𝙏𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨

27

A/N – Thie chapter contains content that may be triggering to some people. Things such as EDs. There is also a very brief mention of SA. If you do not feel comfortable, please do not read it. Please remember to be gentle with yourselves. I am eternally grateful for all the support you all have been showing me with this book and I find your comments hilarious. Much love ♡

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《《《   𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦... 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘖𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘣𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶... 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵...   》》》

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"You've mentioned issues with your father. Let's start there." June, Corinne's therapist, spoke with a calm voice.

This was Corinne's first session, and all she wanted was to leave.

"I'd rather not." Corinne replied, picking at her hands.

"And why's that?" June asked, resting her hand into her lap. "Um, because he's dead. It'd be rude of me to complain about stuff about him when he's not alive anymore." Corinne answered, reaching a hand up to scratch the back of her neck.

"I see. So you consider the stuff you endured miniscule because he has passed." June stated more than questioned.

"I guess."

"And why is that? Just because he is no longer in your life doesn't mean he doesn't affect you." June asked, making Corinne pick at her hands again.

"I know that. I just... I don't want to disrespect his memory. He wasn't bad all the time. Sometimes, he would come to talent shows. And he would get me writing materials and different paints. And... and he stayed. When my mother left, my father was the one who stayed." Corinne said, adjusting in her seat.

"Do you feel like you owe it to him to put him on a pedestal?"

"I mean, yeah. He was the only parent I had." Corinne answered, looking at June.

"Just because he was there doesn't mean he was a good one. It is apparent to me that he still has an effect on you." June noted, making Corinne scratch behind her ear.

"I mean... I guess he does." She agreed softly. "In what ways?" June asked, writing down something on her notepad.

"Um, I don't tell my girlfriend, but I watch what I eat. I know she's struggled in the past with an eating disorder... I don't want to trigger her with my own." Corinne admitted, shifting again.

"And, um, sometimes when she's asleep, I wake up to nightmares. I can't go to bed after that. So I just lay there and watch her breathe so I know that she's okay. That I'm okay." Corinne added, picking at her hands more.

"And do you think you should tell your girlfriend what you are experiencing?"

"Probably. But she has a lot to deal with right now." Corinne answered, shrugging slightly.

"Do you consider yourself a lot to deal with?" June then asked, making Corinne pause.

"I mean... I guess so. But I love her a lot. I don't want to stress her out." Corinne replied, looking down at her hands briefly.

"Do you trust your girlfriend?"

"With my life."

"Then why don't you trust her to reassure you? To help you with these battles you are experiencing mentally?" June questioned, making Corinne look down.