53 The session

Zara stalled a bit. She wasn't sure if she wanted to open up about Ryan or why she felt oddly connected to him. 

"I am not sure"

Mrs. Brooke nodded her head, "It's okay if you don't feel like sharing. You have hardly visited me in the past few years. I was only concerned if somehow you were reliving the past memories again."

Zara bit back tears, she didn't want to sound like a typical teenage girl swooning over a hot guy who didn't give two cents about her. But then she had been holding it inside herself for so long, she wanted to let it all out.

"I..I did meet someone. Though, he wasn't as loving or caring like my dad."

Mrs. Brooke raised an eyebrow. The use of past tense confirmed that her suspicions were true.

"Human mind is a tricky thing. It finds commonalities in the strangest situations."

Mrs. Brooke then took her notepad and began scribbling some medicines for Zara. 

"Though I would suggest you try practising the relaxation techniques we tried in our previous sessions."

She then tore the prescription and handed it to Zara, "You are a brave girl, Zara. Your grades have been consistent too. Do you feel like talking more?"

Zara shook her head.

"You have my number already, whenever you feel like talking about anyone or anything, I will be available."

Zara nodded and clutched the paper in her hand. She walked to the door and put her hand to the doorknob but had a sudden urge to share something. 

"Will you..will you believe me if I tell you something?"

"I will try my best sweetie. Is something bothering you?"

Zara quietly added, "I see monsters around me. They hurt people I know and I worry that they will hurt the people I love."

Mrs. Brooke put down her pen and added thoughtfully, "Well then shouldn't we make sure that they stay away from those you love?"

Zara smiled when she felt that the therapist wasn't mocking her, "Yes"

"Good. And this boy that you desperately want to hold on to, the one who left you, make sure he is worth it."

Zara gave her an uncertain smile and walked out of her office. She found Jake sitting in the waiting area, suppressing a yawn. He looked utterly bored. He was flipping through some magazines when he finally saw Zara and got up.

"Thank God, you saved me from the torture of reading those gossipy magazines. Literally they say the same thing in five different lines."

Zara giggled at his sentence and he stretched his arms. They began walking towards the elevator and Jake fell into step beside her and said softly, "I think your meeting went well"

Zara asked him curiously, "How can you be so sure?"

Jake dropped his voice to a whisper, "Because, I was going to throw your therapist out of the window if you hadn't laughed at my lame joke."

They walked past the long corridor and waited for the elevator. Zara saw the same woman with the pale blue skirt and white blouse walking down the stairs from the other side. Zara peered at her but the woman appeared normal to her, no black eyes or absent pupils. 

Sometimes she couldn't decide if her head was messed up or not. Jake followed her line of sight and cleared his throat. "I agree that her fashion sense is terrible."

Just like that, he had wiped off the worry off her mind. They entered the elevator and Zara punched in the floor number. With them another couple entered the elevator holding hands. The boy had bright blue eyes and a devilish grin on his face. He reminded her of Ryan.

No sooner had the door closed, the couple couldn't keep their hands off of each other and started making out.

Zara suddenly felt claustrophobic and kept staring at the digital readout where the numbers of the floors flashed in bright red colors on the top of the door. She concentrated hard on the screen trying to drown out every other thought from her mind when she saw some strange symbols appear on the screen. 

Confused, she shook her head and looked at the screen again. However, it now showed her the alphabet 'G' signifying the ground floor and the door popped open as the couple kissed each other on the way out. Zara kept staring at the digital screen but it stubbornly remained the same.