Therapy Ever After (Therapy #1.5) (10 page)

THANK YOU TO
each and every reader who spread the word about Therapy. Thank you to every reader who embraced Jessica and her journey. All of you are responsible for the success of her story. I am eternally grateful. You’re all my Snowflakes.

-Kathryn

KATHRYN LIVES IN
her small East Texas hometown with her husband and two children. She is a music infused writer and self-proclaimed book junkie. When she isn’t listening to music, writing or reading you will probably find her watching her favorite sport, UFC.

Kathryn is also an anti-bullying advocate and avid supporter of mental-illness and suicide awareness.

You can follow Kathryn on
Facebook

A THERAPY Novel

Chapter 1

I’M SITTING IN
my room scribbling down some lyrics for the new song I’m writing for the band and movement outside my window catches my eye.

Lily Evers.

We’ve been neighbors since we were kids, though she’s always been a mystery to me. She’s sitting on her deck reading. She’s always reading. Reaching up to twist her long hair up into a bun a few loose strands fall just below her tan shoulders. As I stare I wonder why the hell I’m staring and then realize what guy wouldn’t. She’s gorgeous. Only thing is, she’s an epic bitch. One of those closed off, snooty, I’m too good for you bitches. Not that she has any reason to feel that way. She lives here on the wrong side of the tracks just like I do. Where she gets off acting like she’s better, is beyond me. She glances over in my direction and our eyes connect through the window. Curtains, blinds, something needs to be put on these damn windows. Dammit! She quickly looks away as soon as she sees me and once again Lily Evers has dismissed me. Who cares? I know I don’t give a shit what she thinks. Girls are a huge pain in the ass and I don’t have time for them. I have my boys and our music. One day I won’t be a high school student in a garage band. I’ll be on the road and there’s no room for love and relationships on the road.

Sitting out in the In School Suspension building yet again I watch the second hand on the clock move at a snail’s pace and roll my eyes. Thank freaking God this is the last year I have to deal with this bullshit called school. Not to mention I can’t wait to get away from all of these asswipes that think they’re better than me.

“Psst, hey big K,” Worm whispers, trying to get my attention. I look towards the front of the room first where Mr. Mason is dozing off and then turn around.

“What?”

Worm gives me his best I’m about to do something really stupid look and says, “Mr. Mason won’t ever know what hit him man. Lean over so I can get a good shot.”

He’s made a make-shift spit ball launcher out of pencils and rubber bands. He puts the balled up paper in his mouth and rolls it around a few times then places it in the center of the pencils and pulls back aiming right at Mr. Mason’s head. Right then the main door to the building swings open catching Worm off guard he twitches and lets the saliva drenched ball of paper catapult into the air. Everyone aware watches it all happen like it’s in slow motion. Lily Evers starts to hand Mr. Mason his attendance files for the day when, smack! The spit ball splats right into her very defined and perfect jawbone. The entire classroom gasps and then bursts out into laughter. From the angle that it hit her she looks straight at me as she attempts to remove Worms slime from her face. I put both hands up in defense with a cocky expression on my face and then ignorantly blurt out, “That’s what good girls get when they venture into bad boy territory.”

The classroom erupts further into a roar of laughter while little Lily Evers digs a 6ft hole, tosses me in and blankets me with dirt all with just one look. She keeps her composure while Mr. Mason shoots up from his chair demanding I get up and go to the principal’s office. Worm pats my shoulder and whispers, “Dude, you’re the most epic best friend a guy could ever have. You just totally saved my ass.”

Franklin Fritz aka Worm has been my best friend since Pre-K. As a kid he was obsessed with night crawlers and made himself quite famous for hiding them any and everywhere. Teachers and parents alike found them in places you never want to find worms. Our Kindergarten teacher opened her desk drawer one day only to find tons of the slimy, wiggly things and it scared the shit out of her. Then there were the lunch trays in the cafeteria, the pantry at home and so on. He earned the nickname Worm at the strapping young age of six and it has stuck ever since.

“Mr. Arrington you will go straight to the office this minute and report to Principal Kimble. You will tell him yourself what you just did to the student office aide. You should be ashamed of your constant bad behavior Kingsley Arrington. You’re a smart boy and you just keep throwing it all away.”

My eyes practically roll out of my head because I’ve heard it all a thousand times. My eyes shift over towards Lily and she straightens her small five-foot-three frame and continues looking at me with her death stare.

