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“That’s none of your business,” I spat, crossing my arms over my chest to protect myself from her words. “I thought people come here to feel better.”

“I’m here to understand you better, and to help you. And I can’t do that if you don’t talk to me, Vespyr. I’m not going to tell you what to do, but I would like for you to accept my advice. What you do with it isn’t in my power, and I surely won’t make you change your mind. But after talking with you for the first time, I know there’s something I can do to help you stop having those lucid dreams. There’s treatment, and talking to me is the best way to start.”

Mrs. Irvine was a sweet woman, but I had trouble letting her help me and accept it when I couldn’t see that I actually needed it.

I looked back at my hands and nodded, and to my luck, the hour was slowly coming to an end.

“You did great, Vespyr, and I’d be happy to see you again this week. Coming here twice a week will help us speed up the process, and if your brother agrees to come again too, I can make sure you two can have sessions back to back. How does that sound?”

I wondered how Fennec would take these sessions.

Would he open up to her enough to let her help him?

“Okay,” I whispered. “I’d like to go now.”

“I’ll walk you back to the waiting room.”

We both got up, and before turning to walk over to the door, I looked down at the clipboard with all her notes and checks on it.

Seemed like she used a checklist to find out what was wrong with me, and who was I to say if that was enough to diagnose someone you only just met?

Hell, I barely graduated high school.

I didn’t have a say in this at all.

As we got back to the waiting room, Fennec was still sitting in the same spot, staring straight ahead while Mama read some fashion magazine.

“How did it go?” Mama asked Mrs. Irvine as she noticed us.

“We’ll see each other again soon. Vespyr and I have a lot to talk about still,” she said with a smile in my direction.

I didn’t react but looked back at Fennec whose facial expression I couldn’t read.

“Fennec, you can follow me.”

He got up and took off the beanie he was wearing, then handed it to me with his eyes locked on mine.

“It’s cold in there. You should keep it just in case,” I whispered.

He studied me for a moment, then took the beanie back and nodded. “Thanks.”

I watched him leave with Mrs. Irvine, then I looked at Mama who was expecting me to talk.

I pointed back toward the entrance, not going into what happened in that room. “I’m gonna grab a snack.”

She took the hint and pulled her wallet out, handing me some money. “Did you decide to come back for another session?” she asked as I was about to turn away.

I shrugged, looking at her again. “I don’t really have a choice, do I?”

There was no response, and I was slowly starting to realize that all those dreams I had about Fennec weren’t just my imagination.

Those dreams were real, but my mind chose to ignore that fact.

Hallucinations.

Shit…I really do need help.

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