they gotten these pictures? Inside, other photos were spread out on the central double page, alongside an interview with Bazine Netal and a certain Allan Snoke.

"Miss, if you want to read, you're going to have to buy the magazine," scolded the security guard who had approached her.

"Yes, uh, sorry," said Rey, who went to the counter to pay for her purchases.

Sitting in her car, she opened the tabloid again and began to read.

Ben Solo had allegedly broken up with his girlfriend Bazine Netal and fired his agent, Allan Snoke, for no good reason a week ago. In the interview, the supermodel complained that she had never stopped taking care of him, and that he had thrown her away like an old sock. Rey quickly skimmed through the rest of the article.

"I'm in shock. I don't understand. Ben and I had such a deep and wonderful relationship. I stood by his side through the terrible ordeal he went through, and overnight he just decided it was over, that I was nothing to him anymore."

Even as Rey read them, the words did not ring true. But then Ben's agent went on to corroborate what Bazine had said.

"Ben Solo is unstable. He always has been. In that he takes after his grandfather, with whom I worked for many years, as you know."

"Even before his accident, things were complicated with Ben. Before me, he had already dismissed his uncle, Luke Skywalker, whom he falsely accused of mismanaging his career. He also has a stormy relationship with his mother, Leia Organa-Solo, who has put her political ambitions ahead of her son all her life. But I believe that the trauma he went through has left a much greater mark on him than he has been willing to admit. He needs help and he rejected us without any consideration whatsoever. It's sad, because his girlfriend Bazine and I have always cared about his well-being."

The whole thing was dripping with hypocrisy. Poe and Rose had been adamant that neither the supermodel nor his agent had ever visited Ben at Whitegrove. People must have started talking on social media, so Bazine was trying to keep her popularity rating intact by making Ben look like the bad guy. As for what Snoke had said: it absolutely reeked of revenge.

The whole thing was despicable. Whatever happened with Bazine and this Snoke guy, she was convinced Ben didn't deserve this.

And that was the problem.

She was well aware that the bonds that had begun to be woven between them went beyond the simple patient-therapist relationship. They were very familiar with each other now, and in the course of their conversations and sessions, she had discovered a man who was sensitive, funny, and very demanding of himself. He had a touching vulnerability in his eyes, and besides that, he exuded a strength and an aura that left her very far from indifferent.

It was not a good thing. It was unprofessional.

She had gotten too emotionally involved. Again. And the last time it had ended badly.

Rey threw the tabloid on the passenger seat and started her car.

She had just entered the lobby of the clinic when, at the back of the room, the elevator doors opened on Ben, Leia Organa-Solo and Amilyn Holdo.

"You have to do something, Ben!" the senator cried out. "Contact your lawyer! Take that creep to court for defamation of character, and that girl too, while you're at it! The same goes for this horrid magazine and its pack of lies. And what is your publicist doing about it?"

"Forget it, Mom," Rey heard him grumble before exiting the elevator.

He was wearing his black coat and was obviously planning to go for a walk.

Frozen in the middle of the hall, Rey was struck by his resigned expression. It was obvious that they were talking about the article.

"Hello, Rey," he said as he walked up to her. "I'm sorry, but I need to clear my head a little. Can we reschedule for a bit later?"

"Yes... uh... yes, of course, you're my only patient this afternoon," she answered gently. But he didn't wait for her to finish her sentence, instead rushing towards the exit.

His mother made a move to follow him but was held back by Amilyn's friendly hand on her shoulder.

"Leave him, Leia," she whispered. "He needs to be alone."

The three women came face to face in front of the reception desk, and the psychologist let out a long sigh before addressing her:

"Rey, this is Leia Organa-Solo, Ben's mother."

The senator offered her a polite smile and a friendly handshake.

"Nice to finally meet you, my dear. Amilyn's told me a lot about you. I'm so grateful to you for taking care of my son the way you do."

"You're very welcome. It's my job."

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to make a scene in the middle of the hall like that, it's just that my Ben…"

Leia's voice broke on this last word, and Amilyn wanted to explain to Rey what had happened.

"Pictures of him were taken here, probably with a drone, and they interviewed-"

"I already know about it," Rey cut in. "I saw the magazine at the bookstore."

