“You found Rory? As in Declan’s sister? As in Jace’s best friend who disappeared after Dec’s death and hasn’t been seen since?” Kat says in one breath. Ohhh…stunned silence. That makes sense.
“More so she fell into our laps…but yes.” I fix up the pens on my desk until everything is orderly, nothing askew.
“How did you—”
“School.” I interrupt, anxious to answer her questions so I can get back to Rory.
“If you know what I’m going to ask, why don’t you talk and I’ll listen,” Kat says with a hint of annoyance.
I feel a flicker of guilt for being rude when she’s helping me. I sigh before nodding and recounting the story, excluding our interestingly complicated relationship with her but including the part about seeing James, knowing she’ll jump on that.
Kat’s quiet for a while, a pen scribbling in the background. I hate when she writes notes during our sessions. It makes me uncomfortable, like I’m under a microscope being observed rather than listened to. It's a staple of my childhood.
“Please stop that,” I ask her quietly. The sound instantly stops and the itching feeling evaporates.
“Sorry, Alec,” Kat apologies. “I didn’t think you could hear it.”
“It’s fine,” I automatically respond.
“How does she fit in with the group dynamic? Any issues so far?” Kat probes. My normal reaction is to close up but I fight the feeling.
“It’s like she’s always been here,” I admit.
My bedroom door creaks open and Maverick pokes his head in, probably wondering what’s taking me so long.
I mouth Kat’s name. Realisation hits him and he gives me a thumbs up before closing the door.
“Who was that?” Kat questions, clearing hearing the door open and shut.
“Maverick.” I open one of the top boxes stacked neatly in the corner of the room.
“Any chance of me getting him in for a session?” I laugh at the absurdity of Kat’s question and she grumbles.
The truth is, the whole group’s been to therapy at one point or another and I’m the only one who stuck it out. They all have their own ways of coping. Dom’s version of therapy is looking up at the stars with a bottle of whiskey. It could be worse.
I tried to get the twins to go after their mum’s death but with no luck. Some people just don’t like the idea of sharing their thoughts with a stranger.
“So, how do you feel about her?” Kat jumps back on track.
I hate those questions. As I'm pondering over the right respond, Kat says, "Don't overthink it, Alec. Just talk."
I sigh heavily. Picking up a handful of books, I place them down on my desk.
"She's…nice. Smart. The guys don't have to hide themselves around her. That tells me a lot," I answer her carefully.
"What about you, Alec? What does she know about you?"
I'm quiet for a while. Kat knows better than to push me again. I stack a few books, thinking about how I'll order my bookshelf.
"She knows I'm a hacker. She knows about Mum. About her death. She vaguely knows what James is involved in."
Kat asks me more questions, pushes me until I'm mentally exhausted.
. . .
Rory ~
Alec comes out about an hour after breakfast looking more weathered than I've seen his cool, collected self.
