My Sanity

Chapter Ten

Author's Note: Guys! I am so sorry that it took me so long to update! But I guess I've been busy these last months... exams and whatnot. And yes, just to avoid any confusion, the writing has gone back to past tense :P Sorry. I'll change the previous chapter.

Well yeah. Enjoy! 

Chapter Ten

There was a soft knock on the door breaking the silence between me and my shrink. Both our heads swivelled in the direction of the sound.

"Come in," Doctor Heath called out. The door opened slowly, and the head of the blonde receptionist peered in.

"Doctor Heath," she said in her bubbly voice, "the Ceylontera's are here, I told them to wait in the reception while I check in with you."

I felt the nervous butterflies start stirring in my stomach, I glanced at the clock, it was five o'clock on the dot.

My parents' punctuality was something that they are known for.

"Yes," my shrink answered in her pleasant voice, "we're done here. Send them in." The blonde nodded and backed out of the room closing the door behind her. My shrink now turned to me.

"Are you ready for this Zeriella?" she asked me. I glared at her.

"Why do you care if I'm ready?" I snapped at her. "It's not like you consulted me about this before scheduling this anyways." My shrink looked unaffected by how mean I was being.

"It'll be fine Zeriella," she said in response, "I can assure you it'll be better than last time… We have made more progress now. I know a bit more about you than I knew about you then… not much… but a bit more."

I rolled my eyes at her. "Don't make promises you can't keep." Just then there was another soft knock on the door, and my shrink was unable to give me a response.

"This will be fine Zeriella," she said her soft brown eyes meeting mine. I looked away and rolled my eyes.

"Let's just get this over with," I mumbled as my shrink got up and walked over to the door.

She pulled it open to reveal my parents, Derek and Lilliana standing on the other side with the blonde receptionist behind them.

I looked back down at the floor.

"Thank you Dora," I heard my shrink say. And then, in a very happy, bright, pleasant voice, she said, "Hello to the family of the Ceylontera's!"

I groaned. My family returned her greeting with more pleasantries of their own and then I heard them all file into the room.

"Sit, sit," Annie said, "make yourselves comfortable." I still did not look up from my lap. I felt the cushion on the couch I was sitting on sink down slightly and I felt an arm on my shoulder. I did not pull back, because this was the arm of a very familiar person.

"Hey Riella," Derek said and I finally looked away from my lap and looked up at him. I gave him a smile.

"Hi," I said. "I hope this won't be half as bad as last time…"

Derek groaned. He was always the optimist, but even he remembers how horrid last time was. And I can see in his eyes that he doubts how well this will go.

"Let's just hope…" he said. "I'll be here beside you through it all though." He squeezed my shoulder once and then extracted his arm from around me.

I looked over his shoulder to see that my parents and Lilliana had settled on the slightly larger couch beside the one that Derek and I were sitting on. It too, faced Annie.