therapy / c.hood a.u. [ON HOLD]

prologue

i have to listen to music when i'm in the car otherwise i start thinking and thinking will lead to bad things like pulling the wheel.

my mom doesn't like when i drive alone so sometimes she makes me take someone with me. but not once has she offered to be that person. just makes me think of how much she actually cares.

no thinking. no thinking.

i am in the car on my way to some sort of group therapy that my mom made me join. she thinks that if i talk to other people about my emotions that it would actually help me get better.

i think it's all bullshit. you just sit in a circle and listen to suicide stories.

i pull into the empty parking lot and park my silver, run-down toyota corolla. there are only six or seven other cars around. most of them look brand new and the others look just as sad and mopey as mine.

i slowly unbuckle my seat belt and procrastinate in getting out of the car by fixing my mirror that was fine before and shifting gears a couple of times.

i finally get out of the car and walk towards the brick building. i open the glass doors and step into the lobby.

there are white christmas tree lights hanging around the walls. i wonder if they keep them up year round since it's nearly july. i wonder if they even celebrate christmas. do they get a tree?

my mom doesn't get a big tree. usually, she gets a small tree and places it on the large window sill in our living room. she has never been that into christmas. she has never been that into anything. well, except her love life.

i walk up to the receptionist and she smiles widely at me. i don't smile back though.

"may i help you?" she asks.

"i'm looking for dr. creighton's office." i gulp and pull my sleeves down to the palms of my hands.

"are you here for the group session?" she smiles even wider. i nearly gag at how cheery she is.

"uhm, yeah." i nod my head and she types something into her computer.

"what's your name?" she asks so many questions, it's giving me a headache.

"jessica davis." i bite my cheek and she types a bit more before handing me a slip of paper.

"down that hallway, last door on the right. this is just a billing receipt." she smiles. i take the slip and quickly thank her before heading down the hall.

once i reach the room, i open the door and shyly look around at the six other people in the room. an older looking man smiles at me and motions for me to come in.

i tug at my sleeves again before walking towards the small group. i awkwardly sit down and place my hands on my lap.

"you're here for group therapy right?" the man asks.

"yeah." i shift in my seat uncomfortably.

"well it's nice to meet you. i'm dr. creighton. but you can just call me ed." he smiles. i nod my head and look at the floor. "so, let's begin the first session." he adds.

nobody says anything.

"we can start with introductions, who would like to start?" he asks.

silence.

"how about you?" he asks the girl beside me.

she shakes her head and slouches further into her chair.

"i'll go." someone says. i look to my left.

a boy with black hair is holding his hand up slightly. he has tan skin and his arms are covered with tattoos he stands up and looks around with an annoyed expression.

"i'm calum, and i'm 18." he lets out a breath. i can't help but stare at him.

"and what brings you here today, calum?" ed asks.

"my parents think i have anger problems. which is totally untrue, i just don't like most people." he admits and sits back down.

ed stays silent for a moment, observing calum a bit.

"well we are here to help." he finally answers.

calum rolls his eyes and picks at his nails, slouching in his seat. he notices me looking at him and i give a small smile. he stares blankly at me. i stop smiling.

"how about you?" ed asks, looking at me.

my eyes widen and i bite my cheeks. i stand up cautiously and look at calum through the corner of my eye. he isn't looking.

"i'm jessica and i'm 18." i fiddle with my hands.

"why are you here?" he questions.

my heart pounds out of my chest. i swallow the lump in my throat and look around at everyone. they all look miserable.

"my mom thinks i'm crazy." i tell him.

calum's head snaps up and he furrows his eyebrows at me. i look down.

nobody says anything once again. ed frowns.

"why?" calum asks. i glance up at him. everyone directs their attention from calum to me.

"i uhm...." my voice trails off as i fumble with words.

"you don't have to tell us today." ed offers me a smile.

i just nod and sit down. everyone else introduces themselves but i tune them out.

_

a/n
hope you liked the chapter man.
if you wanna be my friend i have like methods of socialization:
kik - cfleury33
twitter - acidicxh00d

(disclaimer: i loVE TALKING ABOUT THE BOYS SO IF YOU're AS OBSESSIVE AS ME THEN MESSAGE ME or dm)

but yeah okaaayy❤️

cal (btw my name is caleigh so i have the same nickname as calum)