When Emma Falls in Love (Taylor Swift x OC)

Therapy

January 10, 2017.

Seventeen - Emma

Emma was sitting in an oversized leather chair bouncing her knee while a middle aged woman read through a stack of papers. It was quiet other than the occasional 'ah' or 'I see.'

"So, I see you've been in therapy before." It must have said that about Emma in the stack of papers because it wasn't a question.

"Yes. When I was fourteen." Emma had no emotion in her voice.

"Was it for the same reason you've decided to come back?"

"Not really."

The lady flipped back through her clipboard to reread a page. "It says you came after your parents got divorced. Is that correct? What brings you here this time? Any anxiety, depression, trouble sleeping or eating, thoughts of hurting yourself, or anything like that?"

Emma laughed and ignored the last part to avoid saying all of the above. "That's correct. I'm here this time because my girlfriend is under the impression that I'm not mentally stable."

"Are you?"

Emma laughed again. "Mentally stable? No."

"What makes you think that?"

"Do you want every example I can think of or just the most recent?" Emma's mind was playing back through the pool and the bar along with every other stupid thing she'd done while filled with whatever type of emotion.

"Whatever you're comfortable telling me."

"I'm not really comfortable talking to you at all, I need to hear you ask it if I'm going to talk about it. I'm only here because my girlfriend is terrified that I'm going to drown while she's sleeping."

"Okay. Tell me about what happened to make her think that." The lady put on her reading glasses even though she wasn't reading anything. She leaned forward in her office chair.

"I went swimming."

"You're going to need to elaborate on that."

"It was slightly cold outside, I wouldn't get out of the pool and she was worried that I was going to freeze." Emma was leaving out some details, but she had no plans of sharing the full story.

"How cold was it outside?"

Emma stared at the lady. She didn't want to answer that. "Twenty degrees or so, it really wasn't that bad." The woman's face twisted in confusion. "I've lived in New York for a couple years now, sorry. It was around one degree Celsius, really not that bad." Emma was lying through her teeth. It was closer to negative seven Celsius, something the lady seemed to know. Emma looked down to check her watch. She wanted to leave.

"You live in New York. What are you doing in London?"

She had really screwed herself there. She didn't want to talk about why she was back in London. She especially didn't want to talk about her father. "I'm visiting family"

"How's that going? Do you like visiting them?"

Emma scoffed. "Yes, love it actually." The woman stared at her until she had to tell the truth. "I would rather be back at home."

"Who are you visiting? Your parents?"

"Yes."

"What's your relationship like with them?"

"My relationship with my mother is very good. I haven't really talked to my father since I was eighteen." Apparently she was going to talk about it. She'd told Taylor she would try, but she was still second guessing that up to this point.