Falling Apart

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

                I sat in the waiting room, my head bent down, and my elbows resting on my knees. A girl, no more than thirteen years old, was sitting beside me, flipping through the pages of some magazine that gave dating advice for vulnerable girls. She smacked her bubble gum with her tongue for what seemed like the twentieth time in the past five minutes. I bit back my tongue from saying something insulting, waiting for Julianne to come out of Dr. Roberts’ office. I peered up at the wall across from where I was seated, a clock hung over the wall. The short handle pointed at the five, meaning that I’d been waiting for Julianne a little over an hour now.

                “So, why are you here?” the girl suddenly asked, glancing over at me from the corner of her eyes, still focused on her magazine. After a moment, she tore her eyes away from her magazine, folding it over her lap. Her eyes raked over me, up and down, letting a side smirk slip across her lips that were coated in a thick layer of shiny gloss. “Wait, don’t answer. Let me guess. Anorexia? Bulimia? You seem like you need to pack on some meat onto those bones of yours.”

                Staring up at the girl who had to be at least three years younger than I was, I couldn’t help but suddenly become surprised by her bluntness. Her eyes seemed to have a gleaming hint of amusement in them as she raised an eyebrow, signaling for me to speak. “Oh, my apologies.” She said, somewhat sarcastically. “Are you one of them mute girls? Can you speak?”

                I blinked before clearing my throat. “I’m not-.” I paused, letting out a deep breath of air. “I’m not mute. I’m just waiting for my best friend.”

                The girl smiled deviously, smacking her gum once again. “Julianne Hart, that’s her, isn’t it?” she asked as I nodded in response. “I’ve heard about her. The receptionists next door talk about her all the time.”

                I quickly stiffened, suddenly feeling a weight being pushed down against my shoulders. Because of Julianne’s condition, she was always talked about by everybody. Clenching my fists by my sides, I suddenly felt defense of my best friend. “Really?” I gritted through my teeth, trying my best not to sound too cold. “What have they said?”

                The teenage girl, although thirteen, was wise for her young age. She smirked, the corners of her lips twitching upwards at my reaction. Whipping a nail filer from her purse, she began to file her nails. “Oh, nothing too important,” She snickered, “just about how she’s been a client of Dr. Roberts for years now. I heard one of the receptionists saying how it was unbelievable that Julianne hasn’t been cured yet. As I recall, the blonde receptionist said it was crazy how Julianne is still cutting herself after five years in therapy.

               I suddenly felt protective over Julianne- just as I had been for years now, ever since what happened. Feeling tense, I cleared my throat, biting down on my lips from screaming. “The receptionists out there really should mind their own business.” I snapped. “They have no right to gossip about Dr. Roberts’ clients. It’s extremely unprofessional.”

                “Yeah, yeah.” The teenage girl rolled her eyes. “Go complain to them, not me.”

                Just as I was about to open my mouth to ramble on, I was interrupted by the door suddenly opening. I expected to see Julianne coming out of Dr. Roberts’ office, but I let out a sigh of defeat when I noticed that it wasn’t her- just some guy. “Fucking shit, Reina.” The guy cursed under his breath, slamming the door behind him. I noticed him approaching me, but I frowned because my name wasn’t Reina. Then I realized that he wasn’t talking to me, he was talking to the girl beside me, so deeply focused on the dating advice column of her magazine. “I’ve been looking for you for fifteen minutes now! Why didn’t you reply to any of my texts?”