Her Protectors: Rise of a phoenix

Chapter 37: True memory.

5:37 PM 11/13/2024
Chapter 37: True memory.
Due to her being rejected that morning, Allison was in a bad mood all day. Currently, she was dragging her feet towards the psychologist's office. She brainstormed on the different ways to gain his attention and annoy him at the same time. She was so focused on her task that she didn't even notice when she reached the office. She lightly knocked on the door but there was no answer. So, she quietly opened it while hoping she wasn't interrupting anything.

To her surprise, what greeted her was a waiting room for patients with chairs aligned on one side of the wall and an inner door on the other side that had the sign 'BUSY'. She sat down and waited for her turn.

A few minutes passed and the inner door finally opened. She sat upright and out came the person that had told her off two hours ago, Adrian Williams!

"Fancy seeing you here. I didn't know that you were messed up in the head as well", he said with smirk on his face and hands in his pockets.

She stood defiantly. "I'm not. Just going through some things".

He cocked his head to one side. "Oh yeah? And just what is that?"

"I have mem..."
The inner door creaked opened to reveal the beautiful face of the psychologist. "Miss Harper?"
"I'm here".
She turned to Adrian. "See you later?"

"Don't have high hopes".

She scoffed and entered the office. She hesitated at the door and surveyed the room. Apart from two chairs facing each other with a table in the middle, there was no other furniture. "Have a seat?"
But Allison remained standing. "Don't worry. Just feel at home".

She sat down and stared right into the doctor's eyes, trying to hide her uneasiness. The room that was painted white did nothing to calm her raging nerves. She obviously forgot that the woman sitting in front of her was an experienced psychologist.

The woman adjusted herself in her seat. "I am Doctor Tina Arlington. You can call me Tina for easy communication. What do you want me to call you?"

"Allison will be just fine".

"I see you've met Adrian. That boy is special, he just doesn't know it. Anyways, I got your file from Agent Walters. You said you have memory loss?"

"Affirmative".

"Have you made any friends yet? What do you think of Shadow?"
Allison was quiet not because she didn't know what to answer but she didn't know how to phrase it because for all she knew, they weren't having a private consultation.

"Don't worry. No one is spying on us right now. You deserve that much. You can talk freely to me. See me as your friend. Do you want to get your memories back?"
Maybe because of her speech or the smile in her eyes, Allison found herself relaxing around Tina. "I'm not so sure about that anymore. I have a new life here. I have new friends and Shadow is wonderful as well. So far, I think I have only made two enemies. Apart from that, every other thing is alright".

"Enemies? From what I heard; you haven't been here for more than a week".

Allison suddenly started laughing and Tina joined in not too long after. She went on to explain what she meant by 'enemies' and Tina ended up cracking up again. After that, they continued talking like they've been friends for years.
All of a sudden, Tina's expression changed from a cheerful friend to a woman with a mission. "Agent Walters told me about a memory that you had?"

Allison noticed the change in her and also got serious. "Alex thought I was crazy when I told him about it. Come to think of it, anyone would think I'm crazy hearing my story". She closed her eyes and laughed in self ridicule. When her eyes flickered open, they were filled with sadness. "My memory could be said to be triggered by the scene I saw on the day I met Alex. My foster parents were lying dead on the floor with blood all over their bodies and a memory flashed before my eyes that I couldn't help but hold onto something. I saw myself from a viewer's standpoint in a kind of settlement filled with dead people".

"Agent Walters told me about it. Is there..."

"I didn't tell Alex everything. I didn't just see myself in that situation but I had blood on my hands. In fact, I saw myself killing one of them. That's why I stopped Alex. I wanted to become a better version of myself. That's why I'm here. To change my past".