Her Therapist

Chapter 6.

SEBASTIAN

I sigh, squeezing my coat to my neck to prevent myself from the freezing air of the night.

I swear that I'm about to kill Conor. Because of his childish behavior, I had to do a double shift and be on duty for the whole afternoon not to mention that the doctor who was supposed to be on duty this night was being late for almost an hour. So, now at 8 o'clock, I'm extremely tired.

I hurry my step, cursing myself for not coming by a car today since now it's really damn cold and I'm freezing. But since I live really close to the hospital, and I like to time after time go by a foot, I came that way this morning, too. Hoping that I would see Esther. But I haven't.

No, don't think about her, I tell myself. She is mostly rude and maybe that is her biggest problem. Maybe she doesn't need a psychiatrist but a parent to raise her. But unfortunately, hers died, and I can't help but wonder how that happened, but something else does.

My eyes catch a cozy café and I stop abruptly, hesitating whether to enter or not. I could use a coffee or tea, or maybe even have some sweet meal before I go back to my lonely apartment.

Yeah, I'll go, I decide.

I push the door open and immediately I'm meet with the warmth and scent of caffeine. I inhale it deeply with my lungs, welcoming it. God, I was freezing. I'm definitely going tomorrow by car.

"Good evening", I greet the workers and they nod at me, smiling.

I scan the pink-red aesthetics of the café and choose a table in the middle, scratching the option of one next to the window. Too freezing! As I sit I take off my coat and rub my hands one in the other to warm a little.

Okay, let's see what could I have. Suddenly, I'm also starving. I take the menú with still my cold hands. I flip the pages and decide to take cappuccino and lemon cake. I wave my hand in the air to gain the attention of a worker, but when I hear someone's name being called I quickly snap it in the direction of where it came from.

"Esther, it's your turn to serve a customer. "

"Yeah, yeah, my turn, sure...", her raspy voice mumbles in her chin with her bowed head. Our eyes still haven't met, because hers are focused on the floor.

"Remember to be nice", her...colleague, I guess whose hand reaches to touch her shoulder says, but she pushes it aggressively before it can land on it. She also shoots him a death glare and the young boy whom I assume is around twenty leaves.

The flashback of what happened in my office mere a day ago even though it feels like two weeks or even a month appears in my mind.

"Don't touch me." She tilts her head to the side, and I frown. She puts her hands in front of her face, protecting herself. "Do not touch me."

"Khm, okay, so what do you...."

I lift my head to her and that is the moment when our eyes meet for the first time today.

"What the fuck are you doing here?", she shouts, then looks at the corner of her eye, quickly, realizing that she has gained the attention of the customers. I glance at them shortly, before focusing my eyes on her again, and clear my throat.

So, after everything, we still met again. Seems like destiny to me.

"I'm here to get a coffee after a long, busy day at work", I drag the sentence, emphasizing each word.

"Yeah, sure." She rolls her eyes, pushing the fallen strands of her hair off her face, frowning. "You're stalking me." She narrows her eyes at me and I cock my eyebrow, resting my elbows on the table, and my chin on top of my palms, while my lips curl in an amused grin.