Olivia Vitale is trying her best to get her life back on track. After escaping an abusive relationship, she moves back to her home city of Joy. She promises her roommate Carol to take it slow with relationships. That promise becomes harder to keep a...
The clock with the face of a bird ticks from side to side. Sunbeams shine into the warm room. It's the worst part about it. The light-coloured couches and chairs are nice and comfortable but with how the room sits, the sun gleams into the room for the entire day. It's too damn hot during the summer. Kids and people outside are laughing, families taking their Sunday walks in the shining heat while Olivia wants nothing more than to jump out the window and flee. She tugs at the collar of her shirt, trying to let her body breathe but it doesn't work.
"So, it's been a while since we last spoke," Phil, a man with a squarish face and short smoothed-down hair, says as he clicks his pen and Olivia nods her head, chuckling.
"I've been busy," she says with a smile that he easily returns.
"Are those shifts still as awful?"
"Pretty much," she chuckles and begins fiddling with the hem of her shirt. "Man, it's been such a mess, Phil." She grins and he smiles, ready for her to ramble. "So, I was about to get mugged last week. Don't worry I'm fine, some guy stepped in, but a bullet grazed him. Anyway, we've kind of been hooking up for a bit. I think we're dating. But-"
"Okay, okay, slow down Olivia. You've started actually dating this man?"
"Well, don't sound so surprised now," she laughs and Phil chuckles, shaking his head.
"Sorry, I won't interrupt anymore."
"Thank you," she speaks with a jokingly pointed voice. "Well, I told him about Brock. You told me being open about it was fine, so I tried it out."
"That's good," he notes.
"Yeah! But then... ugh." Her breath is picking up again. "Brock showed up at his job, this bar. They got into a fight. I don't know how to feel about it...." She breathes heavily to try and calm herself down. "How am I supposed to feel about that?"
Phil nods, scribbling everything down in his notes as he starts talking. "You know I'm not going to tell you how to feel... but that is a lot to unpack, Olivia. Has this all happened within the last week?"
She nods and he sighs, shaking his head.
"Okay, so, the mugging, did that scare you?"
Her nose wrinkles. "Well, having a gun pointed right at you wasn't nice."
"That's not what I asked," Phil says with a smile.
Phil Coulson has been her therapist for years now. Her dad spent a long time helping her find someone who worked well with her, and it ended up being Phil. He's able to see eye to eye with her and gives her the help she needs. He's been a rock through everything with Brock. She wasn't always allowed to see him because of Brock. Not after he made calls to the police for check-ins on her. He was right, of course, but Brock didn't like it. He took it out on her.