The senator lowered her head, and Amilyn linked her arm through her friend's.

"Come on Leia, I'll walk you to your car. Don't worry about it. Ben will be fine."

Leia nodded and thanked Rey again. Then the two women walked down the hallway towards the private parking lot.

Rey stood alone in the middle of the hall with her bag on her shoulder and her car keys in her hand. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Not at all professional... she blasted herself before hesitating for a few more seconds and then rushing out of the building to try to catch up with Ben Solo.

OooooooO

He'd barely walked halfway down the driveway leading to the park when he heard Rey call out to him.

"Hey, Ben!"

So he stopped, giving the young woman time to catch up with him.

"I've got a proposition for you," she exclaimed, standing in front of him. "What do you say we replace our session today with a walk on the beach? Walking on the sand would switch things up a bit, and breathing the fresh sea air would do you good. I know a quiet spot on the coast where it's rarely crowded," she added. "How about it?"

In that moment, standing in front of him, she was again offering him that gorgeous smile that lit up everything around her. A soft breeze made her hair dance around her face with an auburn glow, and the light of the sun brought out the brilliant green in her irises. She was beautiful, and she was waiting for his answer.

"OK, let's go," he said, returning her smile.

OooooooO

They had been working together for more than three weeks and Ben was now convinced of one thing: Rey Kanata was an amazing girl.

He would be leaving Whitegrove soon, and the prospect of not seeing her every day upset him much more than Snoke's and Bazine's slanderous and hateful comments in the tabloid press.

The young woman's clear voice pulled him from his contemplation of the landscape through the passenger window.

"Well, here we are."

She parked in a small parking lot, and the two of them got out of the car to take the reed-lined path leading to the beach. Rey was right: there was hardly anyone here.

"Shall we go that way?" she asked enthusiastically and Ben gladly followed her, filling his lungs with the invigorating salty scent of the Atlantic.

The wind here was stronger and cooler, and he pulled up the collar of his coat while Rey tightened the scarf around her neck. Then they both put their hands in their pockets and walked slowly, at Ben's pace.

"Do you often take your patients for a walk along the seashore?"

"No, not often, but I think you needed to get out of the clinic for a bit."

Ben gazed out toward the horizon, and he felt Rey's elbow brush against his own.

"I know about the article in that tabloid. I stumbled upon it earlier when I was in town," she confessed.

Ben sighed.

"It's not the first, and it won't be the last."

"I imagine it must be awful, seeing your life on display like that. Now I understand your reaction when we first met."

"I've been under a magnifying glass since the day I was born: first because of my grandfather's fame, then my parents', and now because of my job. But I do everything I can to keep a low profile. This kind of thing shouldn't affect me anymore."

"Ben, people know that what they read in this sort of tabloid is always malicious and far from the truth."

Talking with Rey had become so natural and comforting lately. He went on to tell her the details of his hopeless relationship with Bazine and his breakup with her two months earlier, just after his admission to the clinic.

"And she has the nerve to say that it happened a week ago," Rey said, offended on his behalf.

"She's lying. And we broke up by mutual agreement."

He then explained his problems with Snoke.

"My mother has always been very reluctant to see me pursue an acting career, because of my grandfather. She never talks about him, and neither does my Uncle Luke. I dropped out of law school and entered Julliard, and by the time I told them there was nothing they could do about it. But I'd been dreaming about acting since I was a kid, and I couldn't see myself doing anything else. So after I graduated, my uncle offered to be my agent. As a young man, he'd had his own little moment of fame on Broadway, and later he became a producer. I was pretty happy, I trusted him, and my mother was reassured. In the beginning, we got along really well. I got my bearings, took my first steps on TV shows, then in movies, and managed to land small roles under the direction of some amazing directors. Then I started aiming for starring roles, and that's when I realized that Luke was doing everything he could to stop me. He started telling me that I wasn't ready for certain characters; he made me turn down offers that I was really excited about. And that's when Snoke contacted me and everything went sideways with Luke. We had a fight, and my mother got involved. They both blamed Allan in part for my grandfather's death. They said he got him into drugs and alcohol, that he was calculating and that all he cared about was money. My parents warned me—but I didn't care. Snoke had connections, and I was angry at my uncle. So I cut ties with Luke and, under Snoke's guidance, my career took off. I guess I owe him that much."

