Healing ||mileven||

Let's talk about it

It was an understatement to say that El was very reluctant to go to the counselling sessions. When Joyce first mentioned them, El didn't really understand what they were for. She said that she would just go and talk to a man about her past a couple of times a week and it would help with her nightmares. El didn't like the sound of it, especially when Jonathan referred to the man as a 'head doctor'. She didn't like doctors, but she'd agreed because she trusted Joyce. She also asked Mike what he thought, he didn't seem worried, quite the opposite, he thought that the man might help her which would be a good thing.

"Will you come with me?" El asked him awkwardly.

"Yeah, of course" he answered, not missing a beat. "But I'm not sure I'll be allowed in the room with you, I might have to wait outside...plus..."

"What?"

"Well, you might want to talk about private things...that you don't want me to hear".

El shook her head, not able to imagine anything that she wouldn't tell Mike, and she told him so. He just smiled at her and gave her a hug.

...........................

A week later, Joyce, El, and Mike walked into the doctor's office. "El Byers to see the doctor" Joyce said to the receptionist.

"Hmm, yes, he's expecting you. You can go right through. You'll have to wait in the waiting room" she said, looking at Mike. El looked slightly panicked, but Mike gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before letting go and sitting down.

El took a deep breath and followed Joyce to the door to the doctor's room.

"Ah, come in, I've been expecting you. You must be El" said the doctor, warmly. She just nodded, looking down, not wanting to make eye contact. "Please, sit down, I'm Peter".

"Right, I got a letter from Hopper regarding your...situation. Look, I'm not gonna lie, I had a hard time believing all of it...but he and I go way back and he's never lied to me, so I'm just gonna go with my gut and accept what he says is true. Ok?"

El looked at him, still unsure of how this was going to pan out, "ok" she answered, quietly.

"Everything you say in here is confidential". He noticed El's confused face, "what I mean, is that everything you tell me in here, stays in here, like a secret. We're just gonna chat for a bit, and then you can go, ok?"

El nodded.

"Right, ok, Mrs Byers, you can wait outside".

Just as Joyce went to leave, "No!" El said loudly, standing up and grabbing her arm.

"El, its ok, I'll be right outside with Mike. Please El, just try, ok?"

El slumped back into her chair in defeat.

"So, El, what do you want to talk about?" no answer.

"What do you like to do, with your friends?" no answer.

"How about your favorite food?" no answer.

"Tell me about living with Joyce?" no answer, but El gave him a dirty look, how dare he question me about Joyce.

"How about the boy outside, waiting for you?"

"Mike" she whispered, looking him in the eye. He felt a bit uncomfortable with the way she was looking at him, like she was daring him to say something about Mike and threatening him in anticipation.

"Is he Joyce's son?". He knew the answer already, Hopper's letter had contained a lot of information, in fact pretty much everything Hopper knew about El's history, much of which was completely unknown to El herself.