Fearless?

Fearless? - Chapter Twenty

‘As we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence actually liberates others,’

- Marianne Williamson

Chapter Twenty

“You sure you are going to be okay?” Ted questioned for the millionth time, his soft brown eyes looking down at his niece as he pulled up outside her therapist’s office. Azelie took a deep breath in as she nodded, a slight smile spreading across her lips.

“Yeah.. I’ll be fine,”

“Okay, well, I’ll be in the gallery checking up on things.. so just come over when you’re done and we can head over to see them,” Ted replied, still worry about his niece despite her constant reassurance that she was okay. It was easy to see she wasn’t, she hadn’t slept for two days, the evidence was in the dark skin below her eyes contrasting sharply with her pale skin, but he didn’t know what he could say to make everything better. He had wished countless times that he did, but the answer never came. 

“Alright, see you then!” Azelie replied as she climbed out of the car, quickly looking both ways up and down the main street before running across the street and into the familiar offices of her therapist. She checked in with the receptionist, who instructed her to sit and wait for a few minutes. 

As she waited her mind drifted back over the events of the yesterday. Sleep was one thing Azelie didn't do on Thursday night. She just lay awake, staring up at her roof in the darkness trying to fight all the thoughts in her head. How could she have forgotten! She used to count down to it - like it was her birthday or something, but it wasn't a birthday. It most definitely wasn't her birthday. She would count down to it, dreading it as the date approached. It was almost as if it was branded on her forehead, burning into her mind, and yet, this year she had forgotten about it.

'The Cole effect' was what Azelie had decided to call it. The idea that Cole made her forget about the reality of everything. Made everything lighter, better - made Azelie happier. The Cole effect should have been a positive thing - but it wasn't, at least not to Azelie.

The entire of Friday she’d managed to avoid him. He wasn’t at lunch because of football practice, and if she saw him in the corridor she would just turn and run in the opposite direction. Talking to Cole right now seemed like the worst thing in the world to Azelie. She couldn’t handle the questions, at least not at the moment. She knew that she would eventually have to face him, Cole was just brilliant at getting Azelie to talk.

“Azelie? You can go through now,” the blonde receptionist smiled over at Azelie, pulling her from her train of thought. Azelie instantly stood up from the comfy chair she had been sitting on and walked past the receptionist, not needing to be shown the way, as she made her own way to her therapist’s office, knocking lightly on the door while opening it slightly.

The office was different in contrast to the rest of the building. It was rather modern from the outside, and even the reception area was a large clear space, with large windows letting in lot’s of light; however the office was completely different to the reception. Covering the walls were high shelves that reached the ceiling, stacked high with books shoved into any available space. The floor was covered in a green carpet while there were piles and piles of papers and files all over the floor. The only free space in the actual room was probably a path to the therapist’s desk, and a small area around the desk for people to sit in.