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“Which is what every alien will say if I ever confront them,” Nell said. “You could all be lying to me.”

“You’re panicking,” Doctor Kingsbury said.

Nell turned to glare at her. “Yes, I’m freakin’ panicking. And freaked out from sitting with an alien who just grabbed my hand. How is this helping me?”

“You have made incredible progress. You are confronting your worst fear. It’s exactly what you wanted. If you desire to discover who has done this to you and confront them, then you need to be strong enough to do so. At the moment, you only have to talk about an alien and you shake. You need to take a number of steps before you’re ready for your actual confrontation.”

Nell pinched the bridge of her nose. What Doctor Kingsbury said made sense, but all she wanted to do was escape.

“Nell, why don’t you take a seat?” Doctor Non said.

Nell leaped backwards and sprawled across the coffee table. She hadn’t realized Doctor Non had stood. She rolled off the coffee table and laid on the floor feeling dazed.

“Leave us,” Doctor Kingsbury ordered Doctor Non.

Nell remained where she was until she heard the door slide shut behind Doctor Non. “Has he gone?”

“He has. Get up when you feel ready to.”

Nell pulled herself into a sitting position. She’d heard the disappointment in Doctor Kingsbury’s voice. She didn’t mean to let her down, but she’d freaked out. She wasn’t ready for this step. She wasn’t sure she ever would be.

“I can see your thoughts on your face,” Doctor Kingsbury said. “I would have liked today’s session to have gone better. If you remain stuck as you are, you will never move on with your life. You are trapped in an old memory. Yes, it’s a horrible one, but we are confronting it together. I agree that you must take action to discover what happened to you and why. But until you get over your ridiculous...” Doctor Kingsbury paused and sucked in a breath. “Until you get over your fears, you will never make any long-lasting progress.”

Nell stood and hung her head. Doctor Kingsbury was right. She’d been stuck with this for so long. If she didn’t do something big and life changing, then she’d always be trapped.

“At your next session, I will invite Doctor Non back. This time, I expect you to take it seriously.” Doctor Kingsbury gestured to the door. “Until then.”

Nell stared at Doctor Kingsbury for a second. She’d never dismissed her like that before. Her failure stung deeply as she sloped out of the office.

She thought she was doing okay and getting somewhere. Her previous sessions had been different. This was the first time the whole touching an alien had been offered. It had never been mentioned before. Maybe there was a reason for that. Doctor Kingsbury knew Nell would react like this.

As she dwelled on it, it almost seemed kinky, something Doctor Kingsbury was doing to get herself off. Did she have a thing about watching a human and an alien together?

Nell shook her head and snorted a frustrated laugh. It couldn’t be that. She respected Doctor Kingsbury. She must believe she could push her and fight through her alien demons and get out the other side a better person.

Nell would try harder and do better. The next time she had to sit with Doctor Non, she would make more of an effort. Maybe this could be what she needed, a big, serious step forward and a punch in the face to the aliens who’d messed with her.

Decision made, Nell turned the corner and slammed into a muscly wall of green alien.

Chapter 10

“Nell!” Rane stepped back, one hand going to her shoulder. “What are you doing on Starland?”

Nell took a step back and shrugged off his hand. “Nothing important. What about you?”

Rane’s gaze ran over her. She was barely keeping her panic under control. The tension radiating off her made him nervous. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I have to go.”

“Wait, I’d like to help.” Rane walked alongside Nell as she hurried away from him. Something bad was going on here.

“There’s nothing you can do.” Nell sighed. “It seems there’s nothing anybody can do. I have to do... something, well, I’ve just done something. It weirded me out.”

“I can assist if you tell me what’s wrong.”

“That’s what I’ve been doing for the last hour. Talking about what’s wrong and how to fix it, and how no one can help me, and that I am going to mess this up and spend the rest of my life terrified of aliens.” The words tumbled out of Nell’s mouth.

Rane stared at her. So that was the dark thing that clawed at her insides and made her give off her frantic vibe. “You’re terrified of aliens?”