Chapter 13

I woke up rejuvenated from having another dreamless sleep. I hope it continues to be this way. I hope that one day it'll be like this even without sleeping next to Hope. I'm very grateful to have met her and that our friendship has grown stronger.

"Hey, Hope, I've got to head home to check in with my

parents and change." She groggily nodded her head and mumbled out an okay. The drive home was, of course, short, which I'm thankful for. I keep drifting in and out from reality.

Before I knew it, I was home. I don't know why my parents got this huge house when it's empty the majority of the time. My sister doesn't really live here, my parents are always on business trips, and I'm usually out till I come back to sleep. That's if I even do.

I made my way upstairs to my parents' office and stuck my head in.

"Hello there! You requested my presence?" They lifted their gaze up to me, and I could tell by the look in their eyes that I knew what they were about to tell me I didn't want to hear.

"Well, first off, the Perry's want to see you." My dad responded first. He paused, gauging my reaction. If only they could see what was going on inside me right now.

"And we set up a therapy appointment. It's time you go." My mood went from sad to completely infuriated.

"You can't just make me go to therapy." My mom closed her

eyes while letting out an exhausted sigh.

"Yes, we can, and we are. You're going. I'm going to drop you off myself and wait till your appointment is done, just to make sure you don't skip." I angrily huffed at this.

"This is fucking ridiculous. I'm an adult; you can't just make me do something I don't want to do." She straightened her back at this moment.

"Watch your language." She said sternly. She was about to say more before my dad cut her off.

"I'm sorry, sweetie, but your mother is right. Just try it once; if it's truly a waste of time, then we won't make you go back. Okay?" He spoke a lot more level-toned than what my mom had. I know I'm not getting out of this, so I should just accept my fate.

"When is it?" I asked, clearly annoyed.

"Today a two o'clock." This caught me off guard completely.

"Today? Seriously, you couldn't have waited a few days after telling me that I had to go?" I can't believe they're doing this.

"Yes, go, get ready, and eat. We will leave here in an hour." I huffed and slammed the door behind me. Once I got to my room, I immediately called Hope.

"Hey, Hope. So, my parents are making me go to some stupid therapy session today. I won't be able to hang out till later or tomorrow." I could hear her gasp.

"Why would they do that?" She said loudly into the phone.

"Ouch, my ear. Anyway, I don't know. They want me to suffer more, I guess. I'll just stop by later once it's done and let you know how it went." I heard her hum on the other end.

"Okay. I'll see you later, alligator." I heard her laugh on the other end.

"After a while, crocodile." I lightly chuckled as I hung up the phone. I really needed that laugh, even if it wasn't much. I guess it's time to get ready.

"Sweetie, Are you ready to go?" I heard my mom call up to me from downstairs.

"Yeah, I'll be right down." I hollered back down to her. Once I made it downstairs, I looked at her and sighed.

"Do I really have to go through with this?"Seeing the same look on her face from earlier, I already knew the answer.

"Yes, yes, you do. Come on now. I don't want us to be late." My mood started deflating even more as I got in the care, and we were driving off.

"So, your new friend, Hope, she seems like a nice person." I rolled my eyes at this.

"I don't want to make small talk with you, mom, but yeah, she is." At that moment, I turned up the music in the car and put my forehead on the cold glass of the window. Shutting my eyes, trying to drown everything out around me and inside of me.

I woke up to my mom, slightly shaking my shoulder.

"Hey, there, sleepyhead. We're here." I nodded my head and gingerly made my way out of the car, as I was still so tired and didn't want to fall on my face.

We went inside a relatively big building and went up to the third floor. My mom led me to a room down the hallway on the left. The room was pretty open, neutral colors, and a couple of different offices. We made our way over to the receptionist.

"Hi, we're the Bennets. We're here to see Dr. Riley." The receptionist gave my mom and me a bright, friendly smile.

"Of course! Go ahead and take a seat; she'll be with you soon." We made our way over to the seats. They were a lot comfier than I had anticipated. There's a lot of magazines ranging for every age. Not too long later, I heard a soft click and snapped my eyes up to see a beautiful woman with big kind brown eyes. She locked in on me and smiled.

"Ms. Bennet, I can see you now." She had a very calming voice, but it did nothing to ease my nerves. My body feels all weird right now, and standing up feels like the hardest thing in the world right now. I struggled but ultimately got up and cautiously followed her into her office.

"Hello there, go ahead and sit wherever you will feel most comfortable." I found a seat on a chair by the window. I felt less claustrophobic there. She sat kind of parallel to me but still facing me.

"I'm Dr. Riley, but you can just call me Nancy. Your mom has talked to me about your situation, but I would rather hear it from you." She broke the silence first. I'm sure she could sense my nerves. I stayed silent. I honestly don't know what to say, nor do I really want to say anything.

"I know you're uncomfortable, and by the way, your mom was talking, and how you're acting right now, I can tell you don't want to be here. I get that you're not ready to talk. So, I'll say what your mom has told me so far, and you just nod or shake your head to signal if she got it right. Okay?" I just nodded my head, yes to her.

"She said that you were in a traumatic car crash with your best friend. You survived, and she didn't." She paused, and again I just nodded my head.

"She stated that you've been having severe nightmares, mood swings, you are isolating, and seem very depressed. She says you seem a shell of yourself. Do you agree?" I nodded and shook my head. Some of it I agreed with, while other parts no.

"Some of it I agree with." She quirked her eyebrow at me.

"What parts?" I sighed and shook my head.

"Just the nightmares, and I guess I have been isolating, but I'm fine." She just hummed at my comment and wrote something down.

"I'm truly fine. I don't need therapy." I assured her.

"Are you trying to convince yourself or me?" This question took me back a bit. I went to respond, but I honestly couldn't think of a response. I just stayed silent the rest of the session, completely disassociated and not listening to a thing she said afterwards. I finally came back to reality towards the end.

"Well, that's all the time we have left today. I hope I see you soon, and you can answer the last question I believe you heard me say before you tuned out. Just a refresher, are you trying to convince yourself or me that you're truly fine?" After she said that, she got up as I did and led me to the door. I walked out to find my mom on the phone. She looked my way and signaled for me to come on. It must be a business call. I looked back to see a pensive look on her face as she looked at me.

Soon we were back in the car and headed home. I couldn't wait to see Hope.

Once we got home, my mom shut off the car but didn't make a move to get out yet. I heard her take a deep breath before she turned to look at me and what I saw broke me. I saw the tears pooling in her eyes and her trying not to let them find their way down her cheeks.

"Thank you for going; I know you didn't want to. I know forcing you wasn't the best move, but your dad and I are just so scared. We lived that day, but we still lost you, and we don't want to lose you forever. We love you." I saw a couple of tears finally break free from her eyes, and I felt mine make their way down as well.

"I'm sorry. The last thing I want to do is worry you both." She shook her head at me.

"Don't be sorry, sweetie. Just please fight. Fight to be here with us, fight to become yourself again, whoever that may be now." We gave each other a small hug and wiped our tears before we went back inside.