Follow The Rain

Twelve

I'd always wondered what it was to faint. I'd never before fainted in my life so waking up to "oh gosh, she's alright," didn't exactly make me feel any better. I was laid down on the same hard couch with my head propped against a silk cushion and my legs raised up on the arm of the couch.

"How long was I out?" I immediately asked. A hand rested on my shoulder and another was pressed to my forehead.

"A minute or two." The gentle voice of Dr Winslow. "Kayla, you should've told us that were feeling unwell."

"Too late now," I muttered, sitting up too soon and seeing stars. I waited for the dizzy sensation to pass then stood up staggeringly on weak limbs. Before I could move anywhere, though, hands pulled me back down.

"Kayla, I think you should rest before you go anywhere," said my mother firmly, causing me to sit back in surprise. I hadn't expected her tone to be so harsh when I had literally just fainted.

"Now, can you remember anything before you blanked out?" Jordan's mom asked, handing me what I expected to be a glass of water.

I nodded and gulped down the water, suddenly realising how dehydrated I was. "And to answer your earlier question, Dr Winslow, yes. My friends have been supportive to me and I appreciate it."

She said nothing in response instead took the empty glass from my cold hands and placed it on her desk. I shoved my hands into my pockets in an attempt to warm them. "Kayla, are you aware that prescription drugs may cause harmful side effects?"

I resisted the urge to bite my lip like I always do when I lie. "I'm not sure where this is coming from, Dr."

"You can't possibly be suggesting that my daughter-"

"No, Mrs Hayes," Dr Winslow interrupted my mom. "I was not insinuating anything in particular."

The questions finally ended after that and soon my mom and I left the therapist's office after being told that I must rest, keep myself hydrated and eat more.

"I love how she just tells us what to do. She's a therapist not a doctor," I complained as we got into the car which had yet to warm up.

"She studied medicine before she could become a psychiatrist, Kayla."

"You took me to a psychiatrist? You really must think I'm mad," I groaned. "Still, it's not her job." I strapped my seatbelt on and turned up the heat, instantly appreciating the warmth that spewed forth.

"Well, parenting isn't my job but I do it anyway," my mom replied matter-of-factly. I shut up at that.

"Kayla, your mother and I are concerned about you."

The words that came out of my dad's mouth meant I was in trouble. I didn't know why but I had an idea. I decided to go along with whatever it was they thought needed discussing.

"Okay, and?" I raised my eyebrows from where I was sitting at the kitchen table. My parents were probably both seated across from me with frowns on their faces. But I ignored that fact since I couldn't see them anyway.

I heard my dad sigh then my mom give him a reassuring word or two. "We're concerned for your health. Physical and emotional." I gestured for him to continue and leaned back in my chair to cross my one leg over the other. "You seem distant...we're not sure what it is, but, we want you to know that you don't have to hide away from everyone."

"I don't hide."

"Would you prefer the term conceal? Your mother told me that Dr Winslow mentioned prescription drugs. Is there something you're not telling us, Kayla?"