Skye
“So. Tell me about your parents.”
Skye scoffed at him as she leaned forward in her seat.
“That is seriously one of the most stereotypical shrink questions you could have asked me,” she laughed, emphasizing the statement with an eye roll. Her voice dripped with sarcasm as she continued, “After I pour my heart and soul out to you, are you going to ask me how having psychopaths for parents makes me feel?”
“Maybe,” Andrew replied, crossing one leg over the other and resting a notepad on his lap.
He uncapped his pen as he steadily analyzed Skye’s body language. Her leg was bouncing up and down, showing she was anxious. Probably because he was asking her to open up. Her arms were crossed over her chest, showing him that she was in no mood to talk about anything that had taken place over the past few weeks.
“I’m just trying to help you, Skye. You’ve had a difficult few weeks,” he said softly, hoping that showing some empathy would get her to open up.
“More like a difficult life,” she muttered, slumping back in her chair and brushing her bangs back from her face. As he opened his mouth to speak again, she quickly cut him off. “And don’t you dare ask me if I want to talk about it.”
Andrew quickly closed his mouth, slightly flustered because that was exactly what he was going to ask next.
He sighed and recapped his pen, setting it and his notepad on the small table next to him.
“Look,” he said, folding his hands in front of him. “I get it. You don’t want to talk to me. And honestly, I don’t think you need to.”
“Really?” she asked, sitting up a little straighter in her chair. Her surprise at what he had just said was written all over her face.
“Yeah,” he replied. “With all that’s happened recently, you have every right to be a mess right now. If anyone else had gone through what you have, they’d be crying their eyes out, or suffering from a psychotic break. We’d probably have to sedate them and strap them down to a hospital bed. But not you,” he said leaning forward. “You, despite everything you’ve been through, are sitting tall, right here in front of me. Still being as sarcastic and stubborn as ever.”
Skye laughed at that, her eyes looking slightly moist.
“And you know what that tells me?” he asked.
She shrugged her shoulders and let out a sigh. “That I’m in denial?”
“No,” he replied, smiling slightly as he shook his head. “That you’re a survivor. It shows me that you are strong enough to handle whatever comes your way. And I admire that.”
The tears were running down her face now, but she was smiling all the same.
“Now, I’m not saying that you wouldn’t benefit from talking to someone about it,” Andrew said, holding the tissue box out to her. “I’m just saying that you seem to have found a way to cope with all you’ve lost on your own.”
“I guess I’ve had a lot of practice,” Skye said, dabbing at her eyes.
Andrew’s expression softened at that, and he reached forward to place a comforting hand on her arm. As she looked up and flashed him a genuine smile, he knew one thing for certain.
No matter what life threw at her next, Skye could handle it.