Twisted Fate

Chapter 1

Rhea's POV

My next session should be here any minute. The only thing I knew about them was that it was a father and a daughter. It was their first session and I was hoping to make the most out of it. It was always nerve wracking meeting new patients. The hardest part of being a psychologist is clicking with the patients. It was always a hassle if I didn't and it made me feel horrible that I couldn't help everyone. I knew it was impossible, but it still made my heart ache when people said they'd have to find another therapist that was better suited to their needs. It was five to one when my receptionist Claire came in to inform me, my new patients were here. "Alright, please send them in, thank you."

I stood up from my chair wanting to make a good impression. I'd taken many things away from studying psychology, but the one thing I'd never been able to shake was caring about what other people thought. Everyone had their struggles and that was one of mine. It was something that I was working on, but my first instinct was still to become anxious.

When the man and his daughter walked in, I lost my ability to breathe. He was absolutely gorgeous. He had emerald green eyes, luscious lips, and brown hair, which was a mess right now. He was very extremely tall, almost standing a foot taller than me, and thin. He was dressed very sharply in skinny, black dress pants, and a bright sweater accented with a scarf. I couldn't help but stare, trying to take everything in. My eyes eventually made their way to his daughter. She was the spitting image of him except her eyes; they were a dark brown and I couldn't be sure but I could bet her mother's were the same color.

"Hello, uh..." Shit you'd forgotten to ask Claire their name. God, I could be so airheaded sometimes. I'm only twenty-nine, but I feel like I'm hundred at times. If I didn't write everything down, I would never get anything done. His coughing caught my attention. Looking up, I could see he was uncomfortable.

"Bill, Bill Skarsgård and this is my daughter, Evan," he declares sticking his hand out. I grabbed it with mine, his hand felt nice and soft in mine. His name sounded familiar, but I wasn't able to quite place it. We both let go, both of us looking down at Evan. She was wrapped around his leg, her face pressed into him trying to hide herself. Her brown curls were a mess atop her head, her outfit didn't match, and from what I could tell was probably around three or four. Not wanting to scare her I decided to focus on talking to Bill, before I could say anything else he said, "Sweetheart say hello."

Instead she moved farther behind him. He started to say something else to her, but I held my hand up signaling that it was fine. "Why don't we take a seat?" I asked gesturing towards the couch. "I'm Ms. McGrath, but you can call me Rhea if you'd like."

I sat across from them, waiting until I thought they were comfortable or as comfortable as they were going to be. Bill kept tensing and shifting, seeming to be unable to sit still. Turning around to my desk, I grabbed a pad of paper to write down anything important that needed to go in their file knowing sure as hell I wouldn't remember everything. Turning back around Evan was now sitting on his lap with her head pressed into his chest. It was such a precious sight.

I'd always loved children, but teaching or daycare didn't seem right for me and that's when I decided on family counseling. Doing this enabled me to spend time with children and adults and help them through the hard times in their lives. I've always been inspired to help others. I'm not sure if it had to do with that no one was there to help me or if it just made me feel good doing so. Either way this was the perfect profession for me.

"I have a few basic questions, if that's alright?" He shook his head yes, but his eyes gave away his real answer. It was obvious that he didn't want to be here. I couldn't help but wonder why they were here, if he was so opposed. The little girl still wouldn't look at me; she was now playing with his hair. The action seemed to calm her, not that I could blame her. His hair was luscious, soft, and would feel amazing.