A Child's Promise (BBRae AU) [COMPLETED]

XXIV

XXIV
I Hate Therapists!!
~~~

Gar didn't wake up until 11:30 because of how long he was on the phone talking to Raven. And it showed. He hadn't bothered to put on anything decent. Just a white T-shirt with a black stripe through it and a pair of old basketball shorts.

He went downstairs anf his breakfast was cold. Not that he cared. He said good morning to Rita and Steve and sat down to ate his cold eggs and vegetarian bacon. All the while Rita and Steve were quietly arguing in the living room. He could still hear them though, just not exactly what they were saying.

Now that he thought about it, they hadn't said good morning to him yet. And he knows they saw him walk in. He even said good morning to them! What gives? Slightly offended (but not too much because the state of not-giving-a-shit is strong with this one) he walked into the living room to confront them.

"What are you two over here whispering about?" He asks in the most tired, deadpan voice you could think of.

"Um..." Steve looks down at Rita and Rita looks up at Steve. Extreme uncertainty in their eyes.

"Garfield..." Rita says tentatively. She said his full name. Which would normally cause Gar to become extremely worried, but he didn't even bat an eyelash. He just stood there with a blank face and his arms crossed. He was that kind of tired. The tired that desensitized you from literally anything else around you that would shock, sadden, amuse, or elate you otherwise.

"We...uh...heard some of what happened at Prom, so we talked to a few people and–"

Steve impatiently interjects and just lays on the news thick, "We got you a therapist." Gar looks at them blankly with no reaction. "Your first appointment is on Thursday."

"..." Then it finally hit him. His eyes perked up, and the tips of his ears became red with the sudden rush of anger. "WHAT!?!" He shouted. The two winced at the sudden explosion that they expected about a minute ago. "What do you mean a therapist?! Who said I needed a therapist?!"

"Your doctor." Steve replies matter-of-factly.

"I don't care!! I don't need a damn therapist! I hate therapists you know that!"

"Just because you hate them doesn't mean you don't need them." Steve rebuts.

"Gar, you've only been getting worse and worse over the last few months. You say that you can handle it, yet you haven't been making any improvements." Rita explains.

"I have!"

"No you haven't, Gar. You've gotten meaner, colder, and more crude. We know you're having more and more episodes as well." Rita refutes calmly.

"That's a lie!!"

"Gar, stop yelling at think about this objectively: you stopped taking your pills a year ago and then threw them into the woods after one of your episodes. You've been acting different towards other people and you've stopped playing your games as often." Rita replies.

"That...means nothing." He mutters. His fists are clenched and he won't make eye contact with either of them.

"No, Gar, it does. It means a lot. It means that you don't know how to help yourself. You don't even let other people help you! How do you expect to do this all on your own?" Steve snaps back.