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TRACK 25

"Is there anything else on your mind before we wrap up today's session?"

"Nothing that I can think of," I replied.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"You know, Carter, you've been my patient for quite some time. I can tell when you're not being honest with me. Your shoulders tense. You ramble more about various, unrelated topics to fill the time. " Doctor Khan gave me a sympathetic smile. "We've gone back to our daily session for a reason. I am here to help. But I can't do that if you're not honest."

"There's nothing else," I lied.

Doctor Khan sighed, reaching for her pen.

I hated when she had to write things down during our sessions. It felt less like a conversation and more like an interview.

"Fine," I said quickly, just as her pen touched the notepad. "There were two things I saw this morning. An article and a tabloid."

"Let's start with the article."

I leaned back in the chair, taking a deep breath to gather my thoughts. "It was a cover story of her and the rest of the band. I didn't read the whole thing, but from what I saw, it was all positive."

"And how did that make you feel?"

"Happy," I said honestly, "Then a bit sad. Rock Magazine is a big deal and I can't congratulate her on it. And being reminded of that only makes it harder."

The magazine was everywhere. Even if I wanted to avoid it, I wouldn't get the chance. Every newsstand had the cover out on display, with TJ front and center with the other boys standing beside her. They were being labelled the "revival of rock music for the younger generation" - something I knew she would hate. I would have teased her about it, given I had the chance, and she would have said something along the lines of it being too much pressure and setting them up to fail. I knew they wouldn't - they had far too much talent to let that happen.

With her coy smile and not overly generous responses, she had that interviewer in the palm of her hand, desperate to uncover any detail they could about her. Her confidence in how she handled herself was sexy - even if she never intended it to be. Plus, that one-page spread of her really left nothing-

"Did you reach for your phone?"

Pushing the thoughts of TJ's photos to the back of my mind, I cleared my throat."I almost did. But I stopped myself."

Doctor Khan nodded happily at that. "Good, that's progress. Now, the tabloids?"

I averted my eyes from hers, looking around the sitting area of her hotel room. "It's stupid," I muttered.

"Carter, you can tell me. I'm sure it's not stupid."

"There were some headlines..."

STAR NEWS: WHO IS TJ ROBERTS DATING?

STAR NEWS: TJ ROBERTS OUT WITH MYSTERY MAN!

STAR NEWS: TJ & WESTON - FAN THEORIES GO WILD AFTER THEIR COZY NIGHT OUT!

"I know that since we're not together, I shouldn't be jealous. And I know it's probably bullshit anyway." Shifting uncomfortably in the chair I added, "It's still hard to see and read about it. It's been what... a week? Two weeks? I've lost track of time, to be honest. But, it can't be that long."

"Having emotions of hurt and sadness when seeing something like that is normal, Carter. It is clear that you have a deeply rooted emotional connection and attraction to her," Doctor Khan said. "Those types of emotions can't be turned off in an instant. You also have to remember the business you are in and sadly, salacious and false stories make the best headlines. Maybe what you saw is true. But, maybe it's not. Taking that next step to move forward from someone like her is not any easier when there are stories being printed, which can be reported by any means necessary so the tabloids will sell and make a profit."