The Guardian

Chapter Twenty-Five

"Are you ready?" asked Seth.

"Yes, I am." She rubbed her sore wrist as she put on her coat.

"How was your appointment?" Seth put his phone into his pocket and slipped his jacket on. He said goodbye to his uncle, then held the door open for Julianna to go through.

"It was good, I guess." She walked to the elevator and jabbed the down button.

Seth put his hand on her back and rubbed gently. "You sound like you're struggling with your desire to cut."

She stared at the elevator doors as she waited for them to open. She refused to look at Seth in shame. "I am. I had plans on cutting myself when I did the dishes tonight," she admitted, "but Michael is trying to convince me to take some medication before I do the dishes instead."

Thankful that the council had allowed him to spend time with her and become her friend at a time when she desperately needed one, he said, "I'll tell you what. If you get me some dinner, I'll do the dishes with you, and you can tell me all your thoughts and feelings. Instead of cutting, you can talk it out."

The elevator came and they walked on. Julianna hugged herself as she leaned against the back wall. "That will be hard."

Seth smiled. "To get me dinner?"

Julianna chuckled ruefully. "No, not to get you dinner. Allyson's giving me a bit of slack. What can she do anyway? Kick me out?"

"I know it's hard, having to move", he said sympathetically. "What did Uncle Michael think about you moving in with me?" He already knew the answer. He had been listening to her thoughts when she was in her appointment. He hadn't meant to, but he had sensed that she was upset and he wanted to know if there was anything that he could say or do to help her. It was the first time that he had listened in on her appointments.

"He thought it was a good idea. He also told me that the hospital is hiring receptionists, and he told me that he would still see me, even after my health insurance was no longer valid." The elevator doors opened onto the lobby, and the two of them walked outside towards the car.

Seth nodded and considered the position at the hospital. "Working there is a good idea. I wish I'd thought of that. And you'll have benefits working for the hospital. You'll be able to pay for your appointments with Uncle Michael. You can use my name as a reference for the job."

"Michael also said that I could use his name, and he suggested that I could use Gabriel's name, and he told me to use my Anatomy teacher and my Health Care teacher for references. I will have more references than I'll know what to do with."

"Those will all be good references. When are the applications due?" He let Julianna into the car and closed the passenger door. He rounded the SUV and slid into the driver's seat and started the car. They waited a moment for the car to heat up, then Seth pulled out of the parking lot into the main thoroughfare.

"Apparently by the end of this week." She took the job ad out of her pocket and looked at it by the light of the dashboard. "Yes, here it is. They're due Friday."

"When do you see Uncle Michael again?"

"On Wednesday. I am hoping to have my cover letter and resumé drafted by that point, and ask him to look them over to see if he has any suggestions."

"At the risk of having too many cooks, I'd also like to look at your resumé. I'll drive you to your appointment on Wednesday and both Uncle Michael and I can look over your resumé at the same time. Have two copies of it to review, and Uncle Michael can review one while you are in your session with him, and I can review the other when I am sitting in the waiting room for you."