The cottage looks the same, it's colder out today than my last visit. My appointment is in less than five minutes and I can't bring myself to step inside. Someone steps outside and walks right past me. The receptionist glances out the door.
"Miss Barnes, you appointment is scheduled now. She won't wait for you" the receptionist lady says, holding the door open and her cardigan tight around her waist
"Right, yes. Sorry" I mutter and make my way inside
"She'll be ready in a moment" she says, heels clicking on the wooden floor
I stand in the waiting room with the urge to run. The door down the hallway opens.
"Miss Barnes, come on in" the doctor's voice echoes
I plaster a smile and walk down the hallway, trying to radiate confidence and control.
"That fake confidence isn't going to work here Miss Barnes, take a seat" the doctor says, not looking up from her notes
I feel deflated and collapse on the long chair, face first.
"I take it your Christmas went well then" she asks, the sarcastic tone coming through
"Wonderful, how was yours?" I say into the leather
"Excellent, spent it with my family, saw my 2 year old granddaughter so that was a treat"
"How lovely" I reply, trying to sound happy, turning onto my back & staring at the ceiling. "Your ceiling is filthy" I comment
"It gives people something to stare at. So what's going on?"
"Nothing, not a damn thing"
"How was your Christmas break then? Did you take time off work? Did you spend it with anyone?"
"I took time off, which was nice. I'm back to work this week. Just spent it with my partner"
"No family?"
"Nope, his mum was there"
"How about yours?"
"Other side of the world"
"All of them?" she frowns
"Yeah, it's just me"
"Why are you here? Why did you move?"
"I felt like it"
"Do you get along with your family?"
"Sure" I reply, the voice cracking slightly
"Parents still together?"
"Yep"
"If you want me to help you, you are going to need to give me something more. You do know that right?"
I lay there in silence for a couple of moments, staring at one dirt patch on the ceiling. "I've named my devil thing Janet"
She smiles. "When did you do this?"
"Before Christmas. It was after the office Christmas party which I done for work, we went to some crappy bars and strip joints. They loved it. I was mad at Adam for some reason, I can't remember why. But he showed up and we went to the gym. After we were walking, talking, and he just suggested giving it a name. Janet popped into my head"
"Does the name hold any significance to you?"
"No, it was just a name. My friend was surprised I didn't call it something like Charlie"
"Why?"
"Similar to my mums name"
She's writing. "Tell me about your mum"
YOU ARE READING
Journey of a Lifetime
Fanfiction** A Little Bit Smutty ** You've been running away from your trauma all your life. The sex, the drugs - the addiction was all just a distraction. So what makes this runaway any different? Could it be the handsome man who strikes up a conversation wi...
