A New Form of Therapy

Double Whammy!

Hey Leb? That's all she could say? She didn't sound like she was even trying to hide anything. I had two options on how to play this out. Of course, I did not want to think that it was true, that Katie could have been going behind my back for several months. I wanted something to be wrong about this situation. 

I can't find the right words to say. 

"Leb?" Katie's voice asks again over the phone. "You there?"

"Yeah," I say. I clear my throat, trying to find something to say. The right words. 

"What's up?" 

There it is again. There was nothing in her voice to suggest she was guilty of anything. She was a true actress. Betrayal at its finest, I think to myself. 

"I'm just trying to find the right words to say," I choke out. "I just got some news and I thought there's no way that could be. There's no way that my only friend in this entire city is behind it. How could you do it?" 

I wait for her response. I know she knows what I am talking about. I don't have to say anything. 

There is still nothing but silence on the other end. Silence is a big giveaway in any situation. This one, unfortunately, is leaving my vision blurry. 

"You were my only real friend here outside of work. I trusted you and I told you things that I shouldn't have." I am on a roll with getting things off my chest. "I gave you details about my work that no one else outside of my clients knew. Not even the people in this apartment building knew it and they freaking lived here. I just can't wrap my mind around this or how you even got all the information in the first place."

"So you aren't denying any of the claims?" 

That was all that she said. Nothing more. No apology. No tears. No 'I'm sorry'. She didn't even try denying it. Just 'you're not denying it?'. 

"Yes, I'm denying all of it because it isn't true. I don't know how you got any of this information but I will find out and I sue you and whoever else you've been working with. God, I hope you are the one that took those photos and spread them around to magazines because it's a federal offense and I'm going to sue you for every single freaking thing you're worth. I hope you rot in Hell!"

I slam my phone against the floor in a bit of rage. I was going to get a new one anyway so I don't flinch as it shatters and bits of glass fly across the kitchen floor. I fall to the floor next. How could my life get so complicated? 

Justin says he has it under control, but there's no way that this is just going to go away like before. After the previous speculation and and what Selena knows and the fact that despite him respecting my wishes, Justin still wants to go public, this isn't going away. 

I'm going to lose my job. 

Worse, I'm going to be completely alone.

After what seems like several hours, I sit up and lean against the kitchen table leg. My hand rests in the small puddle of tears I left on the floor. I move slowly as I begin to wipe up the pieces of broken phone into a pile. I can feel the tiny pieces of glass cutting into my hand but I don't pay much attention to it. 

By the time I sweep it up, my work phone is ringing. I walk into the living room and look at the number. It's Justin. 

"Hello?" I answer. There's no emotion in my voice. For the past however long, I've been trying to wrap my mind around the fact that I won't have a job any more and I've just lost the only kind of friend I had. It drains you. 

"Are you okay? I've been trying to call you on your other phone. I'm worried about you." 

"I broke it," I say and sit down on the couch. My side is aching and I'm not sure if it was from the crying or laying on the hard floor. "Slammed it down after yelling at the person that gave those magazines the photos."

"You found out who it was already?" Justin asks, sounding surprised. 

"Yeah," I say. "I'm taking care of it though. I'm going to call my lawyers tomorrow."

"We just released a statement," Justin says as if that's going to make me feel better.

"I'm still probably going to lose my job and have no where to go." I know I sound very down right now. Justin tries to say something again but I cut him off. "You don't understand Justin, I will have my license to be a therapist revoked. You think you have it rough with people finding this out but I will lose my job. I won't have the money to pay for this apartment and I'll probably end up moving back home."

Justin doesn't say anything. After a full minute, I hang up the phone. I sit in the silence of my room. I don't feel like I'm overreacting at all. I guess the one thing I left out with telling you the first time was that although I run my own business and essentially my own boss, I still have to report to someone else to keep my license current and validated. The first time speculation of Justin and myself came about, I was contacted by the board of the company and told that if something like that happened again my license would be revoked. 

My phone starts ringing again. I look at the caller ID. It's Scarlet. I clear my throat before answering. "Hello?"

"Lindsey," Scarlet says. Her voices sounds identical to mine. I get the feeling that something is about to be said that will just make everything worse. I don't know how it can get worse, but I have that gut feeling. "Lindsey, I'm so sorry. I didn't think it would be like this."

LOOOOONG OVERDUE FOR A NEW CHAPTER! WHAT DO YOU THINK?! I HOPE YOU LIKE IT! DO YOU THINK SHE WILL LOSE HER JOB OR WILL THEY BE ABLE TO GET PASSED ALL THIS?!