My Therapy Sessions (Wattys2016)

Chapter Fourteen

"So are you excited for your first day of high school tomorrow?" He asked, taking a sip of red bull.
"Not really, are you?"
"I'm homeschooled, pretty much everyday of school is the same for me."
"You know it's not your fault no private school will accost you because of your record, right?"
"I did get caught. I should've been more careful." He sighed. "Now, I'll definitely be extra cautious."
"Good thing too. Visiting you in juvie was pretty fucking creepy."
"Yeah." He laughed. "Maybe next time, I'll be the one visiting you?"
"Hell no. Unlike you, I don't get caught." I punched his shoulder.
"Ow."

"Come on, Keira, you're such a slow poke." He said, pulling my arm as he dragged me through the forest.
"What are we doing here?" I asked, shivering.
"Don't you remember? This is where I saved your ass." He smiled.
"So...?"
"So, since this is the last time we're going to the same school, I thought you'd like to relive old memories."
"I'm just going to ignore how much this sounds like a romantic cliché." I groaned.
"You can do whatever you want."
"Hopeless flirt." I mumbled. "Won't Diana get jealous if she hears of this?"
"We broke up, she's too much of a Barbie for my liking."
"Then why'd you date her in the first place?"
"To make someone else jealous." He smirked.

"Sorry about Jess, Keira. I'm so pissed at her. I don't even know how she could do this." He sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"It's okay, Noah." I tried to smile.
"No, it's not Keira." He held my hand. "I promise if anyone ever does that to you again, I don't care who it is, I'll break there teeth in."
"I don't need an alpha male for a best friend, Noah." I teased. "But thanks for the offer."
"You're welcome." He smiled.
"Put can you do me a favor?"
"What is it?" I took out a razor.
"Help me get back at Jessica?" I grinned mischievously, only for him to return the courtesy.
"You should've asked sooner."

"Why didn't you tell me?" His breathing hitch as he tentatively touched my arm. I cried, the pain becoming unbearable.
"Please don't, it hurts."
"Come on, we need to take you to the hospital," he said. "I'll call your parents."
"No! No hospital." I shook my head.
"Keira, please I know you don't like them but you have to." He looked at me with his dark eyes, silently pleading me to go.
"I'm afraid..."
"Don't worry so much, I'll be there with you, you know. And I won't live your side. That's a promise."

"I can't believe you got in a fight." I said, giving him a cloth for his broken nose.
"The guy was a jerk." He grumbled.
"No, Derek."
"You're brother?"
"No, the tooth fairy. Yeah my brother. Him and his stupid friends we're missing around in my room, they ruined my painting."
"I'm sorry, Noah." I offered him a comforting hand.
"Not you fault." He smiled.
"Did you tell your parents?"
"No, they'll just ground us both."
"Sucks to be Alborne." I teased.
"No, kidding. So what about you? You and Dem still fighting?"
"You heard?"
"Yeah, I overheard Jessica on the phone so what happened between you two?"
"I don't know. She's just been acting really moody lately and taking out on me so I ended yelling at her to leave me alone. I don't know what's wrong with her."
"I think it's a little something called "puberty"." He said in a serious tone making me laugh.
"Doubtful unless she's been having her period for the whole of last month."
"Who knows, it might last three years."
"Shut up."

I felt my legs tremble as I trudged through the elaborate maze of trees, the overlooking sky turning a darker shade of blue as the sun set. I shivered as the cool breeze hit the nape of my neck. "Why'd they have to leave me here?" Hot tears streamed down my face as I struggled to hold up my flashlight that was barely illuminating the path ahead. I took a deep breath. "Just keep walking. Just keep walking. Just keep walking." I repeatedly chanted to myself as I continued through the forest, taking my mind off any monsters lurking in the corner of my eye. I slipped on a branch, scratching my knee. "I can't do this." I cried.
"Keira!" I heard someone yell, a clatter of footsteps follow and there he was. His trousers had splatters of dirt and his hair disheveled. He's been looking for me. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry." He grabbed me, bringing me in for a hug. "I didn't know, promise." He pulled away to look at me. "Are you hurt?" I shook my head, the feeling of fear now replaced with relief and silent joy. "We'll get back at them, okay?"

