Mirrors

Chapter Two

Two Months Later

Niall walked into the cold little room on the second floor of a cold little building. He was about to turn around when Liam grabbed him by the arms and forced him back. "Not happening, bro. You're doing this."

Niall huffed as he was forced back into the room. "No one is even here yet, man."

"They will be. And you aren't leaving. There's only one exit and my arse will be parked there until the appropriate time."

Liam shoved him into the room as a few others began arriving. Niall looked around as two of the people started putting chairs in a circle. "For Christ's sake, Liam, I don't need thi---" He said, turning around to find no one behind him.

He made his way over to the drink table, "Why is there always bad coffee at these things?" He mumbled.

"Probably to keep us all in that shitty circle." 

He jumped at the voice behind him, dropping his cup. He had been jumping at every little thing for the past two months. Hell, he'd hardly left his house except to go to the doctor appointments that had been made for him to follow up on his injuries.

He turned around to see another guy, shorter than him, skinnier, looking down at the spilt beverage pooling on the floor. "Better clean that up, the missus doesn't like it if we make things dirty."

"The missus?" Niall asked.

"Yeah, our counselor. She's good at what she does, but she runs a tight, clean ship."

Just as Niall finished cleaning up the mess, he heard a sharp rap on the floor and a woman's voice, "Time to start everyone."

He tossed the napkins and cup away before slowly making his way to the circle. Most of the people there quickly sat down but two other people were slow to move. Along with himself, there was another guy and a girl; both of whom looked just as dubious as he was.

"I see we have a few newbies. Please, take a seat. We don't bite here," the woman's voice was less sharp and more welcoming than it had been moments ago. Niall took a seat across from her while the other guy sat down next to him and the girl slowly sat down in the darkest corner of the circle.

"Before we begin, for those who are new, my name is Charlie. And no, it's not short for anything, it's just plain Charlie. I promise we don't bite and we certainly don't judge. We are all here because we have experienced something that we haven't quite been able to deal with. Each of us is here for a different reason. But we all have the same goal: to find a way to heal. We aren't going to cure you, but maybe, just maybe, we can all be saved here....from whatever our demons. I'd like to start with going around the room and introducing ourselves, especially for our newbies. Please state your name, and if comfortable, state the reason you are here."

Niall watched and listened as each person said their name and the reason why they are here. When it got to the guy next to him, he said, "Uhh, my name is Chris and I am, uhh, here, uhh, because I was in a bad car accident that has left me in a lot pain."

"Welcome, Chris," everyone said.

And then it was his turn, "I, umm, I'm Niall and I'm here because my friends think I need to be but I don't."

"Welcome, Niall." They all said and moved on. No one questioned why he had said what he had said.

It got to the girl in the darkest corner, everyone looked at her, "I'm Edie and I don't need to be here with any of you," she said harshly.

"Welcome, Edie," they all said and moved on.

The rest of the evening was treated as one giant AA or NA type meeting except everyone there had experienced a trauma. Niall watched as each person who spoke told a part of their story. Obviously, portions of it were confusing because he hadn't been here at the beginning but he got the gist.

During a five minute break, he ran outside for fresh air. Liam was still there, watching him but not quite saying or doing anything. He took several gulps of cool air and turned to his friend, "Liam, I don't need to be here. Those people in there are nothing like me. I'm nothing like them!"

Liam stood up and walked over to him, embracing him in a tight, warm hug. "Niall, you haven't left your house in two months. You were shot. You barely survived and we all know you're sitting in that house staring at your scars in the mirror. The few times we've seen you, you haven't been you, which is understandable, but it's gotten out of control and you need professional help to help you get through this and sort this all out."

"Liam, those people in there, they won't understand me or what I've been through!"

"Yes, they will. They may not know exactly but each of them has experienced something just as bad as you. Please, go back in, and give this thing an honest chance. If it doesn't work, we'll try something else."

Liam pushed him back inside and up the stairs.