“A friend.”
“And do you have romantic feelings toward Trey?”
“Yes, but…”
“But what, Ava?”
She exhaled slowly. “Magnus isn’t only in love with me.”
“He’s in a relationship with someone else?”
“He was,” Ava clarified. “They broke up. Things were tense for a while but now…” She looked down at her hands, wringing them in her lap. “I’m the reason they broke up.”
“Because he’s in love with you?”
“Because he’s in love with both of us, but Trey … that’s the man he loves … can’t accept that Magnus is bisexual.”
Dr. Briggs was silent for a moment. She looked like she was trying to piece it together, so Ava waited.
“Okay, help me understand. Magnus is in a relationship with Trey? But they recently broke up, and you kissed Trey?”
“It sounds bad when you put it that way, but yes.”
“When you say Trey can’t accept that Magnus is bisexual, what do you mean by that?”
“Trey is gay, so he’s never been with a woman before.”
“But you kissed him?” Dr. Briggs’s eyebrows dipped low. “I’m not sure I follow.”
“Magnus wants to be with a mananda woman. He says that’s the only way he’ll be truly happy.”
“You’re avoiding the question, Ava. You’re going down a different path. But do you believe Magnus when he tells you that?”
“He’s stood by that for as long as I can remember. We’ve talked about it before. At first, I didn’t understand, but then it made sense to me.”
“When did it make sense to you?”
Ava remained silent for a minute. She knew how to answer that question but wasn’t sure if she should.
“Ava?”
She looked up. “It made sense to me when I realized I’d fallen in love with both of them.”
“So you’re in love with Trey and Magnus? Have you spent a lot of time with Trey?”
“He’s been taking care of me, too. He’s been helping out at Camp K-9 so Magnus could stay with me. But he would watch over me at night sometimes so Magnus could sleep. We’ve talked. A lot. He drove me here. The other day, I mean.” She looked up to see Dr. Briggs watching her closely. “It’s not weird,” she defended. “To be with more than one person.”
“I didn’t say that it was.”
“But you’re looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
Ava shrugged, unable to describe it.
“I know many people in relationships with more than one person, Ava. I don’t judge anyone for their choices. It isn’t my place.”
Ava huffed. “It doesn’t matter anyway. It’s not like I can be with Trey.”