"Your career took off because you're talented, Ben."

Ben turned his head towards her and a mischievous little smile appeared on his lips. Rey shrugged and rolled her eyes.

"Yes, well… OK, I had to watch some of your movies. You really are a great actor and a good person. Just look at the way you acted with Ethan. You were adorable. And I'm really sorry that these vultures are drooling over you this way."

She'd given him all those compliments without looking at him, but his eyes were on her. She was luminous, and it had been ages since he'd felt this comfortable with someone.

The tip of her nose and her cheekbones had turned pink in the cool spray, and she suddenly bit her lower lip. He was overcome with an irresistible urge to kiss her.

But in the next step, his foot bumped against a stone and he almost tripped. By reflex, Rey grabbed his arm, and he managed to regain his balance as the young woman slipped one hand into his and the other landed on his chest to stabilize him.

"Ben, are you okay? Maybe we went a little too far. Does your back hurt? Let's just go back, OK?"

Her openness had turned to worry. Her lips were parted and her breath was short.

Ben felt his pulse racing as he drowned in her eyes. It was the first time anything like this had ever happened to him. He was attracted to her like a magnet. Something was happening.

How, why... impossible to say.

For a fraction of a second, he felt as if he could read her like an open book. There's no way Rey didn't also feel this strange force connecting them. He saw her swallow. He had totally stopped breathing. With a slow gesture, he wiped a drop of ocean spray off the young woman's cheek with his thumb, and his index finger brushed against the line of her jaw.

She moved imperceptibly closer to him as he bent his head slightly towards her. Her eyes shone. Her mouth was so close.

Then suddenly she stepped back. Her fingers slipped gently from his and she lowered her head.

No...Stay with me.

"It's getting late," she stammered before clearing her throat.

It was barely four o'clock.

"And you mustn't push yourself too hard. We'll go back up the path here and take the small dirt road back to the car. Tomorrow, we'll do a lighter session."

She was wearing her "therapist" cap once again.

Ben's heart was ready to explode in his chest.

"Perfect, after you," he forced himself to smile.

OoooooO

On the way home, Rey babbled non-stop, careful never to let the silence settle a little too awkwardly.

Had he gone too far? Had he made her uncomfortable? She was his therapist, and he was well aware that there were lines he shouldn't cross. But he hadn't just imagined what had happened earlier on the beach—he was convinced that Rey felt it too.

The radio was on and Stevie Wonder was singing his famous "Isn't She Lovely" in the background.

When they got to the clinic, they walked up the pathway leading to the entrance as Rey continued her monologue:

"After you leave Whitegrove, if you feel you still have some mobility issues, you can get a home therapist who'll come to your house and do exercises and massages with you."

They walked a few more feet and Ben suddenly stopped before turning to her.

"Thank you."

"Oh, you're welcome."

"Seriously, thank you for everything you've done for me for almost a month. Your future patients will be so lucky to have you."

She seemed touched by this.

They were face-to-face again, and he felt that Rey wanted to tell him something else.

"I'm thinking about going to work for a while at Brookdale Hospital in New York. Amilyn has opened a clinic there and they need therapists for free consultations."

Brookdale Hospital. It was in Brooklyn. Rey was going to spend her days about forty minutes away from his home.

"I'm going to try to rent something not too expensive and not too far from the hospital. And I'm really excited because I'll be working with my friend Rose there."

She did seem happy. Everything was going great in the best of all possible worlds. She would continue to help new patients, and he'd hopefully go back to his old life in the fast lane, working on film sets, sometimes abroad, dodging the paparazzi, looking for a new agent…

"And, Ben, I also wanted to tell you that…"

She bit her lip. Again.

"Rey?"

They both turned their heads towards the entrance at the same time. A young man in his thirties with dark skin and a shy smile was standing at the front entrance.

Ben glanced furtively at the young woman. She stood stock still and stared at the stranger in amazement.

"Finn…" she let out in a breath, as a gust of wind ruffled the ends of her scarf away.