𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥'𝐬 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞

ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟛𝟠

Important: Italics in this chapter aren't flashbacks. They are just events from earlier in the day. Rose will be in therapy but bear with me. This is an important chapter. Even though it may seem uneventful, it is a vital part of the book and characters.

"This isn't going to be a slow-paced therapy session. Your file is labeled urgent. Rose, I know you have been to therapy before, and excuse my french, but they were shit at their job. Pumped you with drugs and sent you on your way," The therapist I met two minutes ago explained to me. I had no problem talking to her, but it all may be bullshit. 

"Is this confidential?" I asked the therapist. I'm not stupid, anyone will talk with a gun to their head, and I'm not sure how far my family will go to find out what I tell her. I'm also not a very direct talker, meaning that every little word has a purpose when I actually open up. 

"Yes," the therapist says very hesitantly—red flag number one. As long as I don't hurt someone else or myself, nothing can come out of this room. That's the legal answer, but I guess you can call this a special circumstance. I dreaded when Darlo told me I had to go to therapy on Sunday.

"Rose, you have a therapy session with a new therapist on Monday during your first period. It's doctors orders, and you have no choice in the matter," Darlo said, giving no room for argument. All of my previous therapy experiences have tried to 'fix' me rather than 'heal' me. Never gave me coping mechanisms, never listened to what I had to say, throw prescriptions at me. Prescriptions I never got filled.

Now here I am, sitting on a couch missing school to talk to someone who may or may not listen to me. What a fucking waste of my time.

"So, what was your dream really about?" The therapist who introduced herself as Katerina asked me. I have a feeling I would like her if she wasn't so demanding. She had dark brown eyes, ashen skin, and very curly hair. Freckled littered her whole face, and she knew how to dress. Katerina couldn't have been older than 24. All of my other therapists were male and in their fifties. Their offices usually smelled dusty, if that makes sense.

"Nightmare," I corrected her. She seems surprised by my correction, as if she was expecting me to be soft-spoken. Damaged goods. Someone who can't stick up for there self. 

"What did you see in your nightmare?" Katerina corrected herself. I thought about it, analyzed every moment of that dream, and there are only a few ways to describe it. 

"I saw myself. Younger me," I said. I hadn't actually processed anything—nothing from the nightmare to the memories that would surprise me in inconvenient times. All I do is try to keep going. No matter how tired I am, I need to keep going. 

"What was happening?" Katerina asked in a much softer voice. Slowly everything started to fade away, and I was back in my dream. I wasn't scared to talk about what happened. Talking about what happened to a stranger would be easier than talking about what happened to someone who might actually care.

"I was in a cold room, huddled into a corner. There were footsteps," I said, remembering the house that haunts me and the monsters that lived in it. The footsteps that were daring me to run. Run to a place I knew didn't exist, somewhere safe. Safe, what a fucking hoax. The world is out to get you. All you have to do is survive. Nowhere is safe.

"Do you know who's the footsteps belonged to?" Katerina asked. I nodded my head, remembering the door creaking open. The panic I went through, the prayers little Rose was sent to a God that didn't answer.

"What happened after that?" Katerina asked, her soft voice guiding me through the nightmare. I took a deep breath, trying to find the words to explain.

"The man walked through the door. I didn't know who he was at the time, but little me started to panic. S-she was crying. I was scared of the man," I said, finally saying the words out loud. I didn't even want to admit that I was scared. What If I saw Marco today? I could physically kill him, but mentally? I would be stuck, frozen in fear. 

"What did the man look like?" Katerina asked me. I could tell she was eager to know. This is as much I have told anyone since I was seven. 

"You know how people say the eyes are the window to the soul?" I asked, looking Katerina in the eyes. She nodded her head yes. "Well, when I looked into his eyes, I saw nothing. He was empty, without a soul. There wasn't remorse for what he had done, nothing but hatred for me, and when I looked into the man's eyes, it made me feel cold, dead, hopeless," I explained. Now talking about this, I have realized what I will do to get my revenge.

"That's our time for the rest of the day. Even though these were baby steps, it was a lot of progress. Also, I meant it when I said nothing would leave this room. I was only hesitant because when someone usually asks if this is confidential, they are about to tell me they buried a body," Katerina said, only slightly joking. I let a small smile slip, a large comparison to what we were talking about. 

Katerina escorted me out of the room back towards Darlo, who surprisingly stayed in the waiting room the whole time. I thought maybe he'd have work to do. I guess not. Darlo and I got into the car since he drove me here and took me to school. 

"Do you like icecream?" I asked Darlo. It was a question that popped into my head at a random time. Sometimes I don't think before I speak, and words just come out of my mouth. Darlo seemed surprised by my sudden question. His eyes drifted away from the road and to me. He looked at me suspiciously before answering.

"Yes, strawberry is my favorite," Darlo said. "What about you?" Darlo asked me. 

"I do like ice cream, and my favorite is... chocolate fudge," I said, thinking about it for a moment. I haven't had ice cream out of a tub for a couple of years. I never really thought about it till now. We pulled into the school's parking lot, and I opened the door, grabbing my backpack on the way out. When I got out of the car before I closed the door, I looked at Darlo once again.

"Bye, have a good day," I said before closing the door. I was about to walk away until I saw the window rolling down.

"You too," Darlo said before pulling out of the school parking lot.

I guess I will try with this being a daughter bullshit.