Haunt You x Conrad Fisher

Chapter Thirty-Three

Elena

I paced nervously in my bedroom. I tapped my phone screen, seeing the time as 3:59 p.m. One more minute. I took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. I was fine all morning but as the time got closer to seven, I began getting really anxious. It had gotten so bad to the point that I vomited in the bathroom. I knew at that moment I needed help.

My phone began ringing at exactly four. I paced quickly to take a seat on my bed crossing my legs underneath me and answered the phone. "Hello?" I answered shaky with more nerves than I thought I had.

"Eléna. I got your SOS text requesting a phone appointment at four. Is everything okay?" I heard her ask with caution.

"No- yes, I don't know," I answered honestly.

"Are you needing to talk as tia and sobrina or therapist and client?" Dr. Reyes asked calmly.

Dr. Julianna Reyes was not only my therapist but, she was also my aunt. I didn't meet her until two years ago when I stepped foot into her office in San Mateo. Julianna Reyes is my mom's older sister. My mom and her didn't get along growing up. They were four years apart and since Julianna was the older, she was raised more strict. By the time my mom was born, she was raised with more leniency. According to my mom, Julianna resented her for that. When my mom got pregnant with me and Daniel her senior year of high school, Julianna wanted nothing to do with us or my mom, telling her 'error tras error contigo'.

When we were younger and go to Reyes' family parties, I never saw tia Julianna attend any of them. My abuelo always said she was busy building her own therapy practice. But I never understood how she couldn't just make an appearance when San Mateo was roughly only twenty minutes from Palo Alto and we would travel almost three hours to be there. In my mind, you make time for those you care about.

After my assault, I was a mess. I didn't eat. I didn't sleep. I quit softball. I didn't even want to drink anything, afraid of what could be slipped into it. I was terrified I would lose control of myself again. Every time I showered, I felt suffocated like I could never fully remove his touch off of me.

My mom was desperate to find help and finally called the last person she told herself she would never call for anything since that day my mom found out she was pregnant. There was a lot of bad blood between the two but ever since I set foot into her practice, my mom and tia Julianna's relationship has slowly been repairing itself.

My tia Julianna took me in and has treated me with nothing but care and respect. Which was shocking from the stories I heard about her as a child. I was nervous to go with her at first because I felt like I was betraying my mom but slowly, session after session, I began to feel her warmth and opened up to her.

"Um, therapist and client," I said as my voice trembled slightly.

"Very well," she answered. "You are now on the clock and anything you say will stay confidential. Let's start with how we got to this call?"

Always the professional tia Jualianna, which is why I liked her right from the beginning. No bullshit, straight facts. "I think I'm starting to like this guy. And our interactions from a couple days ago up until now have been flirty and fun. I have a date with him tonight and as the hours went on this morning I began getting anxious regarding the date and I don't understand why since I've hung out with him before."

"Hm," she hummed softly. "Has he ever touched you against your consent or made you uncomfortable for you to feel this way regarding the date?"

"No!" I immediately shouted. "Sorry. He hasn't. Each time has been my doing, for the most part." The two kisses between me and Conrad have both been my doing. The first time, I was the one that told him to kiss me. I was the one to give him permission. The second time, last night, again, I was the one that started the kiss. Conrad has been nothing but a gentleman in going at my pace disregarding his own needs.