The Story of Tonight

Chapter Thirty Two

All good things had to come to an end, and three days later they were on a plane back home. Lia was feeling better about things, though. She had her quinceanera coming up and she'd get to live in London for several months!

Her excitement, however, didn't carry over when her parents had told her they had made her an appointment to speak with a therapist. Two weeks later, after the three of them had gone in for an initial consultation, it was just Lia and Dr. Sanders in the turquoise painted office with inspirational quotes around the room. Lia could tell the psychologist was young, probably around her parents' age. She was dressed in a navy blue blazer with a bright top on, a stark contrast to the majority of the city during the winter months. If she was just a friend of her mom's or a stranger on a street, Lia would probably think she was a fairly nice person. Her eyes glanced everywhere around the office space, finding things to fill her mind with besides the adult who wanted her to spill her thoughts. Never before had she become so fascinated by the condensation ring of her water bottle, which inevitably led to the first full sentence she spoke when she asked for a coaster.

"So, I get paid regardless, but I do think it would be helpful if we talked at least for a portion of this time,"
Dr.Sanders spoke as she handed Lia the coaster.

She accepted the coaster and said a quick thanks, but didn't offer anything further. How was she supposed to start a conversation with a therapist?

Dr.Sanders sat up a bit straighter in her office chair, setting her pen and notepad down. "Why don't we start off with school? Your parents said you're at a news school this year. Hunter, right?"

Lia was at least grateful it wasn't the most open-ended of questions, and one she knew the answer to, "Yeah."

"How do you like it?"

"It's alright," Lia replied, "It's harder than my last school, but it's just been an adjustment."

"You've had a lot of adjustments over the past few months,"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Dr. Sanders shrugged her shoulders, "Just an observation. You started a new school, your dad came back into your life,"

"He didn't come back," Lia interrupted, "He didn't know about me until last year,"

"I'm sorry. Does the distinction bother you?"

Lia gave her a dumbfounded look, "Yeah."

"Why?"

"Because saying he came back is like saying he chose to not be in my life. And I know that's not true. It's just another assumption about what happened,"

"I would imagine having a father who is a public figure would lead to a lot of assumptions,"

"Well, yeah. Everyone thinks they know him or me or our family better than we do,"

"I can see that it bothers you by your posture," The statement immediately made Lia sit up straighter, "why do you think that is?"

"Because it's my life. Wouldn't it bother you if strangers wrote lies about you on the internet and took photos of you without you even seeing them?"

"I can only assume it would feel invasive,"

Lia mumbled under her breathe, "That doesn't even scratch the surface,"

"What would you change if you could?"

Lia opened her mouth to respond, but then paused, "I'm not sure,"

"Do you wish your father wasn't in the spotlight?"

"No," Lia answered truthfully, "He deserves to be. He is one of the most hardworking people I've ever met. He should be recognized,"