Troubled Soul (manxman) *Completed*

Three: Perry

A/N: it feels weird to be publishing a new chapter. It's been a year and almost two months since I updated this story. Sorry if it sucks, I might have forgotten how to write. End of this is spicy. A lot of this is based off of how I'm feeling at the moment. Luckily it fits with this story.

           

Finishing off my latest cup of coffee, I yawned while sliding down into my desk. The last few weeks had been pretty eventful and also stressful. All I wanted to do was fall into bed and not get up for awhile. Knowing that wasn't an option, my eyes glanced over to the last few remaining teens still hanging around in the center. I immediately recognized all of them, all of them going through my counseling at one point. There are still times that I feel like I'm not good enough for a job like this, especially when one of my teens had overdosed and died. I felt like an absolute failure, it still haunts me to this day.

        Snapping out of it, my eyes traveled down to the pictures on my small desk. The one closest to my computer was of Aaron and I, on our last anniversary. He had surprised me by setting up a full day of romantic gestures. Sometimes I still felt like I didn't deserve him. Other times I felt like I wasn't good enough for him.

        The center I worked at was the center I've been with since I got out of rehab. I never went back to get a formal college degree, which everyone here always told me wasn't necessary. Sometimes I think they're just lying to me. Making me feel safe before they fire me when someone more qualified comes along. I've looked at online classes before but honestly didn't know where to start. I've seen all of my best friends go to and graduate college, and then there's me.

Having dyslexia really sucks. The way my parents made me feel still crept up into me every now and then. It sounds ridiculous and makes no sense, but there are times I miss them. Not the cruel versions of them, but just having parents. Wes and Noah plus Aaron's mom were amazing people and always made me feel welcome and loved. I guess there's just something about having your actual parents in my life, which I'll never have again.

        "Earth to Perry."

        Jumping, I glanced up to see Cleo smiling at me from the other side of the desk. "Oh, hey!" She met me halfway before wrapping her delicate arms around me. "You weren't standing there for a long time were you?"

        She pulled back with a warm smile. "I knocked a few times on your desk but you seemed a little zoned out."

        "Oh yeah, it's just been a long day."

        She nodded while leaning against the desk. "Everything okay?"

        "You know it," I said but wasn't able to make an actual smile stay on my face. Before she could say something I grabbed my laptop and started packing up while asking, "So what's up?"

        She stayed quiet for a minute, meaning she was probably staring at me with a frown. "I actually came to talk about one of my students that just started. I noticed some... scars and what looked like puncture marks on his arms."

        Turning around I noticed the pained expression on her face. "Really?"

        She nodded while starting to bite a hangnail on her red painted thumb. "Today was his first day but I don't know... it just seemed so familiar."

        "You mean like this?" Setting my bag down onto the chair, I rolled the sleeves of my sweater up to reveal my wrists. Cleo gently rested her hands onto my skin, her cold fingers giving me chills. "Most of them are pretty faded by now. But some of these holes were pretty deep so those scars are still there."