VALERIE

Seventy Five

"Can you explain furthermore as to why you assaulted her?"

Valerie chuckled ominously for a bit and then continued to hum her favorite classical piece by Debussy, Clair De Lune.

Growing rather enraged Valerie's life long psychiatrist since she was 5, slammed her hand down flatly and roughly against the wooden table that laid between them.

Valerie seemed amused by getting a rise out of Dr. Raj who still glowered at her patient.

"Valerie, please, I hold your future in my hands. So talk to me." Raj was obviously angry but she had regained her professional demeanor.

Valerie looked around the dingy painted pastel green room with the awful fluorescent lighting that created long shadows amongst the scruffy office furniture.

Valerie was currently in an examiners office being watched through a two way mirror by a police officer, a psychologist, a judge, the Laurent family lawyer, and the caseworker/investigator.

Valerie shrugged her left shoulder effortlessly, "I don't like her, So I hit her."

"Why?" Raj continued to persist but Valerie shrugged again.

"Because I don't give a fuck." Valerie replied crossing her legs criss cross on the upholstered chair.

"Have you been taking your medication?"

Valerie nodded at Raj's question then she waved at the mirror, knowing they were watching her.

Raj chuckled in frustration, she pushed her thick framed glasses up to the top of her head and leaned forward in her seat.

"You're lying."

Valerie smirked and leaned in as well, face to face with only a little space between their faces, "No I'm not." She replied quickly.

Raj leaned back completely unamused by her patients childish antics and shook her head.

"I can't deal with you-"

"Ma'am you can't go in there!" The voice interuppted Raj's sentence just before the door to the room busted open and in came Emily with Grace trudging behind her.

"Are you crazy or are you a retard?" Emily asked approaching her youngest daughter whom she hadn't seen for almost 2 months.

"Nice to see you too." Valerie replied smugly, completely avoiding any eye contact with her mother or sister.

"Do you know the amount of embarrassment you have put this family through again?" Emily belligerently shouted at Valerie who was trying her best to ignore her.

It was hard having her mother shouting at her while the voices in her head did too.

Then in came the family lawyer along with the case worker and judge.

"Doctor Raj, Mrs.Laurent, we all need to have a quick chat." Emile, the lawyer stated right before everyone but Valerie and Grace piled out from the room.

Grace sighed, "Why? Why do you do things like this?"

Valerie shrugged, she didn't reply to her sister who began to pace around the room.

"You're an adult for fuck sakes, act like it." Grace hissed at her. Taking a deep breath in Valerie continued to avoid her sisters stare and just looked at her own legs instead.

"Stop screaming at me." Valerie finally asked after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, "You're supposed to be my sister." Valerie was whispering now, finally looking at Grace she furrowed her brow, "Act like it."