Better. [e.d]

t w e n t y - t w o

Chapter 22:

Elena's POV:

7:30 A.M

I was awakened by the sound of Ethan's alarm causing me to let out a groan.

"Sorry babe," Ethan mumbles before shutting off his alarm. "It's fine," I say before letting out a yawn. "What time is it?" I ask. "7:30," Ethan says sitting up in his bed. "Ugh, I might as well just get up now," I say before getting out of his bed.

My eyes were half shut and I was still not completely awake yet as I dragged myself out of Ethan's room and into mine.

I went into my bathroom and began getting ready for class.

*

5:20 P.M

I was sitting at the sidebar in the kitchen trying to do my homework for about an hour now but I was so distracted. All day I had been thinking about last night and the way I reacted. I literally had a panic attack when Grayson mentioned the cruise.

"Hey," I hear Ethan say as he walks into the kitchen causing me to snap out of my thoughts. "Hi," I say. "What's up?" He asks. "Just doing homework," I say and he sits down next to me. "How are you feeling?" He asks me. "I'm fine, why?" "Just wondering," he says and I nod. I then turn my attention back over to my homework.

"I actually called my therapist and made an appointment for you after school," he says. "What the hell? Why? I'm not crazy," I say defensively and look up at him. It made me so angry that he did something like this without even asking me. "I just think it'll help and just cause you're going to see a therapist doesn't mean you're crazy. You're most probably suffering from post-traumatic stress. I think it was stupid that I didn't think of getting you to go see a therapist after the incident happened. You clinically died for almost five full minutes from drowning," he says. He's right, I guess... "Fine, what time is it?" "Tomorrow from 7:00 to 9:00." "Two hours?!" I emphasize. "Yeah, I thought you would want a lot of time so you can get over this fear quick-" "Is this why you really signed me up for therapy? So I can get over my fear of boats or water or whatever it is that I'm scared of so you guys don't have to cancel the trip?" I ask getting defensive."No, like I said I-" "Because I really don't care if you guys go without me and it's really insensitive of you to put me through therapy for your own selfish reasons. Maybe it's you that needs the therapy for that and because of your commitment issues," I say out of anger. "Elena, I don't care about the trip," he says loudly before continuing. "I just care about you and your mental health. I just want to make sure you're okay," he says and I pause. "Where is this therapist?" I ask. "In that plaza across from Somerset mall," he says before storming out of the kitchen and I turn my attention back over to my homework.

*

Tuesday 5:43 P.M.

The rest of yesterday just consisted of my roommates coming up to me and asking if I was okay with what had happened the previous night. It was now almost 6:00 and I had the therapist appointment in an hour which I was nervous to go to.

I pulled out my phone and searched Google for 'What to know before going into therapy.'

'17 Things Therapists Want You To Know Before Your First Session' published by BuzzFeed had come up. I opened up the link and skimmed through it.