Awakening - The Tigris Series Book 2

Chapter One

"Let's take this from the top. I really need you to work with me on this, Kara. It's important." the doctor said, peering at me from underneath his reading glasses.

I was staring at the wall behind him, nearly spacing out. I had styled my hair in a loose French braid, allowing strands of hair to fall in front of my face, framing it perfectly. I wore a light pink blouse, paired with a white pair of trousers and white shoes. Though I hated being in this room, talking to the same man every Wednesday morning about everything that I wasn't ready to talk about, I made sure to at least dress professionally. After recovering my memories, I had transitioned into resuming old habits. Though everyone always viewed it as old fashioned, I didn't care. It helped me get through the reality of living in a world that was 70 years after the one I had grown up in. It felt like I at least had a piece of that time with me.

Doctor Eugene Adams was the name of the doctor that I was obligated to see on a regular basis. He worked hard to get me to speak. Most of the time, his efforts were fruitless. Though, we had been doing this dance long enough that he was starting to learn what would make me speak. What would make me tick. I could see why they had chosen him to be my personal therapist; He was supposedly well-known as America's best psychologist, specializing in treating ex-military persons with trauma from the battlefields and the losses they suffer. He was certainly good at what he does, and was somehow incredibly more patient than I had originally given him credit for. I was quite a difficult patient, I could admit. He was smart, cognitive, and he knew how to read me despite all of the effort I made to remain emotionless and unreadable. It was annoying just how good he was at his job.

He searched my face for any signs of acknowledgment with his deep brown orbs, sighing with disappointment we he found nothing. "What do we do when we are confronted with a situation that triggers a flashback?"

I stayed silent for a moment, annoyed that we were going through this again. I understood why it was important for me to know the things he was telling me, though he should know by now that he only needed to tell me once. I didn't need to have it drilled in my mind; I had excellent memory, thanks to my wonderful abilities.

"Take deep breaths and count to ten." I muttered lowly, never moving my gaze from the empty spot on the plain white wall.

Dr. Adams nodded in approval. "Very good. And what do we do when-"

"When we are having a panic attack in public? We excuse ourselves and find a quiet place to let our feelings flow through us while counting to ten or thinking of beautiful or happy memories. And when we are feeling considerably low, we reach out to our friends and ask for help, or to hang out to lift our spirits." I interrupted him, slowly turning my sharp gaze to look at him in the eyes. "And then, when we have moments when we miss the loved ones that we've lost, we find something that holds meaning for us and pay tribute to them and our respects, while remembering that they are still with us and that they are very proud of us and our accomplishments."

He let out a huff, tilting his head down with his brows slightly raised, expressively. He was clearly unamused with my attitude, and displeased with my lack of enthusiasm. He knew I hated to come here. He used to try different methods to make our sessions more enjoyable, but quickly gave up when he realized that nothing would work. Now, he just acts like he's my professor that refuses to give up on the bad kid at school.

"Look, I know you find all of this less than favorable, but it's really important that you take this seriously." he scolded me, putting his notebook down next to him on his deep brown couch.

I let out an annoyed huff, letting my gaze drift back to the side to look away from him again. "I do take it seriously." I whispered.

"You need these tools to help you move forward. You have demons to fight, Kara. You need to take them down before they take you down." he continued.