10:45...Penny walks into Dr. Romano-Hill's office for her weekly therapy session.
God, it has felt like forever. So much has happened since the last time I saw her, Penny thought to herself. The last time she saw her was Friday after Thanksgiving. The last time she had a real session with her was two weeks ago. For some reason, Penny feels like a new, changed person.
However, the creeping feeling of everything crashing down on her is still there. The thoughts of how she doesn't deserve any of this remain stuck. For most of the day she can push those thoughts away, but at night, they keep her up at night.
This session she feels ready to talk about her past trauma, as known as her father.
Penny gently knocked on her office door. She heard a soft "Come in." She turns the gold-plated door knob and push the door. Sitting at her desk, Aubrey Romano-Hill sat, looking on her computer. She quickly turned it off and smiled towards Penny. "Hey!"
"Hi Aubrey," Penny replied. She got up from her desk and walk towards Penny, giving the girl a nice hug.
"I heard about the job you got. Congratulations!" Aubrey rejoiced. She seems radiant today.
"Thank you," Penny said.
"You know what," Aubrey said, moving towards her chair. "Why don't we get started?"
"Sure," Penny's heart started to beat faster. She never confessed something this heavy on purpose. It is hard.
"So, tell me about your week, first of all."
"Well, it wasn't easy at first. I was called on Thanksgiving to come in and review the contract the next day. So, Danny and I went in and looked at the contract. I honestly didn't know if I was ready to handle something that big. Being the lead is incredibly stressful and overwhelming, and we know how I get when I am overwhelmed." Penny started to chuckle, humorlessly. "So I told them I needed time to think. Danny then got pissed at me, screaming at me and calling me dumb and all of this. I was heartbroken. I still haven't talk to him. So I ran inside to the Penthouse and just collapsed on the inside of the door, crying. Quentin found me and asked if I was okay. I ran away to my room and he asked again. I kind of also screamed at him. I was just shocked because why would be care for me. He was awful to me when we first met, why did he care all of a sudden? But he said he was offering an ear to listen to my problems, so through the door, I told him what happened. I told him how it felt was Danny yelled at me for only wanting to think about something. Quentin started to defend my actions and told me that he had no right to yell at me. So I asked him again...why did he care about me so much?
"I kind of started ranting about my life and I confessed something I really didn't want to. I was saying how I get myself into these situations where I just get hurt. My mother left and ran away when I was fourteen.
"That is when my father started to abuse me," Penny finally said, tears pricked the corners of her eyes. It was hard to think about, but her heart has already lifted significantly.
Aubrey, being a trained psychologist, said, "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."
"No, I feel like I do. The only person that ever knew was the live-in maid, Ms. Birdie. She would stand by the side and watch as he would beat me and call me vile names. She would be there to clean up the wounds and feed me when my father wasn't around to watch me. Thankfully, my father was a business man and wasn't home too often; but when he was, it was like hell. I hate it when people come up to me and tell me how sorry they are for my lost. I don't care because I am glad he is dead. I have a new life without him."
Penny paused before continuing, allowing Aubrey to respond, "Growing up with abuse, any type of abuse, can follow through adulthood. Your feelings of your father being gone are totally normal for someone in your situation. The depression, anxiety, being overwhelmed and unsure of yourself are part of the aftermath of neglect and abuse. Thank you for telling me this, it was incredibly brave of you."
YOU ARE READING
The Girl He Had To Marry- An Arranged Marriage Story
Romance**COMPLETED AND EDITING** A man was murdered in his home, leaving only his daughter Penelope Marshall. He was a power-hungry, company-owning man that can barely be called a father. After Penelope's mother left, her father preferred fists and harsh...
