The Story of Griffin Hawkins

Chapter Thirteen- Chanel's Story

Sorry for the super long delay, but here it is :)

Chapter Thirteen

Week Three

Thursday

            Not long after I went to my room did my sister leave. I still couldn’t believe she thought everything could be solved with medicine. Honestly, I didn’t want to rely on medicine to make myself better. I wanted to be better without it. I also couldn’t believe she would ask what I had talked about in my sessions with Dr. Harris, since it wasn’t her business!

            Thursday rolled around quickly and somehow it had warmed up despite the previous week. The sun was out and I found myself smiling in its presence. On the drive to my therapy session, an upbeat song came on the radio. I knew the words so I turned up the volume and sang along. I chuckled at my ridiculously bad voice and how much of a dork I was at times. Pulling into the office, my smile dropped.

            I trudged into the room and took a seat, early once again. A figure plopped down next to me and I immediately recognized the dark attire along with the boots. Griffin lazily sat in the plastic chair next to me. He shot me a smirk, as his dark eyes seemed lighter than usual. He seemed like he was in a good mood. I couldn’t resist narrowing my eyes since he was usually grumpier and scowling.

            “What’s up with you?” I inquired.

            His smile grew, “Whatever do you mean?”

            “You’re too chipper, it’s freaking me out.” I replied and took off my jacket. Regardless that it was warmer, there was still a crisp, cold breeze outside.

            His smile dropped and he scowled at me, “Fine, I can be in a bad mood.” I ignored his statement and leaned forward. I started to bounce my knee and bit my lip, something I did when I was nervous. Griffin leaned forward and scrutinized me. “What’s wrong with you?” He bit back.

            I shot my eyes towards his and fell back in an attempt to relax. “I hate public speaking. The idea makes me sick. It’s bad enough to do a project, but this is my life I’d be talking about. I don’t know if I can do it.” I confessed and played with my fingers. I avoided eye contact with Griffin.

            Griffin took a sharp intake of breath and gritted out, “You can start by telling me.”

            “Trying to be nice?” I questioned with a smirk.

            “Trying, yes.” He replied and got comfortable in his seat as other people began to walk in.

            “I’ll consider your idea.” I told him as Dr. Harris bustled in and we began our group session. A girl volunteered to talk today and I was suddenly relieved. I knew I would have to talk about it sometime, but not yet. Maybe I should take up Griffin on his offer.

            Her name was Chanel and she was twenty-seven years of age. She had dark brown locks that went just below her shoulders. You could tell she was short and stout, but she had a pretty face. Her mahogany eyes were lined with mascara and her pink lips were always wide in a smile. If she weren’t in this group, I wouldn’t know how fake that smile truly was. She wasn’t smiling today and looked nervous.

            It started when I was about to go into high school. I had a best friend and was happy for the most part. I was always the ‘fat one’ out of the two of us, but I coped. I had my best friend, Hanna, telling me not to listen to the rude things that people would say about me. She kept me strong and kept my head above water.