Page 10 of Breathless
Tears sprang to her eyes and began rolling down her cheeks. Dr. Saunders got up from her arm chair, picked up the box of tissues from the cocktail table that divided the seating in the room and handed the box to Chaney.
“I know this is a touchy subject. And I’m sorry to bring it up, but we need to talk about it, we were about to when we ran out of time last visit,” Dr. Saunders said.
Chaney grabbed another tissue and wiped at the tip of her nose. “I know. I don’t understand why it bothers me so much about my parents when I know what they are like.”
“It’s because you care. If you were a heartless person it wouldn’t matter,” Dr. Saunders said. “Was it Bo or Poe that hit you?”
“Poe. He was the security guy,” Chaney said. “He was big and beefy. He wouldn’t stand for any back talk and I can be a bit sassy at times.”
“You? Sassy?” Dr. Saunders said.
“Yeah, I can be a real smart ass,” Chaney said, biting back a sly grin.
“I never would have guessed it,” Dr. Saunders said.
Chaney chuckled. “Wouldn’t you?”
“Tell me what happened with Poe?”
Chaney took a deep breath. “He punched me in the stomach and slammed me back against the wall, hitting my head. He made sure not to mess up my face or bruise or break any of my limbs. That would have been too noticeable and not good for business.”
“How many times did it happen?” Dr. Saunders asked.
“Twice. I should have learned my lesson the first time, but I saw him treating one of the other girls bad. She was terrified and I wasn’t going to stand there and let him talk to her like that,” Chaney explained. “I think this is the reason I want to change my major from linguistics to social work. I want to help those in need. Especially those who find themselves in violent situations.”
“Oh?” Dr. Saunders said. “You haven’t mentioned this to me before. Is this something you have recently decided?”
“It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while and after talking it over with Rawlins last night, I believe I’m ready to make that move,” Chaney said.
“Rawlins is your protector?” Dr. Saunders asked.
“Yes. He is,” Chaney clarified.
“Before you make the change in your course work, may I make a suggestion?” Dr. Saunders asked.
“Sure.”
“There is a youth shelter in town always in need of volunteers. A very good friend of mine is in charge there. I can call and put in a good word for you if you like?” she suggested. “It will give you the hands-on experience you need and give youa taste for what it would be like to deal with those in crisis to see if making a career change is for you.”
“A youth shelter? So, would they live on site?” Chaney asked.
“They would. You’d be dealing with runaways, homeless teens between fifteen and twenty years of age who actually live on site, but they do offer some services to clients up to the age of twenty-five,” Dr. Saunders said. She went to her desk and returned with a business card. “Here is the card. The place is calledThe Village.Give Hannah a call. I’ll let her know you’ll be contacting her as well.”
“Okay,” Chaney said. “I’ll check it out. Thank you.”
“Now, back to Poe’s physical abuse of you. Were your injuries serious enough that you needed treatment?”
“Never. He made sure of that. They were rough enough to keep me in line and I believe to teach me a lesson,” Chaney said. “Like I said, the first time should have been enough, but I wasn’t going to stand by and let him hurt someone else. Maybe that was foolish but that kind of thing really pisses me off.”
“That speaks to your strong character, Chaney,” Dr. Saunders praised. “I think you’re making a wise choice in thinking about going into Social Work. Let me recommend you take self-defense classes if you have the opportunity while on campus. They will give you a leg up when dealing with unruly individuals you come across. The class will also help you feel stronger.”
She nodded. “That’s a good idea. I’ll do that.”
Dr. Saunders looked at her watch. “I’m afraid our time is up for this week. We’ll continue next week. Same time?”
“Sure.” Chaney stood, and looked at the business card before putting it in her purse.
“Be sure to give Hannah a call,” Dr. Saunders reminded her.
