"We're going back to see Dr McColl today." Derek told the child. It had been about 5 days since they last went to see her and he hadn't reported any more strange behaviour since the screaming incident in his bedroom. They had spent the last few days making the bedroom more welcoming, seeing as it was merely a spare room before Matthew's arrival. They had put in a new set of wardrobes and chest of drawers and painted the walls a light natural green, which Matthew claimed that was his favourite colour.
"It's like the grass, and I like how natural the grass and trees are." He had said, and Derek had no choice but to comply. Matthew looked up from his cereal and smiled.
"She made me draw a picture for her last time." He said.
"And what did you draw?" Derek said.
"I drew Darren helping me at the crash scene. She said to draw the first thing that came into my head so I drew the first thing that I remember seeing. And she drew me a picture too. She drew an angel looking over the town and a graveyard and she said that the meaning was that the angel was protecting the town but there were people in the graveyard that were looking angrily at the angel in front of a grave stone. The gravestone was smaller than all the others and newer looking, so I assumed it was for a baby. I told her all of this and she got really sad. I tried to help her buy she didn't let me." Matthew stopped talking because Derek's face had gone really serious.
"I drew Darren." He said, looking down, assuming he had said something wrong.
"I bought you a tooth brush and you can use the toothpaste that is already up there. They said that your luggage is nowhere to be seen, which is a real shame because it could have really old us about who you were before the crash. And they said that it is unlikely that your luggage will show up because nearly all the debris from the crash has been cleaned up now."
"Thank you." Matthew said, heading upstairs to brush his teeth.
*-*
"Take a seat" Dr McColl welcomed her patient into the room. He walked in and waited for her to sit down before him.
"It's very nice to see you again Doctor." Matthew said. He sat down with a weirdly straight back and waited for the meeting to begin.
"How are you feeling today?" Dr McColl asked him, crossing her legs and leaning forward in her chair.
"I am very well, thank you. Derek and I have been busy decorating the bedroom." Matthew answered, and felt very much as though he were being interviewed. He smiled sweetly and waited for the next question.
"That sounds very nice, do you enjoy decorating?"
"Yes, it takes my mind off things." He almost laughed at how happy he was feeling.
"What sort of things does it take your mind off if you don't mind me asking?" Dr McColl's eyes had the usual young sparkling glow to them and it shone even brighter behind her glasses.
"Don't tell her, she'll think you're crazy." The female's voice floated into his ears from the window outside. He flashed a look at the window and stared.
"Are you okay Matthew? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. We can draw pictures again if you want, you enjoyed that last time didn't you?" Dr McColl tried to regain the young man's attention.
"You're being belittled." The female told him matter-of-factly. He could not see a figure of any sort.
"Is she talking to you as well?" He asked; his was voice shaky with fear.
"I can't hear anyone else here Matthew, can you tell me who she is?" Dr McColl replied, and to her dismay, Matthew shook his head vigorously and just stared into her eyes.
"She's right Matthew, only you can hear us, but its okay, because we're here to help you. Don't say anything to us now, but we will talk very soon, I promise."
"Did you hear something Matthew? It's very important that you tell me the truth. We need to trust each other." Dr McColl's eyes lost their spark and Matthew grew suspicious.
"Change the subject." The female told him.
"I want to draw a picture now." Matthew said, crossing his arms. He thought about the angel drawing from the last meeting and added that she should draw a picture as well. Her smile disappeared but she agreed, and Matthew could tell that her smile was a fake smile. He nodded and waited for her to get the drawing equipment. The drawing session was a lot shorter than the last one because the silence grew too awkward for Matthew.
"I drew Derek's radio." Matthew said, and added that it was the first place he heard music. He didn't mention the real reason he drew the radio but he put hints of the secret female in the drawing.
"That's a very good drawing, can I keep it?"
"Yes, I mean, it's just a radio but go ahead." Matthew shrugged; inpatient to see her drawing.
"Thank you, here's my drawing." Dr McColl handed the piece of paper to the boy. He was instantly disappointed. She filed the radio in her folder and asked her patient what the matter was.
"It's just me, drawing a picture. You hid yourself from me. How can you expect me to trust you if you hide yourself from me?"
"I'm sorry Matthew."
"You had a daughter and she died didn't she?"
"Yes."
"Thank you for being honest, I will tell the truth now. I did hear a voice earlier."
"Thank you for telling me that, it was very brave of you. Do you want to end the meeting now?" Dr McColl could sense that the pressure was building up inside of Matthew.
"Yes." And with that, the meeting came to an end and he was put back under the close supervision of Officer Derek Dawson, which had been made stronger after Derek had a chat with Dr McColl.
"Thank you Doctor." He said, and prepared to take Matthew back home.
"What did she talk to you about?" Matthew asked Derek when they got back in the car.
"Just that I should keep an eye on you because you're not feeling quite yourself at the moment." He replied, leaving out as much information as possible.
"That's a lie. What did she say?"
"I'm not lying, that's what she said." Derek insisted, his ears going slightly pink. Matthew decided that this was a case not worth fighting for.
"When am I going to school?" He asked, changing the topic completely. Derek sighed.
"I don't think you're quite ready to go back to school just yet." Matthew noted the "back" but he was sure he would remember it if he had been there before.
"Will I be bullied?" Matthew asked, turning to face Derek, whose face was concentrated solely on the road. Luckily the pink in his ears from the previous lie had faded enough to be unnoticeable. Derek chuckled.
"Of course not, I just want you to get a little bit better before you go into school." Derek masked his anxiety with laughter.
"Oh, okay. Am I ill?" Matthew put his hand to his head.
"I don't have a high temperature." He said, turning his head to the road ahead.
"No, but inside your head there's something not quite right, and we really need to sort that out." Derek said, and with that, the conversation was over and there was silence for the rest of the journey.
