Without You

67. Remember the Time...

A/N - Hey, guys! I am soooo sorry to have kept you waiting for so long again! Writer's block has been choking me for weeks now, and real life has been extremely busy, which also didn't help. I've just hammered out a chapter, though, so hopefully it's not complete rubbish! And before I sign off, can I just say...20,000 reads?!?! Oh, my goodness!!! I am blown away that this rambling story has been read by so many people! Thank you so, so, SO much to all of my readers for your continued support, and for taking the time to like and comment! I will try my best to not leave you hanging quite so long between updates....🙈 -H. x

"So why is it, do you think, you're scared of change?"

A miserable sniffle and a sucked in breath. "I-...I'm s-scared...'cause..." A gulped down sob, "What if he realizes...!" The man broke down completely, burying his head in his hands while choking out a mortified-sounding, "Sorry."

Linda internally sighed. It was the third time already this session that her client had collapsed in floods of tears. It's not that she was frustrated with them. She just worried that it was a sign their mental health was declining – or had declined – even further.

Leaning forward, she laid a gentle hand on the man's shoulder. "Just let it all out, okay? There's no shame in having a good cry – it's all part of the healing process, remember."

She didn't offer her clients any of the empty reassurances that were so often invoked in situations such as this one, telling them "everything would be okay" or "you're just getting it all out of proportion." Her job was not to dismiss her clients' worries as being baseless; instead, she was here to listen, to understand their concerns and help them to see a different way of thinking. She was merely a guide, someone who could offer a basic roadmap to point them on their way back to health.

While her client let out some more pent-up emotions, she reviewed her notes from the session so far. They'd made a bit of progress, and she'd thought it sounded like things were maybe looking up...But there had also been some interesting – and worrying – admissions of his inner thought process, and his emotions were running high. Very high, in fact.

Linda glanced at the clock. Roughly three-quarters of the session had gone by already. Less than a quarter of an hour left now. Reaching across to her desk, she pulled out a few tissues and handed them to her teary client, giving him a sympathetic smile as he sheepishly wiped his eyes and blew his nose. Again.

His eyes were puffy and almost becoming a bit bloodshot now from crying so much, his cheeks blotchy red. He looked pitiful. "Sorry," he croaked, raising his bashful gaze, "I-, I don't know why I'm l-like this today...."

Linda smiled, reaching out and touching his arm – some clients needed that physical connection at times like these, and he definitely was one of them – saying, "I told you, there's absolutely no need to apologize. The whole point of therapy is to work through emotions and thought processes...And sometimes that involves having a good cry or two. Believe it or not, I've had clients spend almost their entire therapy session doing just that – this is a safe space where emotions can be let free without fear of judgment. It's nothing to be ashamed of, lovely."

He nodded, sniffling and wiping at his nose, but still seeming embarrassed.

"So let's both take a couple of deep breaths, and then we'll pick up where we left off, okay? You were starting to tell me why you're scared of change and then you needed an emotional release, so we'll pick up from there."