therapeutic ; irwin

week six

sixth group therapy session
i skipped a few weeks

We all sat in our now "usual" seats in the small circle of chairs (although today, Michael's chair was vacant and the boy himself wasn't here at all), which meant I was again next to Ashton. I had began to grow quite fond of Ashton. There was something about him that wasn't like other people I knew. Maybe it was his cockiness, which was somehow charming. Or maybe it was the way he was so similar to me, but so very different. In this moment, I'm not really sure what makes Ashton so special, but I knew that there was definitely something about him. He was very flirty, but I wasn't exactly sure how he felt about me at this stage. I knew I did really like him, but a boyfriend was certainly something I didn't need at the moment. I needed nothing more but to try and get my life on track. Then I could think about dating.

Charlie started to talk about something we were doing today, but my focus was completely on the missing boy. Michael was close to be the quietest of our group (Jackie did take the lead with that one though), but in the short time I've known him, I've come to quite like him. We had talked precisely three times in therapy and he didn't seem rude or uninterested at all. He was actually quite interesting. Some would think he's just another moody teenage boy, but I like to think he's a misunderstood teenage boy. Michael - unlike any others - understood what it was like to not want to be around other people; that being around other people didn't make him feel less lonely in any way. Thinking about Michael got me wondering more about where he was. But just as I was about to raise my hand to ask Charlie where on earth Michael was, the door let out a huge creak. My instant thought was that it was Michael and he was just a little late, but in walked a short, blonde woman, probably in her mid-forty's. I was completely baffled, considering this was supposed to be a group of teenagers and young adults, not adult adults.

The blonde woman look behind her and whispered something to someone who was still behind the large door. The woman looked to the group and smiled a half-hearted smile. She took a step forward and out walked a tall, lanky blond boy after her. The boy looked lost, to say the least.

With the arrival of the boy, Charlie stood from his seat in our circle and walked up to the blonde woman. They whispered some things to each other, causing silence to be brought upon our group. I observed the blond boy standing behind what-seemed-to-be his mum. Though I couldn't see his face well, I knew for a fact that he felt uncomfortable. The way he was slouched ever so slightly and he fiddled with his fingers.

Charlie soon turned back to face us.

"Uh, everyone, this is Luke. He's going to be joining us from now on. Luke doesn't talk, so I want you to all be kind," Charlie explained. What complete and utter bullshit. Be kind? Just because Luke didn't talk, didn't mean we had to treat him differently from anyone else. This was the first time Charlie words had annoyed me. I wasn't annoyed because of Luke. I was annoyed purely because he had said to "be kind" to Luke. I'm sure Luke wouldn't appreciate it either, because it only makes Luke seem more messed up. Poor kid.

"Luke, you can go sit there next to Calum," Charlie pointed out to Michael's seat and Luke shuffled anxiously towards it. I truly felt bad for Luke and not just because of what Charlie had so stupidly said. First off, Luke had his mum walk in on our group and quite frankly, I would be mortified if I had to be accompanied by my mother for a therapy session. And he was late, which certainly helped on the whole "try not to get noticed too much" thing. And Charlie had to make that ignorant comment to top it all off.

Charlie closed the door after he said goodbye to Luke's mum and returned to the circle. I couldn't help but stare at the new kid. His hair was a messy blond, not just one shade. His eyes shone bright blue and though they were beautiful, they looked somewhat frightened. His bottom lip was being clenched between his top and bottom teeth and from what I could see, he had a small, black ring around the left side of his lip. Like the other boys in the room, he wore skinny, black jeans with both the knees ripped. He also wore a dark grey and black striped jumper over his skinny torso. He was very attractive, but he wasn't Ashton attractive. Luke didn't seem at all like Ashton. Ashton was confident and humorous, and though I didn't know Luke, he just didn't seem... well... friendly.