Splinters: Part One

Part One | 14

Finally, my eyes met Dr. Johnson's. He nodded slowly and then sighed.

"So, it seems like you've been through a lot."

A tear fell from my eye. I quickly whisked it away and hardened my face. I did not want to cry. Not now.

"How long have you been keeping that in, Brayden?"

I glanced at him. "Ever since it happened."

"And who've you told?"

"Nobody-"

"Nobody," he repeated. "You see, when you hide something, or say you keep it inside, it eats you away. You can try and say that it doesn't matter, that you feel nothing, but that's not true. You're convincing yourself of something that isn't the truth. I take it you loved your grandmother."

I nodded.

"You miss her, Brayden, and you don't want to admit that to yourself because then you'll realize that she's truly gone. You experienced a horrific final moment with her, but you also got to experience the perfection of her, the best of her, the most memorable parts of your two years with her."

I nodded again.

"I can see in your eyes that you've wished to speak about her for a long time. I'm sorry you had to see her pass, but you also got to see her last two years. Now isn't that better than the last two seconds?"

"Yeah."

"Exactly. She's a great, big part of your life, Brayden. Don't hide her."

...

Driving back home, I felt like I could breathe easier. I believed Dr. Johnson about what he said. Keeping it inside was never good for me and I realize that now. I thought long and hard about my grandma. I missed her a lot. I hoped she couldn't see me. I hoped she couldn't see what I was facing now, what kind of emotions I had towards her death. I wouldn't want her to know how traumatizing it was for me.

"You seem a little quiet," Melissa spoke.

I shrugged, staring out the window. "I talked about a lot."

"Is he better than Dr. Hamelon?"

"Yeah, definitely."

"Good. She rubbed me the wrong way."

"Yeah," I agreed.

It was silent for a while. When Melissa pulled into the neighbourhood, she spoke.

"Okay, so when we get home, you've got to go change into something nice. We're all going out to dinner."

"Dinner?" I asked.

I had never gone out to dinner with the Piersons. I was almost afraid to for some reason.

"Yep. We're going to Orange Forest."

"What's that?"

Melissa smiled, glancing at me. "You'll see."

When Melissa drove up to the driveway, I was surprised to see Greg was home. I opened the garage door and heard numerous voices screaming and talking all at once.

Melissa walked passed me as I slowly entered the living room. Melissa greeted her husband warmly in the kitchen.

"Brayden," I heard Odera say. I turned to face her. "How'd counseling go?"

I shrugged. "It was all right."

The both of us entered the living room. Greg was standing with Melissa by his side.