The Best Kind of Therapy

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Aubree Jayde Hannigan was just your average 23 year old girl. She had two loving parents, three best friends, and had everything the average kid had. When she was 10 years old, her parents uprooted her from her friends and school just so they could move to England. Yeah sure, it was cool but it wasn't what Aubree wanted. Still, she sucked it up and went along with everything. The school that she went to turned out to be the worst thing that she had ever experienced. The other kids would bully her and say things that destroyed her self esteem.

At just 13 years old, Aubree found herself wanting to die. She didn't want to exist anymore. The physical, emotional, and mental pain had finally gotten to her. She became suicidal and started cutting herself. Her parents were too blind to what was going on. How could their little girl be so fucked up? They thought she was just doing it for the attention.

Now 10 years later and Aubree is still the same that she was. Still suicidal, still has a low self esteem, and still not very trusting. Justine, Aubree's mom, thought that if the right guy came along, it would bring Aubree out of her funk. Of course Aubree was very doubtful of that idea.

"Mom, I just don't think that would work." Aubree said as she sat down on a bar stool that was parked at the island in the kitchen. Justine grimaced and sat a hot cup of tea in front of her daughter. She still couldn't understand what had happened to Aubree that made her feel the way she feels.

"Honestly, Aubree, you could at least give it a shot. Why are you like this anyway?" Aubree rolled her eyes and took a sip of her tea. How many times did she need to tell the story.

"Well, all throughout my school career, I was beat up and slammed a lot. Nobody liked me at all. That's why I'm like this. You would know if you actually paid attention." Aubree knew she was being a bit harsh but how else was she supposed to be?

"But honey, I never saw any bruises." It wasn't that Justine didn't believe her, it was just that she felt bad for never noticing.

"That's because I always had them covered up by the time you and Daddy got home from work."

Justine sighed and sat down her tea. She walked over and embraced Aubree tightly. Aubree wasn't going to lie, her moms hugs always made her feel a little better. She smiled when her mom pulled away. It was a hug that she desperately needed. She hopped off of the stool and made her way outside. They lived on a beautiful ranch that was luckily only 20 minutes away from Sheffield so they didn't have to go far to get groceries.

Aubree walked up to a large paddock and whistled. You see, she had this beautiful 3 year old bay Andalusian horse. He had slowly become Aubree's best friend and perhaps he was why she hadn't killed herself yet. She knew it sounded pathetic but that was really the case. She walked into the barn and grabbed the saddle, bridle, and saddle blanket. It had been a couple weeks since she rode him so she figured it was time.

"You ready to go Whiskey?" She said softly as Whiskey pranced over to her. For a 3 year old horse, he was very relaxed and sweet. Aubree saddled, bridled him, and led him out of the paddock. Where she was going, she had no idea. It would just be a good thing to get out for once. With a sigh, she mounted up on Whiskey and began her long, relaxing ride.

~*~

When Aubree arrived back home, the sun was just setting. She didn't realize how long she had been out but she didn't care much. She needed the break. She brought Whiskey into the barn and took off the saddle, bridle, and blanket. She put him into his stall and then fed him a long with the two other horses that were in there. For once Aubree didn't feel so bad but she wasn't going to expect it to last. She would just be disappointed if she did.

Aubree was sure that dinner was ready so she quickly got back to the house so that she could eat. She hadn't really eaten that much lately.

"Hey Bree." Logan, Aubree's dad, said with a warm smile when his daughter walked into the kitchen. Bree smiled back and bent down to kiss her dad on the cheek. She had always been a daddy's girl. She fixed her plate and went upstairs to her room to eat. She was in that 'I want to be alone' mood. The tv was very appealing right now.

She got to thinking about what her mom said and maybe her mom was right. Maybe she really did just need the right buy to come along and make her better. But how could that be when they always tell you that you can't get better unless you yourself wants to?

There was a lot that Bree had to figure out. And who in the hell would want to date her?