Bad Memories

Chapter 4

"Tell that to the 157 million people who drink it almost everyday."

"How about you? Anything new going on with your life?"

For a moment, I don't want to tell him about the therapy, but in the end, it's going to be a good thing, right? "Yeah... I'm going to go through some therapy this Saturday. It's so I can treat my PTSD or something."

"Didn't you say it was getting better?"

The nightmare flickers in my mind. This is definitely something I'm not going to mention to Tyler. "It is, but that doesn't mean it's gone. The sessions would hopefully make it so that I have these effects close to never."

We continue walking down the street. Tyler has a slight worrisome look on his face. "Are you scared to do this?"

"Opening up all of my secrets to someone I don't know? Of course I am. Especially when there are so many things about me that you're completely clueless about."

"You sure it has to be all of your secrets?"

I nod once to that question. "If I want to get better, I have to tell him basically everything going on in my life, right?"

Tyler, unsure about how therapy works, is left a bit speechless. I continue to say, "This is new for me too, but based on what I know, I have to at least mention certain topics so that he would understand how to help me."

"You think you can do that?"

"I might have to imagine that I'm talking to you. It might make me feel more comfortable talking to him."

Tyler smiles from gratitude. "Nice to know that I'm someone you like to talk to."

The two of us arrive at the school only minutes before class begins. "See you later, Tyler."

"See ya."

—————

Today, Prince and Quinn aren't at the lunch table today. I sit next to Lyla asking, "Where are the twins?"

"Their whole family got sick, so they're out of commission. Not sure how long," she replies. "So I guess it's just us two for now."

I laugh nervously. "Heh, y-yeah. I guess so."

Lyla takes a bite out of her food before continuing to talk. "Anyways, I'm going to a party in a few days. It's super casual, and it'll be really great if you could join."

Considering the fact that I'm still anxious about everything, I try to make up an excuse not to go. "Oh... umm, it's not on Saturday, is it? Cause I have something that morning, and I may not be able to..."

"It's Saturday night, so if you have a thing in the morning, you can probably make it. I'm not forcing you if you don't want to. Prince and Quinn should be well enough to join me."

Despite the voice in my head practically begging me to say no, I end up telling her, "I'll umm... I'll try and make it. Just text me the details or something."

She begins to smile, but it's not her usual smile. This one seems more flustered and joyful. "Great! I guess I should be expecting a plus one on Saturday?"