𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐞

4 | Aurora

"Send the person in."

I dialed at the waiting area reception. After a few minutes, I heard a knock on my door.

"Please come in." As I invited the person, I saw a man probably in his mid-thirties with a bright smile on his face, which I returned, but I could see the worry in his eyes.

"Hello. I am Adrian Grogan." He shook hands with me before I told him to sit.

"Oh. You must be the appointment I had today." I had checked my schedule before beginning my tasks and saw his name on the appointment list. "Tell me, Mr. Grogan, how can I help you?"

"Just Adrian." He fanned his hand while smiling, "And I am here for my brother Jade." His soft tone was no longer there while mentioning that. I gave him a nod when he looked at me, telling him that he could continue.

"Actually," I could feel the worry and hesitation he was feeling, "We think that our brother Jade has depression, me and our elder brother, Christian."

"And why do you think that way?" I needed to know what made them think like that because sometimes people misjudge aloof behaviour as depression.

"This is not my story to tell, but I will give you some bits." He sighed before continuing. "Something had happened in the past of our lives that was mainly connected to Jade and Christian, and Jade has been affected the most. He has shown several signs of self-harm. We have seen some cuts on his wrists, but every time we talked to him about that, he shut us off. He may show that he doesn't care, but he is our brother. We know when he is lying."

"You are from Quebec. Why didn't you take him to a psychologist there?" When I check the appointment list, I check every detail about my clients that was noted down during the appointment booking.

"We did. But..." He hesitated again. "He somehow manages to kick them out always. We took him to three doctors there as well. One was a male to whom he threatened, and the other two were females with whom he... slept." He said the last part almost in a whisper, but I heard that and was surprised as well.

"That's why I am here." He continued after clearing his throat, "Well, the male doctor he threatened recommended us for you considering you are very successful in this field." That was true; people knew me well due to my success. Even if I had completed my degree a year ago, my publications and successful cases said a lot about me.

"But he needs to be here for a session," I pointed out. "How am I supposed to determine whether he needs a therapist or not if I don't meet him?"

"For that," he eyed me carefully as if he were deciding whether he should say or not, "You can come with me."

"Excuse me?"

"I know that sounds bad, but Ms. Monroe, as I told you before, he won't comply if we try to make him come here. He will simply leave the house, and that is the last thing me and Christian want." His words made sense. If he really was in trouble, he would do anything to run away from it.

"And I'll make sure that everything goes professionally. You will come with me under your hospital's protection, which means if anything happens to you," I gave him a look of shock, "which it will not, then we will be held responsible for you." He added with confidence.

I kept silent for a while, wondering whether I should take my chances or not. With my difficulty trusting people, I was still a doctor, and it was my duty to treat people whenever they needed me.

"Fine." His eyes lit up. "But only three days at first, three days for me to determine whether your brother really needs me or not. If I sense anything wrong, I am out." I said, to which he nodded.

"Of course. Thank you so much for agreeing." He smiled again. "We can leave tomorrow; I have all the arrangements made in case you agree."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah..." He gave me a nervous smile and said, "You can say we are that desperate for anything that would help Jade." He added, and I saw sadness in his eyes.

"Okay."

"I'll text you the details of the flight. It's tomorrow morning. For now, I'll go and get the formalities done at the hospital for your visit." He said this before shaking hands with me again and going out.

I sighed and mentally slapped myself for agreeing to this. I still had issues-major issues.

What if they tried to harm me? What if they are doing all this just for something in return? What if-

I shook my head, trying to get out of my what-if thoughts. It was my duty to treat people well, and that's what I am doing right now as well. There is nothing to worry about.

I hope.

I hope I didn't put myself into something I could never come out of.

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