Hidden Behind a Mask

Chapter 5

 “So, Demi,” the curly haired man spoke, “let’s get to know each other.”

 Demi put her hands over her face, sighing heavily. “What do you want to know?” she asked into her hands.

 “How about: how was your childhood like?” he asked, smiling to be polite. He leaned slightly back in his chair, waiting for an answer.

“Pass,” she said, always wanting to avoid the answer to that question.

“Okay, I’m sorry,” Nick apologized sympathetically. His body tensed, and he instantly felt uncomfortable, the usual to him. “I didn’t mean to make you awkward or anything.”

Bringing her hands down and placing them on her stomach, Demi answered, “No, it’s fine. I’m just not ready to tell anybody. As a matter of fact, I’ve never told anybody about my life. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to tell anyone actually.” The adrenaline rushed through her veins as she thought about how much she already trusted the stranger next to her. She had never even told that much to anybody she had ever known.

“Well,” Nick interjected,” this is kind of what problems like yours are meant for. The whole point of this place is to get people just to talk. It might seem pointless in the beginning, but it’s really not.”

“Are you secretly a physiatrist?” Demi giggled, earning a smile from her companion.

“No,” Nick smiled, “just educated. I’ve been here for a while. According to my brother, I’m not ready to leave yet. I don’t think I am either. But I feel better than I did before. It really does work, trust me.”

Sighing, Demi shook her head, changing the subject in an instant. “No one believes me.”

“Believes you?” Nick asked confused.

Turning her head to the side, Demi peered at him, “No one believes I’m not crazy. I swear, probably even you won’t believe me, but I’m not crazy. I never have, and I never will be.” Laughing without humor, Demi continued, “Maybe with how many people think I am, I probably will become crazy.”

Nick extended his arm, placing his hand on Demi’s shoulder. Flinching slightly, Demi looked at him. “I believe you,” Nick started. “I know what you’re going through. Over time, it gets better. I swear to you, it does.” His stature was soft and encouraging. Even with this, Demi glared at him.

“You will never know what I’m going through,” she scoffed.

“Demi, I was only-”

“Save it,” she said coldly.

And that’s when Nick awkwardly removed his hand from his shoulder. He watched Demi intently as he saw her furiously look up at the white ceiling.

“Are you ready to go back to your room? I’ll tell Mrs. Jonas, if you’d like,” the sweet sounding nurse asked.

Quickly, Demi sat up and walked to the door. “Yes, I’m most definitely ready.”

“I’ll take her to make sure she’s okay,” Nick added.

Angrily walking out of the nurse’s office, Demi stormed to her room with Nick quickly following behind her.