Stepping Out of Me

32

KIERA

A subtle ping came from the laptop as Kiera logged on to the therapist app. Her dad set it up a couple days ago after being recommended some by Miss Afere. He figured it'd be best to see one on the weekends since she still had classes and maybe later she could switch the weekdays.

Though Kiera knew this was the first step, she couldn't help the uncertainty that plagued her. She'd never been to therapy before as she didn't think there was a reason to see one. Neither did her dad. He didn't even like the idea of talking to a random stranger about personal issues but Miss Afere seemed to have gotten through to him somehow.

Kiera quickly checked her phone as she waited for her therapist to come online. She hadn't spoken to Lance since that day they made up. She texted him but got no reply. While not wanting to seem too desperate for his attention, she still liked to know how he was doing.

As the screen switched, Kiera's attention was pulled from her phone. A woman popped up on the screen with a slight smile on her face.

"Hi, Kiera," she said. "I'm Dr. Symone. It's nice to meet you."

Kiera offered a smile in acknowledgment before Dr. Symone continued.

"How are you doing today?"

"I'm okay," Kiera replied.

"It's good to hear that," Dr. Symone said then clasped her hands on the desk. "Since this is the first session, I'd like to get to know you a bit. So, tell me. What have you experienced that made you want to come to therapy? Is there anything in your life that has been bothering you?"

"Well, I don't really trust anyone," Kiera replied hesitantly. "I guess I don't know how to talk about things that have happened to me. Or how to deal with them."

"You live with your father, right? And you struggle with talking to him also?"

"Yea," Kiera muttered.

Dr. Symone nodded then said. "I see you're in grade 12 now. Tell me what it's been like since you got to the new school."

Kiera knew this question was coming and wasn't sure what she wanted to share. If it was that easy to tell Dr. Symone everything, she would but that would expose too much of herself. Kiera didn't feel ready quite yet to unleash that.

"It was hard at first," Kiera began. "I eventually met some people who I like spending time with. I consider them as my friends now. Um...I haven't really done anything else. Nothing has really gotten my attention."

"Do you have any hobbies that could turn into extracurriculars?"

Kiera shook her head. "I don't really do anything." Kiera felt like such a boring person answering that question. All she did was go to school, home, sleep and maybe listen to some music. And minus hanging out with her friends, there wasn't really much to enjoy.

"Did you always feel like this?" Dr. Symone asked. "Think back to when you were a child. What did you love doing?"

Kiera looked down as she responded. "Writing. Mostly poetry." When she looked up again Dr. Symone nodded for her to continue. "It's something I used to do with my mom. After she died I kind of stopped."

"Did you have anyone else in your life while this was happening? Anyone you could talk to."

Kiera thought of her dad but she never spoke to him. Right after it happened he took down a lot of the pictures of her mother, started taking extra hours at work, and would zone out whenever anyone accidentally brought her up. She didn't want to make his suffering any worse by trying to talk about her mother all the time. It was a good thing she had someone else.