Familiarity

Chapter Twenty

here's an actual chapter and not me saying, "yo i added something"

(if you missed it, please check the end of chapter 19 so you don't miss anything. if not, it wasn't that extraordinary or super important but you might be lost)

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You waited in your room, dreading the moment your father would walk into your dorm room and tell you it's time to leave for the counselor. Half of your regret of agreeing to attend sprouted from who the counselor would be, how they would act, and what you would have to tell them. You were afraid of a stranger pitying you and nearly forcing you to admit to all of the things you endured as if they were sins you committed.

There you sat in your room, laying atop your bed on your back, waiting. Your door was open, the sounds of the hallway wafting into the air around you. It wasn't much longer until you heard footsteps and knuckles tap against the open door. You sat up, looking at your father only a moment before walking down the wall behind him. You followed him through the common rooms as a few of your classmates glanced your way, inquiry in their glances even though they never asked anything.

The car ride was quiet. It was hard to determine why, stuck between if it was because your father had nothing to say or if it was because he had no more guilt and no more apologies. You stared out of the window beside you, listening to the sounds of the road and wind passing by. You tried to ignore every attempt your father had at glancing your way.

When you both reached the building, you were quick to get out of the car and take a few glances at the rusty brick and few, growing plants circling around the outside. It looked depressing with the background of the cool air, the grey, cloudy sky, and the wet and sloshy concrete.

There was a woman at the desk when you walked in. She had hard eyes and a bored expression on her aging face. She was monotone as she spoke to someone on the phone, holding it against her ear with a raised shoulder.

"Uh-huh," she hummed, holding up a finger for my father and me to wait another moment. She typed something on the computer. "Yes. I can see your file. But I cannot add any medicine into your profile until you can come in and show me verification of your diagnosis, as well as your doctor's prescription."

She looked up at the ceiling, sighing as she said, "I'm sorry, but I cannot help you with this. These are the requirements of this establishment."

For a lingering moment, her words hung in the air. Then, she put the phone back on its rack and clicked with the mouse. "Alright, are you signing in to an appointment or are you scheduling?" she asked, looking at the two of you expectantly.

"Signing in," your father answered.

"Name?" she asked, turning towards the computer.

"[Name] [Last Name]."

You waited as she typed something before grabbing the mouse and clicking it a few times. She read something over—that fact obvious by the way her eyes scanned across the screen—and pointed towards the chairs in the corner. "Sit and wait. She'll be ready soon."

You turned around and sat on the green chair against the wall, beside the end table that held old magazines. Your father sat on the chair on the other end of the end table, his back facing the window. The both of you sat in silence as your father checked something on his phone and you couldn't help but question if the quiet was too loud. Without a reason why, you questioned if Katsuki would hate this kind of silence, where your ears would ring and not even the sound of clicking keys could fill the void.