“Ms. Evers if you don’t feel comfortable going back to the office while Kingsley makes his way there you are welcome to wait here.”

She tosses her very long and very black hair over her shoulder and says, “No, Mr. Mason I can handle myself.”

She turns and looks directly at me. “Bad boys don’t scare me.” And with that she swings her little hips around and pushes through the door. What a royal bitch.

I throw my messenger bag strap over my shoulder and push the door open. Tan legs disappear into a jean skirt and the perfectly shaped tight ass in front of me makes me forget all about what a bitch Lily Evers really is. Temporarily anyway.

Chapter 1

“Depression is like water.

It finds all of your cracks and trickles in inch by inch.”

I WAKE UP
feeling laden and groggy. My mouth is dry and the air causes my skin to prickle. It’s so cold. As my eyes slowly open, the brightness of the light is close to blinding. Trying my best to shield my face from the gleaming vivid white light, I hold my hands up in front of my face. Suddenly, I remember and sit up quickly trying to figure out where I am. I look down at my body. I’m wearing a long flowing white gown and I’m barefoot. I check my wrists and there’s no evidence of what I did.
Am I dead?
I must be. There’s no other explanation. I look around and all I see is a large stack of white paper with a white plume pen resting atop it.

Strange
.

Nothing but stark white surrounds me. It’s a huge empty room with bleached walls and floors. There are no windows, only two white doors. I notice one of the doors has a glass knob. I squint trying to look at it more closely. It glimmers. The other door doesn’t have a knob at all. I stand up on weak legs and steady myself when a thought occurs to me. I place my hand over my heart and close my eyes. Nothing. There’s no heartbeat, just silence.

I’m dead.

I’m dead and this is Hell?

Heaven?

I have no idea where
this
is, but for some reason I know I have to open the door with the glass knob. I feel oddly drawn to it. I walk across the cold floor anxiously. Once I get there I reach out, grip it, and turn it. It won’t budge. I try harder and harder, but still it won’t turn, not even a little. There’s an intense urgency, a desperation of sorts, coursing through me that I can’t explain. I must open this door.

Confused, I frown and look around and then back to the doorknob. There’s a little keyhole where it looks like an old skeleton key would go. It must be locked. I
need
the key. But where would it be? There’s nothing else here. I look over to the other door and cock my head to the side, examining it further. Maybe I have to go through that door to find the key to this door, but how do I get through it if there’s no knob? I don’t know, but I have to try. I feel a sense of determination, like I have to find this key because opening the locked door is imperative.

I’m standing in front of the knob-less door, thinking. Maybe the knob is invisible. Nothing here makes sense, so that’s not far-fetched. I reach out and grasp air. I try again. It doesn’t work. I look around the room once more, hoping for a clue, but alas, there isn’t one. Maybe I should just push it? The idea gives me hope, and I reach out with both hands and push with all of my strength. Before I know what’s happening, I’m through the door and I’m falling. My stomach is in my throat and gushes of wind whirl around me. I scream in panic, trying to reach out and grab something, anything to brace the fall. I look up, and the bright light is getting smaller and smaller. Looking down, all I see is darkness. Everything precipitously slows down, like I’m in slow motion. The darkness below me parts like the sea and everything is crystalline. My feet touch down softly as if I was guided there.

I’m now standing on a smooth glass surface, afraid to move. What if it breaks? Large rectangular mirrors line the walls and are completely surrounding me. I tiptoe ever so gently across the cold floor. I can see right through it. Beneath my feet is what looks like dark waters. I can see small currents rippling in it. The thought of falling through makes me uneasy, so I look back up. One of the mirrors looks almost liquid. It intrigues me. I walk over and stand before it. There’s no reflection when I look in it. Movement resembling rivulets of mercury wrinkle out to the edges continuously. I want to touch it. I don’t know why. As soon as my finger makes contact, a seizing feeling of heat radiates through me, but I can’t pull away. I watch as the wrinkles still and the mirror before me transforms into what seems to be a portal of some kind. I jerk my hand back, but I’m transfixed. It’s me I’m looking at. I’m on a bed, crying. The memories rush back to me, and it’s as if it’s happening all over again, but this time I’m not only feeling it, I’m watching it from the outside looking in. I try to look away.