9. Sky
SKY
As I sat in yet another lobby of yet another doctor’s office, anxiety welled inside me.
This one reminded me of the past. Of when I was fourteen and River and I were with our mom, waiting for them to call our names to talk to us about this rehabilitation program for Alpha-Omega twins.
Our mother, so hopeful, holding onto a brochure, telling us again and again that this might just be an answer to prayers. River scoffed that he didn’t need help. He was fine the way he was.
“Right, Sky?”
I’d just shrugged and hid my face in the tattered knees of my jeans…just like I was doing now, in the chair beside Fletcher in this office, eight years later.
Anxiety swamped me. I wiped my clammy palms on the thighs of my jeans, feeling more than a little unsteady.
Fletcher immediately took notice. “Sky? Are you okay?”
Biting my lip, I shook my head and jumped to my feet. I began to pace. Back and forth, back and forth. I tried to focus on breathing techniques I’d learned from past therapists that Jem had dragged me to, but everything was so muddy.
Everything about this place made me feel like a child again. Made me feel like I was being abandoned again. I knew it was foolish, but emotions weren’t logical.
I sat down next to Fletcher and clung to his arm, hating my voice when it came out so small. “Please don’t leave me here,” I begged.
His moss-green eyes widened. “What? I would never do that. I’ll be right here, waiting for you to come back out.”
I blinked the tears away. “Promise?”
“I promise.”
I had no reason not to believe him, but… “I just...” I trailed off, gnawing on my lip. I’d been doing it so frequently that it was raw, like ground beef on the inside. “I…”
I glanced over at the door, where a rotund woman called out, “Mary? Good to see you,” and an equally round woman—probably Mary—greeted her and followed her beyond the door. It snicked shut with finality.
“Sky.” Fletcher’s voice was calm and smooth, drawing my attention back to him. “Everything’s okay. It’s just therapy. Nothing bad is gonna happen. Madeline is a lovely lady and amazing at her job, and she’s going to take good care of you. It’ll be over before you know it.”
Before I could answer, my name was called out next. “Sky?”
My head snapped up. It whipped around so fast, I worried for my vertebrae. I froze, staring at the woman for a long moment before Fletcher cleared his throat.
“Do you want me to come back with you?”
Yes, I wanted to say, but I knew I needed to pull my big-boy pants on and deal with this like a man. So I shook my head, stood on rubbery legs, and followed the woman. I paused at the doorway to cast one last glance over my shoulder.
Fletcher waved to me. “I’ll be right here,” he reminded me. “See you in an hour.”
Swallowing the lump growing in my throat, I bobbed my head in a nod and continued down the hall.
The therapist took me back to a small room in cozy blues and soft grays, with a matching loveseat and armchair with fluffy pillows that looked like clouds.
There was a water fountain on her desk, trickling softly.
I sat down on the chair and hugged the pillow to my chest, needing something to anchor me.
“Hello, Sky. I’m Madeline, and I’m going to be your therapist for the time being.
If, at any time, you feel like we aren’t meshing or you don’t like the way I handle things, you are free to try out other therapists in the office.
I won’t be offended one bit. All I care about is that you’re getting the help you need, and if that’s not with me, that’s perfectly okay. Still, I hope I can help you.”
Madeline was probably in her early-forties. A stick-thin fox shifter with long, carrot-red hair and curious brown eyes, and a button nose. Her outfit was simple—a brown pencil skirt paired with a cream blouse, and several long beaded necklaces.
She told me a bit about herself, how therapy worked, the confidentiality, blah-blah-blah. I only hugged the pillow that much tighter.
“Why don’t you tell me a bit about yourself? Let me get a read on you. I have some basic information from your intake sheet, but I’d rather hear it from you in person, if that’s okay. So, Sky. Tell me about yourself. What brings you here?”
I stared at her. What brought me here? “Where do I even start?” I asked, tamping down a bitter laugh.
“Anywhere you’d like! Your earliest memories? Or perhaps problems you’re dealing with?”
Alright. Might as well jump from the frying pan into the fire. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and began to speak.
“When I was fourteen years old, my mom decided she couldn’t handle me and my brother’s outbursts anymore, so she brought us to this rehab place to get us help.
Except, the place was a scam and the guy that promised Mom he could help us was a liar and a monster who medically kidnapped us and used us in his evil science experiments. ”
Madeline’s expression didn’t shift, didn’t change, so I continued.
“They separated me from my brother. They kept us in these sterile white rooms with only a cot to sleep on. No windows. The lights were too bright, and they never turned off. It didn’t matter how much you screamed or pleaded or cried, they didn’t care.
The only time the people in lab coats came was to bring you out for more testing. ”
I sucked in a sharp breath, my chest feeling tight. “I was poked and stabbed and burned and injected with god-knows-what. For years, I was subjected to horrors…and nobody cared. I was fourteen, and if my own mother didn’t care enough to save me, then what did that say about me?”
To my horror, tears burned hot as they slid down my cheeks. Madeline reached forward to hand me a tissue, sympathy written in the soft lines of her face.
“I’m so sorry that happened to you,” she said. “That’s awful.”
“Yeah, and that’s not even the worst of it,” I said.
“I see. How did you get out of that situation? Did someone come for you?”
I scoffed under my breath. “No. We got a lucky break. River and I escaped. We barely made it out alive, but we did it.” My shoulders slumped forward, defeat washing over me, my twin’s words echoing in my mind. “Not that it matters now.”
“Why do you say that?” she asked. “You’re out of captivity? You’re free, right?”
“Yeah, but my brother hates me. I kind of hate myself, too. I don’t know how to fix the wrongs I’ve done. I feel like I’m at a dead end.”
“That’s what I’m here for,” Madeline said gently.
“To help you figure that out. Things will get better, Sky. I promise you, the world might not be all sunshine and roses, but it’s also not doom and gloom.
There’s a balance. We just have to find that balance.
Why don’t you tell me a little bit about your brother?
Tell me about your relationship with River. ”
So I did. There was a lot to unpack—too much for a single hour—and our time was up before I knew it. I had to admit, though, my chest did feel a little lighter when our session was over.
I felt a little steadier as Madeline walked me back to the exit and told me she’d see me at our next appointment.
Fletcher was waiting for me with a big smile on his face. He stood to greet me with a side-hug. “Wanna grab lunch before we head home? We could stop at Bixby’s? Everyone’s been asking about you, wondering when you’re coming back to work.”
I frowned.
Fletcher shook his head. “No rush. Just whenever you’re ready. I’m just saying, there are people there who care about you. We all care about you, Sky.” He squeezed my shoulder. “C’mon, let’s go get something to eat. My treat.”
I was nervous as we walked through the front door of Bixby’s Diner, the bell chiming our arrival. The diner felt both familiar and unfamiliar, but Fletcher was right—the minute people caught wind that I was in the building, my old coworkers flooded me with cheerful faces and hoots and hollers.
“Sky’s back!”
“Hey, Sky! How are you doing?”
“We’ve missed you around here, man. When are you coming back?”
That’s when I realized that maybe Adam and Fletcher were right. Maybe I really did have a second chance here in Greymercy…