One Night Stand: The New Millennium

31. Stronger

"Well..." Taylor said as she closed her notebook. "I don't like ending sessions in a bad note-"

"Damn," I said, looking at the clock. 1:56. "It's over already? I talked that damn long?"

"Yeah," Taylor snickered. "But that's good. You've been here a month and you're finally opening up. How are you feeling?"

"Exhausted. Depressed." Taylor leaned over & patted my hand.

"It's a long and hard process, but im proud of you for making an effort." Taylor stood up and walked behind her desk. She opened a drawer and grabbed something before showing it to me. "You want a lollipop?" It was a Strawberry Blow Pop. I laughed, reaching for it. "People think it's ridiculous and childish, but it's a good way to get a little hint of happy emotion out of people after sessions." She handed it to me. "Plus who doesn't like lollipops?"

"You never did this in any of our previous sessions," I said, opening it.

"Because you were in your irritable phase of withdrawal and I did not feel like getting cussed out," She said, opening her own lollipop. I chuckled.

"Well thanks Taylor," I responded, standing up. "See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

8:00 PM

The rest of the day was... emotional, to say the least.

After therapy was Yoga & Meditation. Usually I opted not to participate, but since I was on a new path, I did.

But why the fuck didn't anybody tell me that Yoga & Meditation can make you cry?

That shit hit me out of nowhere. My instructor told me it was normal, that it was supposed to help me process feelings, but it felt weird. One minute I was meditating, next I was sobbing.

Now that I think about it, I have seen people crying during class, but I never paid too much attention to them.

After Yoga was Relapse Prevention Group, and the topic of our conversation was auntie Whitney.

More crying.

The crying was over after that, especially since I worked out afterward, but I was still emotionally exhausted. Dinner was cool, and for the team building activity we had relay races, which was fun.

But then came Music Therapy.

I walked in the studio and as always, Abel was there. And as always, I sat down without speaking to him. I expected us to do what we always did, but that wasn't happening.

"My condolences, on the loss of your auntie," He said.

"Thanks," I mumbled as I opened my notebook.

"I've noticed that you've been a more willing participant today for everyone else. Is that going to happen here too?"

"Probably not," I responded, looking up at Abel & flashing him a fake smile. Abel sighed, closing his notebook.

"Whatever beef you have with me shouldn't be getting in the way of your healing."

"Trust me, it ain't."