Beyond Bloodline - Unbreakable Bonds

twenty

24/08/19

—

Nigel pursed his lips at the sight of the long dash his pen had created in the process of stalling with the blank journal page for so long. Anyway, this was nothing new. He didn't know what yet to chalk it up to but he'd been unable to write down anything proper many a day for the past couple of weeks. He took a short glance at the dash again before tossing the pen away and flipping so he was on his back.

It'd been like that. For the past couple of pages, all that marked the yellowed pages were the dates he'd written down. Past that, he couldn't seem to get anything else out. Feeling around his head, he picked up his cell phone, scrolling near bottom and clicking on the number before his nerves could talk him out of it.

It rang long and he'd just about put the thought of calling her aside—he wasn't really sure he wanted to hear her opinion of him going MIA anyway— when the line connected. There was silence spanning many seconds, one he didn't even know how to go about breaking.

"You haven't fallen off the face of the earth after all," Riele began, tone quite flippant. "To think I'd actually get a call from yours truly. To what exactly do I owe this pleasure?"

"Just thought I'd see how my favorite therapist was doing," Nigel felt his lip tilt up slightly at her sarcastic tone. He could just imagine her rolling her eyes. "Sorry I haven't been coming for my sessions."

"Did something happen back there?" she asked.

"Everything's—" he paused at the slight pang that shot through his abdomen as though to remind him how he'd broken apart just a few hours ago. "—not okay."

"Want to talk about it?"

Did he? Maybe. Maybe not. "I don't know," he ended up mumbling, eyes finding the plain ceiling and staying there. Anyway, she was the only one he knew who'd outrightly curse his parents out for hurting him. Alfie and Aries hated how he was treated like it was their pain but would never say anything bad about them since they weren't sure where that'd leave him.

"She was being really warm," he related, remembering her gentle touch to his arm. "She made brownies. They were really good." His lips trembled then and he didn't say a word more, shutting his eyes against the tingling he felt in them.

You're back.

Have a taste. What do you think?

Have more then.

Grateful for the silence she didn't interrupt, he bit hard into his lower lip before flinging his hand over his eyes. "Anyway, it was nothing," he said. "She was back to normal by this morning."

"Nigel," Riele sighed. "There's nothing normal about how they treat you. There couldn't possibly be any logical reason for it either. I know you hope and really, really wish they'd see you but there's no end to this. Your parents are mental. And there's no changing that."

Nigel didn't have anything to say to that. It was the same conclusion he'd come to even after replaying his whole life over and over again in his mind. His family life wasn't normal. There was no logical explanation his parents could have to back up their attitudes.

And still he hoped. Hoped that he'd done something that made them closed off. Something, anything. Because if he had, then he could at least remedy it. Apologize, persuade, grovel. But since he had no clue, then he didn't know where to start.

"I know I've said this a lot," Riele was still speaking. "But maybe you should actually get to considering moving out. I don't know, your friend's parents treat you as one of their own, no?"