A Beautiful Brain

chapter 16

Later that day, Finn Hudson was sitting on a couch in a large office with a kind-looking blonde woman sitting in front of him. There was a name board on the table with the text ‘Lisa Green; psychologist / Marriage Counsellor’. Neither of them was saying anything until, after a few seconds, the blonde woman broke the silence. 

“So Finn, now that we’re past the awkward silence. Why don’t you tell me what’s up?” 

“I don’t wanna talk about it”, Finn said with a nervous look of his face 

“Ok, what do you wanna talk about then?”, she asked as if Finn's answer was completely expected. 

“Why don’t we talk about the weather”, Finn asked with an awkward smile on his face 

“It’s raining Finn. Any other topics?”, she said calmly 

“Am I talking to the psychologist or the counsellor here?” 

“A little of both, depending on what you need” 

She noticed that Finn was still uncomfortable and looked closely at him. “Finn, I can’t help you unless you talk to me. Everything you say will remain between us.” 

“Well, I guess I have to talk to someone.. might as well be with you”, Finn said with a sigh 

“That makes me feel so special. Let’s have it Finn ” 

“Well, my ex-wife has come to town and is now working at the same firm as me” 

“Why don’t you start at the beginning Finn?” 

“Alright, about five years ago, I met a girl… her name was Rachel ”, Finn said as a smile appeared on his face. “It was love at first sight. We dated and eventually got married. Everything was fine until she got hit by a car. She got in a coma.” The smile was completely gone now and his look was getting more grim with every passing word. 

“Months passed as I kept visiting her, hoping she’d wake up. But she never did. After a few months, my parents and Rachel's parents were killed in a plane crash when they tried to get away from everything for awhile. I tried to hold on, but I couldn’t do it anymore. The doctors had almost no hope that Rachel would ever woke up. Some stuff happened and I just had to leave.” 

“Whoa Finn. Hold on a second. You can’t say ‘some stuff happened’ to a psychologist” 

Finn sighed. He wasn’t gonna talk his way around that one. “I tried to kill myself. It was stupid and I was lucky my sister found me in time.” 

“Okay, and then you decided you had to leave. That sounds understandable.” 

“Not really. I didn’t just leave… I really left. Moved to another town, divorced and never gotten into contact with anyone there again” 

The psychologist looked at him without saying a word, motioning him with her eyes to continue. 

“Now that was more than two years ago. And last Monday, I saw Rachel at the firm I work. She works there now. It turns out she...”. Finn pauses for a minute and averts his eyes from the woman. “…she woke up when I left. But since I didn’t leave any way to contact me, she had to go through everything without me.” 

Finn pauses for a few seconds. “And now, every time I see her, I go crazy. Every time I don’t see her, I go crazy. I want her back, but she won’t let me……. What do I do now?” 

“Alright Finn, can I be completely honest with you?”, the woman asks and Finn nods. “You really acted like a first-class prick. I can understand that you needed to distance yourself, but you never once thought of her; about what would happen if she ever woke up. You were acting really selfish.”