Wrapped

Chapter 48

-Nick

"It's going to be okay, Nick." My mom said kindly while patting my knee, "All you have to do is go in there, and talk."

We sat together on a small bench outside of what seemed to be an office. On the door was a small plaque with a name printed in big, bold letters, reading out;

CHRISTENE CASTRO 

Next to the door stood a small whiteboard. On the board were names and times next to them. My name was third on the board, along with the time of 3:30 next to it. Above my name was a person named Dylan, and their time was 2:00.

"Mom?" I asked quietly and ripped my eyes away from the board, turning my attention towards my mother, "How much longer?"

     My mother eyed me for a second, a sad smile on her face, "A little less than five minutes," She said while crossing her legs and putting her hands in her lap, "Do you feel nervous?"

   Being nervous isn't a strong enough word to describe how I feel. Butterflies fluttered around in my stomach, giving me that awful feeling of wanting to throw ‐ up. My hands were shaky and my palms were sweating. My legs felt incredibly weak. The thought of talking to a stranger, terrified me. 

        Instead of verbally answering my mom, I just nodded and looked down at the ground, trying to cover up any scared look that showed on my face.

        I heard her deeply sigh, "Don't worry," She said while uncrossing her legs and leaning forward to look at me, "It's perfectly normal to see a therapist, it's just like going to the councilor's office at school."

        I shrugged. It didn't feel normal to me. Instead, it felt forced onto me, it felt as if I didn't have any choice but to come here. 

        The sound of a door opening broke me out of any thoughts, and made my stomach drop. The office door in front of me creaked open, and a young boy walked out quickly, his eyes locked on the ground. A tall women followed behind him, but stayed near the doorway.

        "I'll see you next week, Dylan," The women called and watched the boy ‐ Dylan ‐ walk off down the hallway. 

        After a small amount of time, the women looked at me and smiled warmly, "Well good afternoon," She said and opened the door widely, "You must be Nickolas, correct?"

        "Uhm, it's just Nick," I say awkwardly and rise to my feet. 

  "Nick," The lady repeats and nods, "I will remember that."

        My mom stood up as well and smiled, "Nice to see you again, Ms. Castro."

        "Same to you, Lori," The women said while still smiling, "Why don't you come in?"

        I took a step towards her office and felt my stomach begin to tie in knots. I quickly glanced back at my mother and saw her still standing still. Was she going to make me do this alone?

        "A ‐ aren't you coming?" I asked nervously and clenched my hands together.

        My mother opened her mouth to speak, but Ms. Castro beat her too it, "Your mom did have the option to either stay in the waiting room or be with you in my office, Nick, but she thought that maybe you would be better off without her there."

        My mother nodded after Ms. Castro spoke, leaving me even more nervous. 

        "O ‐ Oh," was all I really could say.

        "It's going to be okay," My mom said reassuringly, "I'll be right out here."

  I nodded and felt a hand place itself on my back, pushing me into the office that awaited me. I could feel my heart pound harder and harder each step I took.

.:|:.

          "Take a seat," Ms. Castro said while gesturing towards two chairs that sat in the middle of the room.

        I nodded slowly and walked towards the two chair, glancing around the room as I did so. On one side of the small office was a large bookcase that took up most of the wall. A small metal desk sat in the corner with tissue boxes scattered on top of it. Next to the two chairs was a small coffee table, with even more tissue boxes. I could tell that I was going to feel uncomfortable here. 

   As I lowered myself into the chair, I watched Ms. Castro step over to the desk and grab some papers, before sitting down in a chair herself. 

        We watched each other for a second, no one saying anything. I could feel myself squirming around in the seat, practically feeling  the awkward tension between us, but Ms. Castro didn't seem to notice at all. She just gave me a warm smile and spoke.

        "How was your day, Nick?"

        I tried to relax a bit, she wasn't asking any personal questions or putting me down, there was no reason for me to be so tense. "It was okay," I say and lean back in the chair, making it give out a small squeak.

        Ms. Castro simply tilted her head, her eyes never leaving mine. "Tell me about it."

        The stressful tension took over me once again, making me feel jittery. The way she had said 'tell me about it' seemed so forceful and commanding. I also felt embarrassed to say how my day went, no one really talked to me at school, unless the were told too, William and Peyton kept messing around with me in the hallway during passing period, and I failed a science test. It wasn't something I really wanted to talk about.

        "Well, uhm," I began and looked down at my feet, not exactly knowing what to say.

        "That's a big question," Ms. Castro said, breaking me out of my thought. I quickly glanced up at her and saw her still staring at me, no emotion showed on her face, "How about I make it a little easier for you to answer, okay?"

        I slightly nodded. She leaned back in her chair, tapping a black pen against her lips.

        "Did you happen to hang out with any friends?"

        My stomach dropped. She was a complete stranger and I was about to tell her that I had no friends at school, that I sat alone at lunch, and worked by myself during group work. This wasn't just nerve wrecking anymore, it was humiliating.

        I stayed quiet and felt tears starting to bring my eyelids. My cheeks felt as if they were on fire. Why did my mom want me to go through this? 

   Ms. Castro let out a small breath, "Do you have any friends, Nick?" She asked softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

        I began to shake my head 'no', but then I suddenly remembered;

        Zack.

I finally finished a new chapter! The next one will be out this Saturday! We only have a few more chapters to go before the ending! Thanks for sticking with me and this book! Much love! -Luka