You, Me, and My OCD

Chapter Nine

Aleah:

Aleah sat in the large office chair. She hated this room. It was like being at the doctors office and feeling really awkward, but not being allowed to leave.

She picked at the lint on her sweatshirt- they had taken the strings from her sweatshirt. She knew it was in case she tried to hurt herself. She wouldn't lie, the thought had crossed her mind several times. If God didn't love her, what did she have to live for? Life was pointless.

"Aleah, do you wanna talk about it?" Dr. Bryten asked as he leaned forward in his own chair. She refused to look up at him, but she knew he was asking about her nightmare last night. She had woken most of the hall up screaming.

Bryten wouldn't never admit it to her (she heard him talking to Mrs. Eva), but he was so thankful to hear that scream. Since breaking the news to her about her father and her now incarcerated mother, she hadn't made a sound.

It was concerning and Bryten was growing more and more worried.

"Do you want to talk about the nightmares?" Dr. Bryten asked again.

She continued to play with her sweatshirt.

No, Aleah didn't want to talk. Aleah was hurting. She couldn't understand why her mother had done what she did. She couldn't understand how she could make a choice that would mean she would probably never see Aleah again. She couldn't understand how she would never get to experience her dad's love. She couldn't understand why Stephen and Spencer didn't want to be around her anymore. She felt alone. She felt betrayed.  She felt hopeless and out of control.

Bryten wrote something down on his notepad. The action made Aleah angry. She went from feeling like they cared about her to feeling like she was just another patient in less than three days.

"Do you want to talk about your mom?" He asked.

"Do you wanna talk about your dad?" He asked.

At the mention of her father, Aleah's eyes filled with tears.

Bryten reached across his desk and pulled out a tissue for her. He held it out but she refused to take it. He lowered it back to his desk.

"I know it must hurt really badly Aleah." He spoke softly. She wiped her hand across her face angrily.

"Are you angry with him?" Bryten asked.

The question made her even angrier. How could she be mad at someone who was dead?

Suddenly an alarm sounded through the building. Aleah jumped at the sound and then jumped again when Bryten jumped up. "That's the fire alarm honey. Go to the front desk and walk out with your hall okay?" He shouted.

Aleah stood and exited his office. She walked to the end of the hall and located her own hall. Before she could join them someone stepped out from behind the vending machines and snatched her backward.

A gasp escaped her lips before a hand covered her mouth. "Shhhhh, it's okay baby." A familiar voice said.

She turned her head and was instantly met by Stephan's deep blue eyes. He tossed her over his shoulder and ran up the stairs with her.

He pushed open the heavy door and ran out into a parking lot with her. She looked around confused. A loud roar echoed across the parking desk and pretty soon she saw Spencer's blue sports car. He stopped beside Stephen and Stephen slid her into the back seat. Aleah looked at him, but didn't say anything. She didn't care anymore.

Stephan:

He buckled Aleah in before climbing into the passenger seat.

"Ready?" Spencer asked him.

Stephan nodded. "It's the right thing to do."

Spencer chuckled. "You trying to convince me or you?"

Stephan rubbed a hand across his face.

Spencer patted him on the back. "It's going to be okay. They'll see." Spencer put the car in gear and they quickly exited the parking garage.

Stephan took a breath and quickly  turned around to look at Aleah. "Hey pretty princess." He soothed.

His heart dropped a little more when she just looked at him. He knew her treatment wasn't working. His dad and the rest of his family were handing this from a practical way, but Aleah didn't need practical. Aleah needed love. He had never disagreed with his dad's treatment before, but he did with her.

He reached back and touched her knee. "I know you're upset baby. I know you think we just left you, but that was out of our control. Dad and the rest of his team felt like you needed to be treated like a patient during this hard time for you, but Spencer and I know that's not true. You need to be reminded God loves you and we love you too." He spoke.

Tears rolled down Aleah's cheek, but still she didn't speak.

"I know you don't trust us right now, but I promise that over the next few days you'll see how much we do care about you baby." He said as he rubbed her leg softly.

"To the safe house?" Spencer asked as he hesitated a moment at the on ramp.

Stephan nodded and turned around. "To the same house."

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