"This world isn't as bad as you have been made to believe."
From the moment Willa was born her world was like a dark cloud. She was born into the hands of those who wanted to inflict pain. She never knew what it felt like to be loved. Maybe it wa...
"Where are we going?" Willa asked, drawing her finger over the cup holder of her car seat as the car continued through the city streets.
"We are going to make two stops today. One to see Dr. Quinn, and then another to pick up the stuff you need for homeschooling."
"I go to school?" Willa asked, glancing up to look at Lauren's eyes through the rear-view mirror. Lauren instantly saw the worry in the little ones eyes as she thought about being in a place full of people.
"Sort of. You are going to learn at home with me. I'm going to be your teacher," Lauren explained, turning into a parking garage for the building where the psychologist's practice was located. "Does that sound alright?"
"Yeah. Does Dr. Quinn have needles?" Willa asked next, her eyes watching the orange lights that lit up the garage.
"Nope. She's a doctor that talks to people who have a lot of bad thoughts like you. She's going to try to help you take them away."
"No more nightmares?" Willa asked, her eyes sparkling with what could be considered hope. She was beginning to express a far greater range of emotions than a week and a half ago.
"That's the goal, pretty girl," Lauren smiled back once more through the rear view mirror before parking the car in a stall and pulling her keys from the ignition. She grabbed her purse from the front seat and ensured she had the folder with all of Willa's papers in it before she stepped out of the small car and opened the back door. She helped her daughter undo the seatbelt buckles and lifted her from the backseat, adjusting the child's overalls as she crouched down to look her in the eyes.
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"Alright, now I want you to understand something. If you don't feel good, or safe, or comfortable with anything that Dr. Quinn asks then you can tell her. She's not going to make you answer anything you don't want to."
"Will you be there with me?" Willa asked, holding LoBear around the neck as she allowed Lauren to gently stroke her French braids. Normani had gotten up early to help with her hair, making the little one feel a bit better with the new hairdo.
"I will be there with you the whole time. I promise to never leave you, pretty girl."
"Okay. We can go," Willa said, nodding her head to show she was good before taking Lauren's hand and allowing herself to be lead into an elevator and up to the building's lobby.
They were directed upstairs to the fifth floor where they were offered to take a seat while Dr. Quinn finished with her current patient.
Lauren allowed for Willa to listen to music with her, the two sharing the ear buds. Whenever a song that Willa liked came up Lauren made sure to put it in her new Playlist dedicated to the little one.
Ten minutes passed before Dr. Quinn left her office, escorting a couple with their teenage daughter out before approaching Lauren and Willa.
