There's just something about the past. Sometimes, the worst parts catch up with you and other times, it is supposed to meet you again. Maybe what we think has left our lives actually belongs in our souls forever.
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Steve Harrington x fem original...
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CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO Genevieve and Steve
(Gen's POV)
March 21st 1986
I sat in the quiet corners of Dr Franklin's office, waiting for her to start our regular Monday morning session. I had started these sessions in February, after mom had decided to get in contact with the therapist from her hospital. Dr Franklin was older than mom, with salt and pepper hair cut into a bob. She wore gold jewellery and had a kind smile. She didn't try to force things out of me. She just encouraged me, and that was what I liked about her.
"Okay, Genevieve," she said, sitting in her leather seat in front of me. "We didn't quite finish talking about your relationship with the town of Hawkins last time. Why don't we start with that?"
"Sure," I nodded, clearing my throat. "The best way to describe it is like a splinter. You can't get away. It just sticks to you."
"And Genevieve, do you believe this opinion has been influenced by your experiences at the Starcourt Mall last summer, with the mall fire?"
"Somewhat," I said, wishing I could tell her it wasn't a mall fire. "I guess that was hard to deal with and I still think about it nearly a year later. I think about the people that died too, and that hurts."
"Does it bring up old memories of your old friend Miss Barbara Holland?"
I nodded. "I guess I just associate Hawkins with all of the bad stuff that has happened within my life. Leela left Hawkins, my dad left Hawkins. They got out. Barb died here. My relationship with Steve ended here in Hawkins. This sounds crazy but it's like all of this bad luck just follows me around and I can never escape it."
"It is not crazy at all, Genevieve. It's completely normal to think of Hawkins in a negative light, especially with how it has been painted by the media in the last few years as well. The memories you have attached to it seem to overpower any of the good ones you have too."
"They do," I nod. "I just—I try to think of what Hawkins has given me but it never helps."
"Do not worry, Genevieve. Sometimes it's best just to feel these things. Let yourself process the emotions. You don't always have to be productive."
I sigh. "I'm just so tired of feeling like this all of the time, Dr Franklin. I mean, I'm better than I was a few years ago, but now it just feels like I have new stuff to deal with."
"It won't always feel like this, Genevieve. It will pass."
