The Forest

Chapter 19

     The afternoon seemed to vanish as we traveled farther away from the hospital. Suzanne said she had a car, but never bothered to tell me where she got it or if it was even hers, but I didn't bother to ask. Our surroundings were quiet as it normally was, but it was very unsettling. This quiet still felt as a cover to the wild and crazy thoughts we had in our heads. The path that we took seemed familiar to me and had somewhat of a weighed uneasiness tagged along with it. I never asked her where we were going, because as long as it wasn't any where near that hospital and sheriff...I was fine.

    "Suzanne?" I ask and her eyebrows lift in curiousity.

    "Yeah, what is it?" she replied, not taking her eyes off the road

    "Your mom was at my school today. She warned me about your dad. She said she knew about what we were doing..Did you tell her?" I ask and I could see her eyes widen.

    "...Yes. I did. I'm sorry I never told you about that. My mother...she's been messed up since..." she says leaving the silence for me to put the pieces together, "And she found me one day, I thought she would drag me back home and tell my dad. She told me to do what I thought was right, but not to tell my father anything or let him find me"

    "What's he going to do if he finds you?"

    "My father is a very...violent man" she says with a sort of cry in her voice like it pained her to talk about it. I never knew this. When she said it I felt a slap in my face at the impact of the words.

    "He has a very huge, uncontrolable temper and you don't want to be on the other side of his anger. The destruction of my brother may have hurt my mother...but it had done the worse to my father" she says with what looks like tears in her eyes slightly.

    I didn't know what to say, but I couldn't take my eyes off of her. I felt like her pain was so strong it was magnet and I was the metal. I instantly attached to it and I myself felt like my father abused me physically, but in a way he did...just mentally.

    We were reaching a familiar street and I shook my head in confusion as I realized where we were. In big bold letters it read at the top, "Oakwood Counseling Center". This is where we took my brother to see the Psychologist, Caroline, that told me to never come back. She said my brother was being possessed by an evil spirit.

    "Why are we here?" I ask trying to contain my anger. What was the purpose of this?

    "Matthew, there is still things I haven't told you yet. Caroline..the women that talked to Sammy? She's the same women who examined my brother. She told me something was wrong with him and I should be afraid. She said that his actions weren't normal for a child his age. She told me she could speak to the dead..."

    "Suzanne, she told me to never come back here again" I continue, "What makes you think she'll help us?"

    "What other choice do we have? Plus, we need to prove to your mother that there is something wrong with Sammy. We need all the help we can get"

    "How do you know about my mothers feeling about this?"

    "How do you think I know about Caroline? Matthew, I've been here this whole time...you just couldn't see me" she says and I feel like there's so many other people that could be watching this very moment.

    "What if she tries to kick us out?" I ask her

    "She won't. We won't let that happen" she says with determination and I feel the feelings attached again as my metal links to her emotional magnet.

    "You're right. We wont leave without her agreement to help Sammy" I say and it sounds like an open threat.

    Suzanne shakes her head and in some way I feel like this will help her too. In a way this is beneficial to her as well.

    We get out of the car and I feel like someone is beating a hammer at my stomach. I felt myself shudder and shake. I was extremely nervous. My foot still hurt so Suzanne helped me travel.

    We walked into the building and the women at the front desk greeted us with a smile.

    "Hello, do you two have an appointment for today?" she asks in a cheerful voice

    I began to feel tougue tied but suddenly spat out, "We're here to see Caroline"

    The women began typing on her computer frantically. She looked up at us and said, "Caroline..doesn't have any scheduled appoinments for today"

    "That's right. I called her with an emergency. You see..Matt over here was attacked by his..father. He has been feeling terrible and has been having episodes and constant shaking at the thought of the incident. He explained to her that he needed to talk with her right away. He's been really struggling. He can barely walk, I fear that he'll never recover emotionally" Suzanne exclaims.

    I started to wonder how long it took her to come up with that lie.

    "I'm so sorry to hear about that. It's terrible. I'm sure Caroline will defintely do her best to help. I'll send you two up now" she says with a sympathetic grin.

    "Just head on over there to the elevator. You're going to go to the 10th floor, third office to you right"

    "Thank you so much" Suzanne says with a smile and helps me over to the elevator.

    "I think we both need to come here..." I tell Suzanne as the elevator doors closed.

    "Why?" she asked leaning her head toward me

    "Because we are both Pathological liars" I tell her and she smirks but it soon fades.

    The elevator doors open and she helps me walk over to Caroline's office. I brace myself for whatever could possibly happen at this moment. I wasn't sure whether to knock or simply walk in. I wasn't sure if letting her come to the door would be a good idea though because she may shut it in my face again.

    Suzanne took a deep breath and opened Caroline's door. Caroline didn't immediately lift up from what she was reading at her desk till Suzane shut the door behind us. She shook and stared up at us with confusion.

    "What are you two doing here?" she growled at us and I placed my head on the lock and made sure that there was no way she was leaving. Not untill she agrees to help us.