The Flower
“Good morning.” I greet the girl at the front desk as I pass her on my way to the back office.
Layla is our new front-desk coordinator.
She just started a week ago and the poor thing looks like she's struggling. Learning a new job isn’t easy.
You have to meet new people, learn the computer system, and not to mention the hardest part—learning people's quirks.
Parker Raines Therapy Center has a total of five employees.
I know it’s small. It's the only place that would take me after finishing school. I don’t mind my place of employment being small.
They typically have a family-type feel, but here it seems the opposite.
Everyone seems like they don’t care about establishing work relationships.
Well, everyone except one person. Zoe is my saving grace.
She finished school a bit before I did, landed a job here, and worked her magic to get my foot in the door.
Z and I attended the same university, becoming fast friends. She and I just clicked. If soulmates exist, she would be one in the form of a friend. Not as a lover because as much as I do very much love her, I like a P where her V is, but I digress.
I’ve only been employed here for a little over two months.
Maybe I’m still learning people's quirks, but the other therapist here is kind of an asshole, and I don’t think it's me being dramatic. Besides Z and I, there’s Parker—as in “Parker Raines,” my boss—and Kyle, the other therapist. AKA the asshole.
Kyle won't say “hi.” He won't engage in any conversations or even small talk.
He acts like he is above it all. Oh, not to mention, he is also a baby boomer.
A very cranky baby boomer. Maybe after all these years dealing with other people's problems, he just avoids his own.
Who knows? What I do know is that I gave up trying after a week.
If he doesn't want to talk to me… then fine. I don’t want to talk to him either.
It’s Thursday, and it's my busiest day of the week. I have the same four clients who are accustomed to their Thursday times. Goodbye extended vacations. Other than my regulars, I have a new person on my schedule, Axel Gray. The name makes me chuckle, reminding me of a movie character.
I check the chart the front had put together for me, which typically includes the patient’s basic identification information, a brief mental health survey, and a section where they can add any additional notes or concerns while booking their appointment.
There is a record of him having one prior session at our facility.
Typically, a detailed manuscript of what was discussed would be in this file, but not much is written besides a few notes from Zoe.
Sarcastic, unwilling to put in effort, loves retorts.
That’s odd. Zoe would have definitely written more about her client. Well, at least I would hope she does. This gives me nothing to go on.
My eventful morning is just piling up. I woke up to another note from this anonymous stalker.
This time it was left on my nightstand, in the same fashion—a black envelope with my name in the center and a single green dahlia next to it.
Waking up to that was not on my docket today. In fact, it’s not on my docket any day.
What's horrifying about it is that they broke in while I was asleep again. That is twice now. Either I’m the heaviest sleeper in the world, or they’re literally a ghost. No, a demon, because only demons would scare the shit out of humans like this, making them go insane.
Another note and polaroid accompanied the visit.
The polaroid was of me walking to my car.
Not so bad, right? Wrong. The note said: