SAVAGE 2

17

"We haven't talked in months. Can you tell me what's changed?"

Can you tell me what's changed? Jersey questioned herself as she looked over at her psychiatrist, who looked to be around six months pregnant.

"A lot..." Jersey trailed off, fiddling with her thin, manicured fingers. She looked off, shaking her head.

"A lot." Dr. Nguyen repeated, leaning back in her chair as she surveyed her patient. "Can you elaborate?"

"I have a new haircut." Jersey quipped nervously.

"And hair color." The doctor added. "You look beautiful, by the way. Let's talk about your mood swings. How are you dealing with those?"

Doctor Nguyen received a shrug from Jersey, who continued to look off. She didn't want to discuss her random mood swings. Malcolm practically forced her to schedule and attend the appointment. He said she needed to speak with her doctor after disappearing in the middle of the night.

When she went home, she had tear stains, and her breath reeked of alcohol.

Malcolm was upset about her sudden disappearance, but he didn't lash out. Instead, he tried to get her to talk to him, but she wouldn't. He sensed her emotional distress and guided her to the shower. The next morning, he told her to schedule an appointment with her psychiatrist. She tried to talk her way out of it, but Malcolm wasn't having it.

"You need to see your psychiatrist," Malcolm stated firmly while studying her. Jersey sat on the couch; legs tucked underneath her butt as she scrolled through her phone.

The doctor shifted in her seat as she cleared her throat, preparing to speak.

"Perhaps, I went too far." Dr. Nguyen spoke calmly. "How about we take a few steps back and talk about your journal."

"I haven't been writing..." Jersey admitted as she shook her head lightly.

"The journal is an important step for you, Jersey. Think about it; you're logging your emotions on a daily. It helps to pen your problems."

Jersey just sat there, taking in her psychiatrist's words.

"I know you suffer from multiple mental disorders, but this would've been a great step towards reducing your anxiety and depression." Dr. Nguyen explained as she rotated her left hand, unintentionally showing off her thin wedding band.

"I'll tell you what, let's start now."

Jersey's eyebrows raised as she watched the minuscule woman waddle toward her bookshelf. It was adjacent to the doctor's awards. She tipped over and reached out until her pale hands grabbed ahold of the notebook's spine.

"Let's start logging in your journal right now." Dr. Nguyen neared Jersey and held her hand out. Jersey eased her eyes on the orange notebook that reminded her of the six roses that Malcolm gifted her on Thanksgiving. She wasted no time grabbing it.

"Now." The doctor started, making her way to her desk. She took a seat and pushed out some air, relieved from being able to sit down. "I want you to write down two positive feelings and two negative feelings that you had for today. This is the starting point of your journal, so we'll call it day one. Go ahead and grab a pen."

Jersey nodded her head as she reached over to grab an ink pen. She thought the journal idea was plain stupid and wasteful. In her opinion, there was no way it would help reduce her mental disorders. She'd been battling with them ever since she was a child; a journal couldn't possibly cure her suffering.

She tapped on the ink pen, allowing the ballpoint to show. Jersey set the notebook on the coffee table and leaned over to start writing. Suddenly, she froze and looked around the room. Her mind pondered for both negative and positive feelings.