CHAOS | j. hale

chapter seven

S E V E N 
Chapter seven !

HAVE YOU EVER WALKED INTO A ROOM AND HAVE YOUR HEART STOP ? Maybe it skipped a beat, or maybe your whole chest started throbbing with pain and you couldn't breathe. Were you having a heart attack ? Were you dying ? 

Harley got that feeling sometimes. The feeling of pure terror in her chest so strong she felt like she was gonna collapse. It made her think she was going to die at any moment, and sometimes when her chest hurt like that, Harley would pray she would die. 

It happened today, as her dad picked her up from school. The ache in her chest wouldn't go away and she felt like every breath she took would be her last. The feeling didn't go away, and stayed with her as the two got to the hospital, where Harley would have her first appointment with her therapist. 

After the "incident" in Phoenix a couple months ago, it was decided that Harley would go to a therapist until she was cleared. "Cleared" meaning "safe enough to do anything without having to worry about her suicidal tendencies". Even if she did get cleared she knew she would still have to go to therapy, it was just a trick to have someone learn everything about her. 

Although in theory, having a therapist did sound nice. Someone to talk to, to confide in, someone to help your recovery. But Mrs. White, God bless her soul, was kind of a pussy, in Harley's opinion. She was too nice, too soft, too open. All she wanted from Harley was for her to talk, about something, anything at all. After a couple of weeks Harley knew that if you brought the conversation onto Mrs. White's kids she wouldn't talk about anything else. Which helped Harley keep her mind off her own life. 

The hospital smelled like cleaning supplies and old people, something that Harley wasn't fond of. The brunette didn't know who her new therapist was or what they were like, she just hoped that they may be as soft as her old therapist. 

Charlie walked with a hand on Harley's shoulder as the two were lead down a hallway by a nurse. She escorted them to an elevator and gave the two directions on how to get to the psych ward. 

Charlie kept mumbling about something and Harley was just memorizing the route. The two finally got to the place they were supposed to be, and a middle aged man came out of a room. 

He had dark hair, and some stubble on his face. The man had bags under his eyes and seemed tired, but he still put on a kind smile for the two. 

"Ah yes ! Chief Swan ! How are you, sir ?" He asked, while grasping Charlie's hand in a firm shake. 

"Good, how are you, Doctor ?" He asked. 

"A little tired, I started earlier than usual this morning." He turned his attention to Harley, who was watching the two with a blank stare. 

"There she is ! Hello Harley, my name is Doctor Torres, Doctor White has told me a lot about you !" He said, while holding out his hand for a handshake. 

Harley glanced down at his hand and looked back up at him. "Nice to meet you." She said. 

The doctor quickly put his hand away and lead the teen inside, where their first therapy session together would start.