anxiety.

twenty-three.

"'you are enough', these little words, somehow they're changing us."

skylar.

thomas's voice echoed through the walls as he called my name. i found him sitting at the desk in the makeshift office he had here. adults were always working, they're so boring. i never wanted to grow up and become boring like that. he instructed me to take a seat on the couch while he finished typing something on his computer. he shut his laptop, turning his chair and focusing his full attention on me.

"i have good news for you love." he told me, making me wonder what he was about to say. "i think i found something to help with your nightmares."

my eyes widened, "really?"

that was good news. that was much better news than i thought was possible.

"it's called prazosin. there's recent studies that show it's effective in treating nightmares. i can fill out the prescription when we get back-"

"prescription?" i interrupted him. "like pills?"

i never wanted it to get this bad. bad enough to have to take medication, i mean. that meant that i really couldn't do it on my own or with the help of thomas or therapy. i needed to rely on the help of a drug. did this mean that i was weak? or worse, did this mean that i had finally gone crazy?

"tell me what's on your mind darling."

"i'm not crazy." i spat out quickly, trying to convince myself more than him.

"i never believed for a moment that you were." he said cautiously with confusion evident in his face and voice.

i was still wary of the idea. couldn't medication have bad side effects too? what would my parents think? mason? my friends? that i was a loser? a freak? a troubled girl? i began panicking. thomas motioned for me to come over to him. it felt like i was taking a walk of shame.

"i can tell that you're worrying about it. no one is going to think you're crazy love." he assured me, grabbing my hands and pulling me closer to him.

"everyone. everyone is going to think i'm crazy or i'm messed up or i'm some freak!" i continued to panic as a surge of questions escaped my mouth. "is it going to make me depressed again? will it make me lose my appetite? i can't lose any more weight, my parents will freak out on me..."

thomas cupped my face, getting me to quit rambling. "you're freaking yourself out pretty girl. i promise you if you have any negative side effects, you just have to tell me and i'll take you off of it and find something new. we will find something that works, no worrying."

this sounded like a bad idea to me. a bad, bad idea.

"tommy." i groaned, immediately making his hands go to rub my shoulders to relieve my stress. i only called him that when i was overly tired or scared. in this case, i was most likely both. he wiped away my tears with his thumb and pulled me into a hug. i rested my head on his shoulder as he talked to me.

"you're always stressing yourself out for no reason princess. take a deep breath with me. you're barely 14, you need to relax a little. hasn't anyone ever told you that? don't let your youth be washed away by mental illness. you need to start doing things that 14 year olds should be doing." he spoke out.

"and what do you think that girls my age should be doing?" i snorted, almost laughing into his shoulder.

"definitely not stressing theirselves out like you do. teenage girl things, skylar, teenage girl things." he responded in all seriousness.

a smile crept up on my face, "even dating a boy?" i asked, finding my way out of his grip and beginning to run away from him playfully. i turned around to see a smile on his face as he chased after me.