Afton Family Scenarios

Anxiety

"How have you been since your last visit?"

The tapping sound of an anxious foot filled the quiet room, along with the quiet hum of the heating vents. The lady cleared her throat and wrote something down, the sounds her keyboard made accompanying the other quiet noises.

"I really don't see how this is necessary."

"With all due respect, Mr. Afton, your wife died a year ago and your son committed suicide last week," The lady closed her laptop and folded her hands in her lap, "Someone like you wouldn't just be 'fine' after two family deaths."

"I'd rather you mind your own business."

"And why is that?"

William watched the clock on the wall above the woman's head, silently waiting for the appointment to be over. Every second that past caused him to grow more anxious, the tapping increasing in frequency.

A few minutes of silence passed, the lady observing his nervous behavior. She cleared her throat again, snapping William out of whatever reality he was in. Her gaze was filled with concern, but there was an underlying annoyance that he had picked up on.

"You disassociated again." William sighed, annoyed, in response. He stood up from his chair and grabbed his blazer, carefully putting it on as not to wrinkle his shirt.

"I'm sick of sitting here and listening to you telling me how sick or messed up I am."

"You're tense."

"Because you keep staring at me."

"Does that bother you?" He stared at her in astonishment before chuckling quietly.

"I'm not interested in older women."

"You really do have quite the ego, Mr. Afton."

"Do you blame me?" She opened her laptop and quickly typed something before gesturing for him to sit down, "I actually have to go, we can discuss this later."

Before she could say anything, he had already left her office. Going to therapy wasn't his idea, in fact, he hated the idea. The thought of opening up to a complete stranger wasn't something he was too keen on doing. He wouldn't even be going if it wasn't for the constant harassment he received for not attending his appointments.

He quickly walked through the waiting room, seeing he was already late for work. Phil tried to convince him that he wasn't in the right mindset for work, but it was his choice, not his father's. Henry actually came up with the idea, which William thought was just an excuse for them to spend more time together.

The thought of Henry aroused a sense of uncertainty. After everything that happened, William couldn't properly sort through his feelings. After all, Henry was his best friend, and the thought of them possibly becoming more than that made him feel slightly sick.

He quickly dismissed the thoughts before opening the door to his car, which, he impulsively bought a week earlier. It wasn't a complete waste of money, in his eyes anyway. Phillip was using the family car so he let Michael use his car. Though, that was more or less an excuse for him to get away with buying a newer, more expensive vehicle.

The silence that filled the atmosphere brought back the darkness that sat inside him. It was always there, slowly eating away at him, but for a while it sat dormant. For a while he was overwhelmed with other emotions. No matter their nature, he wasn't empty or numb.

A shiver was sent down William's spine as a cold hand touched his cheek. He quickly became aware of his surroundings, realizing he never left the parking lot. He turned the car on and let it run for a minute before turning it back off, the temperature suddenly becoming cold again.