Page 2 of Crash
I raised my head and took a deep breath. “I can write a resume,” I said after a moment. “It’s a little thing.”
Dr. Ormond smiled, pushing her glasses up her nose. “Give it a try. I can look over it if you like. Bring it along to our next appointment.”
I knew I was a bitch to her more often than not. I’d rebelled against therapy early on and dropped it entirely, convinced that it was all rubbish. I’d been going back for a year now, and things were slightly improving, but I still had a long way to go. I guess I still believed nothing was going to fix what was broken that night, no matter how many small steps I took.
Nodding, I said, “Sure.”
Dr. Ormond smiled. “You’re doing great, Violet.”
“Am I? Because I don’t feel it.”
“You know that shampoo commercial?” she asked with a smile. “It doesn’t happen overnight, but it will happen? Recovery from an ordeal like yours takes time. Small steps.”
Always with the small steps.I smiled and nodded, giving her what she wanted. My heart wasn’t in it.
Small steps.
**
The only thing that settled me after a visit to the therapist’s office was something soft to sit on and a good book.
I was curled up on the couch in the living room when I heard my big brother come home. No doubt the questioning would start the moment he saw me. I was used to it, but I never really liked it.
“Hey, Violet.”
I glanced up from my book as Ash sauntered into the lounge room. At a glance, you could tell we were brother and sister. We had the same dark, almost black hair, the same green eyes and fair skin, but that’s where the similarities ended. He was tall, totally buff, outgoing and tattooed while I was slim, shorter by a whole head and meek. I was a tiny little mouse who shied away at the slightest glance. He was the MMA fighter, and I was the bookworm.
“Hey. You’re home early.”
Flicking the cover of my book with a thick finger, he squinted and read the title. “Beautiful Bastard.”
I rolled my eyes as he sat next to me.
“Obviously it’s about me,” he said with a laugh.
“It’s about an asshole who doesn’t know how to have a proper relationship, so I guess it is.”
“Oh,burn.” He held his hand to his chest like he was wounded. “I’ll have you know Ren took care of that.”
“Thank god,” I retorted. “You were getting suffocating.”
Ash grinned lopsidedly and kicked his feet up onto the coffee table. “How was your date with Dr. What’s-her-name?”
“Dr. Ormond,” I said, correcting him. “It was okay.”
“How’s things?”
I sighed, closing my book. He was prodding…again. “Where’s Ren? I thought you were planning a holiday.”
“No avoiding the question, squirt.”
I pretended to throw up. “You know how filthy that sounds? I’m yoursister.”
Ash laughed, poking me in the ribs. “Now, if you just start talking to everyone else like you do me and Ren, then we’re getting somewhere.”
Instinctively, I hugged my arms around myself, the book tight against my chest. It was a protective move on my part, something that had been hardwired into my brain—or so said the shrink.
“I wanna try. It’s just…” I trailed off with a shrug.
