Page 7 of Possessed By Shadows

Chapter 2

It was almost four hours later, after eating a real breakfast with eggs, and a side of pancakes, and another four bananas, that I got to see the doctor. I still had no clue all the details of what had happened, or why I was there. But they’d stopped eyeing me like I was going to go manic on them.

When Daniel’s daytime replacement, Janie, appeared, she led me to a private room with a handful of chairs inside. There was a computer, which was locked, and a small desk, but not much else. It felt more like an exam room than anything I’d met a psychologist in before. But I took a seat and waited, trying not to fidget too much.

When the doctor appeared, I didn’t recognize him, but he smiled at me and closed the door, taking a seat at the desk. “Can we go over some basic questions?” he asked.

I already had with the nurses, but whatever. “Sure.”

He asked my name and recent memories, if I’d taken anything, and how I felt. All standard stuff. My answers were the same. Last day I remembered was Friday night. The ghost hunt, the creepy bear, the laughing, the darkness. I did not go into details. Doctors of any kind didn’t like excuses of the paranormal, attributing it all to mental illness instead. And that was probably the case most of the time.

“Remind me of your time in Afghanistan?”

“Do I have to? I’m home now, and they aren’t good memories.”

“The recounts of the attack on your unit are varied.”

And somewhat classified if I recalled correctly. “People died. It was not a good day. I’m in therapy for that.”

He nodded, looking down at his notes. “Your therapist indicates you have been stable.”

I was when ghosts weren’t fucking with me. “I have good support.”

“Perhaps your current job is not providing you with the stability you need?”

“I work in a craft shop.”

“And chase ghosts on the side?”

I didn’t chase anything. They sort of found me. “That was my brother’s doing.”

He nodded, seeming to affirm something for himself. “Is your brother seeking help?”

Was he seeing stuff too? “I have no idea.”

“I heard he recently left the police force.”

“Yeah.”

“Do you know why?”

“No.” Every time I tried to bring it up, Lukas shut me down hard. All he would say was that it was a case gone wrong. Sky didn’t have all the details, and what she did know she didn’t share. The one thing that bothered me, was how much more hostile Lukas seemed to have gotten toward Micah. He wasn’t outright rude, but there was snobbery and condescension I hadn’t noticed before my disappearance a few months back. Since they’d been friends before my arrival, it made me sad to know that something about Micah and I being together had shoved a wedge between them.

“You and your brother aren’t close?”

“What would make you think that?” I demanded.

“He doesn’t seem to share things with you?”

“Do we all share everything with everyone? Can I see my boyfriend soon?”

“You live with him?”

“Yes.” We had made it official by updating all my documentation to his address. Even my ID had his address as my address. I had also put Micah on my notification information. When I ended up someplace like this, he was the one they called first. It was sometimes a battle to get anyone to acknowledge that Micah had dominion over my health before my brother did, but it was a full trust issue. His had me as top dog, too. That was more important than tattooed names or wedding rings to me.

There was a knock on the door. “Come in,” the doctor called.

A nurse opened the door and I saw Micah standing behind her. I nearly leapt out of my seat in joy. His gaze landed on me, meeting my eyes, filled with worry, but then something changed on his face. Like he realized it was really me, awake and not some sort of zombie. A smile lit up his face.