Splinters: Part One

Part One | 14

"Bryson Palmer. He's about..."

I quickly calculated the math in my head. If he was twenty-eight back then, then he'd be...

"He's thirty-four now, I guess."

Dr. Johnson nodded. I thought he'd question me on the age my father apparently had me. I guess he was used to the idea of men being fathers as teens.

"Did you live with him?"

I nodded. "Him and my mom."

"Where did the three of you live? Wait, just the three of you, correct?"

I nodded. "We lived in Brooklynn."

"New York?"

"Yeah."

"And how long did you live there?"

"I lived there up until they took me away."

"Who took you away?"

"The police."

"Do you know why the police took you away?"

I shrugged. I had suspicions, but I didn't want to talk about that.

"Where'd you go after that?"

"I went to live with my grandma."

"And I assume you didn't live with her when Melany adopted you."

"Melissa, and yeah."

Dr. Johnson smiled. "Oh, right. Sorry about that."

I gave him a tight smile in return.

He set his clipboard down and looked straight at me. "So how long were you with your grandmother?"

"Two years."

"How old were you when you left?"

"I was nine."

Dr. Johnson didn't say anything, and I felt the need to tell him what happened.

"She had a seizure."

He continued to stay silent.

"We were... um..." For a weird moment, I felt like all my train of thought had been thrown out the window. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what to think.

"You can tell me, Brayden," Dr. Johnson said smoothly.

I liked him much better than Dr. Hamelon.

"I, uh, was asking her something and she... she didn't answer, so, um, I went to her room..." I took a deep breath. "She was sitting weird on her bed and I asked her what was wrong."

I shook my head slowly as I tried not to remember the entire situation.

"She started shaking. I didn't know what to do. She fell... And she didn't get up."

I couldn't see Dr. Johnson's reaction. My eyes were set on my shoes as I mumbled the experience to him. I felt calm knowing that he wasn't going to rush me like my last therapist.

"I couldn't reach the phone to call the police so I went to the neighbors. I didn't know what was going on. She just wouldn't stop shaking. I was so... scared." I licked my lips as tears sprung at my eyes. "She didn't even make it to the hospital."

Dr. Johnson's slow, peaceful, breathing was the only sound in the room. I felt like everyone could hear this story even though my voice was barely loud enough for him to hear.

"I stayed at the police station until I was sent to St. Anne's Group Home for kids and teens. I stayed there until Melissa found me and took me in several months ago."