Heart of Glass

Chapter 4

Ariel took a seat in the chair closest to the window and the Doctor sat in the large black leather armchair near the desk. Her stomach churned for multiple reasons – fear, nerves, anticipation – and the banana threatened to make a dramatic return from the recesses of her digestive system.

"So, Ariel." The Doc smiled, producing a pen and notepad. "Did you sleep well?"

"I guess so."

"I had hoped you might have had time to think about your actions last evening with Lucas and the others."

She suddenly felt like she was in the principal's office, about to be scolded for something that the other idiot kids had done. "What about my actions?"

"Do you agree, now, that you could have approached the situation differently?"

"No, I don't." She stared at him defiantly. "Not with Lucas, anyway. He had it coming."

"I've spoken this morning with Lucas about his own actions and he agrees that his temper got the better of him." He scribbled something down and Ariel unconsciously inched forward, trying to see what he had written. "Your words say that you hold some regret with how you treated the girls. Is that right?"

She did admit to herself that she had felt a bit bad for how she'd acted, but she would never admit that to him. Instead she chose silence, looking out the window until the Doctor made a small noise, clearing his throat. When she glanced back, a small smile was upon his face and it appeared her silence was the answer he'd been looking for.

"What the hell is this?" She motioned to the paper. "I thought you were here to fix my problem, not over analyze my behavior."

Again, the Doctor smiled, tapping the pen gently on the notepad. "I am sorry to say this, Ariel, but your behavior is part of the reason you ended up here."

Anger coursed through her body, her cheeks flushing. "The only reason I ended up here was because of my stupid sister - !"

The Doctor spoke loudly over her. "All in good time! We will get to your sister, but for now I want to remain focused on you. After all, you are the one that needs my attention, not your sister."

Ariel fell silent, chest heaving with pent up rage. Her scar felt stretched, the skin taut with each breath and she rubbed it roughly. Her sister was the reason she was here, this was all her fault. The doctor was wrong that Paige wasn't the one that needed attention. She needed serious psychiatric help for being the worst sister in the world. Maybe she should have been forced to come too and Ariel could have paid Lucas to eat her something. Doctor Grimm remained silent, and she began to calm down as images of her sister being mauled by Lucas flittered through her head..

When the pain in her scar had faded to a tolerable level, she glanced back up at him. It was a good thing he couldn't read minds or he might actually try to lock her up for being a little bit psychotic. When he realized she was ready, he leaned back in his chair. "Now," he said. "Let's start from the beginning."

She was silent for two breaths. "How much did my Dad tell you about what happened?"

"Just enough for me to ascertain that you qualified for my care." His eyes drifted to the box on her lap and she tensed. He was going to ask to see it. She knew it. She had known that eventually he would have to see it, to do tests, find some sort of magical evidence of how to fix it – but in her head, she hadn't been this afraid to show it to him; to show it to anyone. Hands trembling, she reached for the key around her neck, telling herself to suck it up and get it over with. The faster she did it, the faster she got cured –

"Wait, please Ariel." His words shocked her and she jumped, the key falling back against the fabric of her jumper. Motioning to the key, he shook his head slightly. "Before you show me what is inside that box, I want you to tell me how it happened."