⚠ “Living Together Again?” – The Counselor Just Changed Everything for Anthony & Amber!😱

⚠ “Living Together Again?” – The Counselor Just Changed Everything for Anthony & Amber!😱

Dr. Rowen:
Alright. So last session, we talked about how both of you felt during the final weeks before the separation. I know today’s going to be a little different. I want to ask something that may feel sudden, but it’s been coming up in your individual sessions. Anthony, Amber... have you two seriously considered living together again?

Amber: (blinks quickly)
Wait—sorry, what? Living... together? Now?

Anthony: (leans back, scoffs a little)
I—I mean, is that a serious question? After everything?

Dr. Rowen:
It is a serious question. But not a suggestion. Just... something for you both to sit with. You've both expressed missing the stability, the routines, even moments of peace that existed when you were under the same roof. So I’m asking: what would it take to even consider it again?

Amber: (softly)
I don’t even know. It's complicated. We’re not the same people we were before. That last fight—we barely spoke for three weeks after it. I moved in with my sister. I was sleeping on a couch. You think I forgot that?

Anthony:
You think I forgot that? Amber, I was alone in that house with your coffee mug still on the kitchen counter. I couldn’t even touch it. I just… left it there. Like some sort of shrine or something.

Amber:
You didn’t call me. You didn’t fight for me. Not once.

Anthony: (frustrated)
Because every time I tried to fight for us before, you shut down! I thought space was what you wanted.

Dr. Rowen:
It’s okay. Let’s slow this down. Neither of you is wrong. This isn’t about fault—it’s about understanding the deeper need behind your actions. Amber, when you left, what were you hoping would happen?

Amber:
Honestly? I was hoping he’d chase me. That he’d say, “Come home. I’ll do anything. Let’s fix it.”

Dr. Rowen:
And Anthony?

Anthony: (quietly)
I thought she left for good. I thought I’d already failed. That anything I said would just make it worse.

Amber: (tears up)
So we just... sat in silence. Both thinking the other didn’t care.

Dr. Rowen:
That’s why I’m bringing this up now. Not because I think it’s time to rush back in—but because this silence has been defining your relationship. What if—just what if—you didn’t have to go back to how things were, but you built something completely new together?

Anthony: (leans forward)
Like… start over? Not move in like nothing happened—but... try co-living with intention?

Amber: (skeptical)
What does that even look like? Like roommates with a romantic history?

Dr. Rowen:
Not roommates. Think of it like re-partnering. You’d need boundaries. Agreements. Maybe even separate bedrooms at first. No pressure to be intimate or act like you’re “together” unless it happens naturally. But it gives you a shared space to try again—in real time, not just in theory. What scares you about that idea?

Amber:
Losing myself again. Feeling like I have to manage his moods or walk on eggshells.

Anthony:
Being rejected. Every day. Living in the same place but feeling like a stranger.

Dr. Rowen:
Valid fears. But fears don’t mean it's wrong—they mean it’s important. Let me ask you both: despite everything, do you still want the possibility of a future together?

(Long silence. They glance at each other, cautiously.)

Amber: (softly)
I do. But I’m scared to say it out loud. Because if we try and it fails... it might hurt worse.

Anthony:
I want that future too. Even if I don’t know how to get there. This—this weird space where we’re talking, but not living, but kind of circling each other—I hate it.

Dr. Rowen:
Then maybe it’s not about moving back in tomorrow. Maybe it starts with a trial—one month. Shared meals. Shared schedules. Shared counseling. Total honesty. If it doesn’t feel safe, you pause. No shame, no failure. But if it does feel right, you build from there.

Amber: (smiles slightly)
A trial. Like... love on probation?

Anthony: (grins)
I mean... I’d sign up for that. I’d pass the background check.

Amber: (laughs, wiping a tear)
Barely.

Dr. Rowen: (warmly)
This isn’t about going back. It’s about choosing forward—deliberately, one step at a time.