Chapter 2: THE COUNSELOR HAD JUST BEEN COUNSELED
“Miss Prescott? Miss Prescott?" The lady waved a hand over her face.
Faith snapped back to reality and refocused on the lady.
"Yeah...right...err…what did you just say?"
The lady stared at her for a while without saying a word, while Faith tried to pull up a smile on her face.
“Miss Prescott, are you crying?“ the woman asked peering at her.
“No, no.“ Faith chuckled and touched her cheeks. They were wet. She didn't even know that the tears were running down.
She wondered how she got so lost in thoughts and had even allowed her client to see that she was shattered. She always had it together. She was Faith Prescott, the renowned therapist in San Francisco. She quickly wiped her eyes with her neat, white napkin that smelled of disinfectant. She sniffed and concentrated on the older woman, who was looking at her with something like pity in her eyes.
Faith hated when people gave her that look. It made her feel vulnerable, like everything was out of control. It made her think she wasn't living up to her expectations. She quickly smiled at the lady, even though her heart ached.
“Yes, go ahead Mrs...“ She looked back at her notepad to get the name of the woman.
But the woman didn't allow her to check whatever it was she was checking. She started speaking.
“I am done with the narration,” the woman said.
Faith brows furrowed and she felt cry tugging at her heart and she wondered what was happening to her. She was never this disoriented at work. She shouldn't let her emotions take over her, especially not in front of a client whom she was supposed to provide emotional support. It was unprofessional. But that image of Noah leaving the door, lived rent free in her head and it makes her want to just break down and cry so much.
It was as if she had not cried enough. The other thing she did today that she didn't usually do at work was holding her phone and glancing at it. Today, she broke that self rule. She always put her phone in the 'Do not Disturb' mode whenever she was in a counselling session. But, she held her phone today, looking at it occasionally to know if Noah had replied any of her countless messages. But, she was always met by the disappointment.
“Miss Prescott, are you alright?“
Faith quickly removed her eyes from the phone's screen and focused on the woman.
“Of course, of course. Let's continue...“
The older woman let out a deep breath and the pity look was still there on her face.
“Listen, Miss Prescott, you don't have to be strong always.“
Faith frowned. “What do you mean?“
“This is not my first time coming here, but this is my first time of seeing you so distracted. Something is definitely heavy on your mind. You need to rest and get yourself together...“
“What are you talking...“ Faith started saying to defend herself, but the woman was already standing.
“No excuses. I really appreciate your efforts.“
Faith couldn't hold the grief anymore, so she let it show on her face. The woman smiled and patted her shoulder and started out of the office. Faith relaxed back on her chair.
What just happened? The counselor had just been counseled!
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