Invisible

PROTECT

I’M IN A BETTER MOOD, ready to speak up, tell Jane everything. Mark made me realize I shouldn’t really hold on to all of what I’m feeling in.

He held in my mother’s death, and look what happened.

. The elevator door opens, Aiden trailing behind me.

“Glad to see you,” the perky assistant says as I walk through the door, “Jane is ready.”

I frown as Aiden sits in one of the chairs.

“I’ll be out here,” he says. I nod, migrate into Satan’s office. She’s sitting in her normal spot, clipboard ready.

“Hey,” I say as I sit on the loveseat. She frowns.

“Everything alright?” she asks.

“Well… not really. I’ve been having nightmares for the past week, and I’m a little worried about Aiden.”

“Do you want me to start talking to him, too?”

“Well… that’s actually a good idea.”

She nods, watches her clipboard, plain and clean, perfectly ready to write the familiar word.

Uncooperative.

“Are you ready to start? You can take your time.”

“No… It’s fine. I’m just trying to figure out how to start.”

I remember back to the first day, everything that happened. Rape, manipulation, the aftermath, and I tell the story in that order. She watches me the entire time, listens the entire time. Her eyes don’t look as if they hold stereotypes anymore, as if she sees that what I’m saying is real, isn’t a total lie.

Once I’m done, she asks, “What happened with Mark and Jessie?”

I smirk. “Jessie left. She didn’t want to deal with someone who didn’t care about their kids.”

“So is everything alright now?” she asks.

“Yeah. Just the nightmares and how Aiden’s taking everything.”

She nods, her pen still resting next to her clipboard, unused.

“Is there anything else you want to discuss before we end the session? Anything else bothering you?”

I shake my head, stand up. “Do you want to wait until next week to talk to Aiden?”

“No. You can send him in.”

I walk out into the hallway, the lobby, motion for Aiden to come back.

“What is it?” he asks. I frown, hope that he doesn’t get angry with me for caring so much.

“Jane needs to see you,” I respond as he walks past me, turns the corner into Jane’s office. I then walk to the assistant’s desk, ask how much we owe. Then she says something astonishing.”

“It’s on us.”

I guess Jane really does care about her patients.