Chapter 1
Jack
Jack walked to his appointment, dreading talking to the doctor. He didn’t want to interact, he didn’t want to answer questions about how his anxiety had been, he didn’t want to be here at all. He pushed up his glasses on his nose, brushed his hair out of his face, and opened the door.
Eliana
As Eliana walked home, she thought about her day. She’d gotten a book from the library that she’d wanted to read for years. Eliana had gotten her homework done, and managed to draw something. Not something good, but it was something. A broken mirror, black and white, with a few bright red roses on it. She paused, and took a deep breath of the crisp spring air She decided to go to the park and read. Eliana pulled out Eliza and Her Monsters. She pushed her loose, light brown curls away from her face, and opened the book.
Jack
He stared at the ground after checking in, trying to avoid looking at the blindingly white walls, hoping that this would be an easy appointment. As he stepped through, he thought he felt the temperature change. He glanced up. Not again. Jack immediately heard the din of a crowd of people in a coffee shop. He turned around, seeing signs for a place in town that he knew. How am I going to explain this?
He got a coffee to try to relax, and started back towards the office. Jack opened the door, walked in, and walked right back out. I’ll just tell my parents I freaked out and left. In the cool spring morning, he enjoyed the steaming coffee, and walked slowly so he could take pictures of trees, birds, anything he found.
Eliana
Eliana looked up, as it was getting darker. She looked down at her watch, noticing that it was getting late, and jumped up to go home. I’m going to be late, they’re going to be there before me. She ran most of the way there, until she could see her house, and see that she had beaten her parents in the race home that only she was aware of.
She opened the door, dropped off her bag, and took the stairs two at a time up to her room. She laid down on her back, her pale brown curls spreading out behind her like a halo, and took a deep breath. Everything will be okay. It’s not like she’d meant to leave, but she was going into the kitchen, and ended up in the library, so she decided to relax for the day.
Jack
He walked in the door, waiting for his parents to notice. “Hey, mom, I’m sorry, but I couldn’t handle the doctor’s today.” he said, when she finally looked up from the television.
“That’s fine, honey, at least you tried.”
“Thanks, mom. I’ll make you some dinner.” He walked into the kitchen, and started cooking. No one noticed anything’s wrong. I can do this.
