Linger in Silence (a Pokémon-based fan fiction)

Decision

A couple hours passed and Jamie was laying in bed on his side, staring at the gracefully falling white snowflakes outside his window.

He heard his door open and his mother walked in. She sat down on the bed next to him and rubbed his back. "I'm sorry, Jamie. I know I shouldn't have yelled when I was putting pressure on you. I guess I brought it up too soon."

Jamie was quiet for a few moments. "I know I was being a dick," he said quietly. "You were just trying to help, and I didn't even listen. I don't know how you put up with me."

"It's not your fault," his mother assured. "If I'd had worked it out it better, maybe it wouldn't have gotten so out-of-hand."

                "No, Mom. There's something wrong with me. I don't know why, but something happened and now everything looks wrong. I feel like I'm the only one who sees things this way and I don't know what's real anymore. I think I really am going crazy."

                 His mother touched his cheek, brushing back a large cluster of dark, shaggy hair. "You're not crazy. Your mind just works differently. You see the world in a special way, and I know it might seem unnatural and scary, but it's not bad or wrong."

               "That's not what other people think. To them, I'm just a freak. It turns out people are just assholes to each other and nobody cares about anyone but themselves."

               "Just because you've been surrounded by jerks doesn't mean that everyone is. A therapist's job is to help people through their struggles like yours. But if your that unsure, just take one session and see how it goes. If you don't like it, you have nothing to lose."

Jamie sat up. "Let's say I did agree, how would you pay for it? Are you just gonna sit and wait for the old geezer to magically donate a raise of monthly battle table scraps?"

                  Jamie's mother sighed. "Please don't bring him up like that."

"I'm sorry, Mom. But how else are you gonna pay for it?"

                  "I'll get a job."

                  Jamie furrowed his brow at her. "How?

                  "Don't worry about it. I'll take care of everything, ok?"

"You really think this is best for me, huh?"

"I want this to end as much as you do. All I can do is comfort and support you, but I don't know how to help you. They might."

Jamie was silent for a long moment.