"Why're you alone?" A curious boy approached me disturbing me from drawing.
"Because I don't have any friends." I answered with honesty.
"Why?" He asked sitting down next to me.
"Because no one likes me." I looked down.
"Hmm," he scratched his head, silent for a few seconds. "I like you." I turned my head up to find him smiling a goofy grin.
"Really?"
"Yeah, my name's Noah and I'll be your friend."

"No..." I backed away from Riley not able to understand, not wanting to understand. "No... I saw him the other day..."
"Keira, I'm so sorry." She apologized, her eyes full of concern.
"No, he isn't. He can't be..." I felt my chest tighten as my pulse raced and at that my moment my eyes met it's.
"I told you, didn't I?" It said in a voice so soft and calm and so familiar.... "I was trying to protect you."
"No!" I yelled, blocking my ears. "He is not dead!"
"Keira, please..." Riley tried to comfort me only for me to push her away.
"Don't touch me!" I said, my mind slowly realizing the inevitable. "You're lying... you have to be." I felt my voice tighten as a painful lump invaded my throat. "He's alive..." I turned around, running away. From what? I couldn't tell, even now. Maybe the truth? But somehow that always has a way of catching up to you. Only I wanted to do is be free from th grief that was slowly feeling me up. I knew it was truth, the whole time, but I forced it all on to it. No wonder it was so angry, it had suffer through all my pain while I lied to myself. I couldn't handle it, so I forgot it. I forgot his death... how could I?
Keira...? (I looked down, finding that my hands are shaking like crazy, am I still escaping it now?)

I ran up my room, ignoring both my parents as I slammed my door shut. I grabbed it from underneath my bed and looked through it. "What are you looking for?" I heard it ask, yes it was still here.
"The pictures they're here." My hands shook, causing the album to be unsteady. All the missing photos were there. "They've always been here, haven't they? We just couldn't see them." I looked back at it. "Why?!"
"Because we didn't want to. We felt like we were all alone in this world, so we deleted any memories or any visuals that reminded us that we aren't." I looked pack at the pictures, a lot of them were of me and Noah, some of them of me and Riley, and a few of them of all of us.
"She knew you him?" It nodded. I not only forgot about Riley being my friend but also about Noah being there for me all those times. "How could someone forget all that?" I looked at it, my eyes laced with confusion and sadness.
"The pain was too much, you needed a way to deal, and this was it." It explained. "Keira, I wish I could've helped more but the truth will always catch up to us."
"So you were trying to help all those times you took over...?"
"I was trying to take some of the punches for you." It looked down.
"That's why you didn't want me asking my father..." I gazed up at the ceiling, blinking my tears away. "You knew that's he'd tell me and this would happen..." I collapsed on my weight, the grief finally catching up to me. "Noah... he's dead." I felt hot tears stream down my face. He's gone, I'll never see him, never see his goofy smile or hear his voice or feel the comforting warmth every time we hugged. We'll never go out in the middle of the night to do minor acts of vandalism. I'll never see him squirm every time he heard a siren. I'll never play video games with him. I'll never get another text from him just because he's bored. I'll never ride his motorcycle with him every again. I can't take anymore photos of him. Oh God, I should've taken more. I should've talk to him longer. I should've told him- no showed him how much he meant to me. I should've hugged him more. I should've listened to him more. I should've been with him that day, I shouldn't have let him die alone. I'm the worst, he was so kind and caring to me and I forgot everything he ever did for me. Why? Why couldn't I just handle my pain? Why can't I handle my pain? I needed to be stronger but I couldn't because I was too damn afraid. Afraid of being alone, but I was never alone because I had him. But now he's gone, he's really gone and I couldn't even remember that. Dammit! What the hell's wrong with me? I slammed my fist against the hard wood of the floor, sending pain up my arm. He didn't deserve to die I did. Noah deserved to live, he was happy, even with everything to do with his mother, he was happy. Why couldn't I have died instead? But it's too late now, isn't it? I just want all of it to go away. Now! "I just lost him. I lost him."
Yeah, we did. I looked up at hearing that voice.
Dante?