Ch. 9: Sullen Girl

Chapter Nine: Sullen Girl

It had been just one week since Abrielle’s attack, and she had only told one person. Jenesis. She confided in her right away telling her every detail of the incident that occurred at the work party that night.

Jenesis was furious and wanted nothing more than to go and beat the crap out of the ugly creature that hurt her friend, but Abrielle begged Jenesis to keep quiet.

She was afraid she would lose her job and everything she had worked so hard for if she reported her boss.

So she became an empty shell. She pushed all of the emotions she was feeling into the back of her mind and went through each day the same way. Sleep. Wake up. Shower. Eat. Work. Eat. Sleep. Sometimes she would find herself in the bathroom at work crying uncontrollably,

Or wake up out of a sound sleep because she was bawling so hard she was gasping for breath. Those nights she would find Jenesis in bed right beside her rubbing her back and whispering soothing words. “Shh sh Abri. It’s all going to be ok. Things are going to get better.”

Abrielle desperately wanted to believe her but at this point she felt as though the rest of her life would be this way, tinted the dark grey color of depression.

The worst part was the rumors that started to spread. She would hear the whispers of her coworkers saying things like, “She’s just trying to get that promotion.” Or “She’s been sleeping with Morris since she started, how do you think she got to her position so fast.”

She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs that Mr. Morris had taken advantage of her, assaulted her, that she would never sleep with the boss to get ahead. But every time she heard the whispers she just focused all of her attention on the paperwork in front of her and tried her hardest to get through the day.

Abrielle’s Wednesday and Friday nights were now wide open also, due to the fact that her so-called friends from work didn’t want their image to be damaged because of Abrielle’s “bad reputation”. Jenesis stayed home with Abrielle on those nights, they would watch chick flicks and eat every type of junk food imaginable. On one of those particular Wednesday nights Abrielle meekly spoke up.

“Jen.” There was a long pause and Jenesis waited intently for her friend to speak again. “I-I can’t do this anymore.” She let out a sigh.

“Oh honey. What do you mean? Of course you can. You’re one of the strongest people I know. If anyone can get past this, it’s you Abrielle.” Jenesis looked gently at Abrielle.

Abrielle let out a shaky whisper, “I don’t want to be here anymore.”

Jenesis stared pointedly into Abrielle’s eyes, “What do you mean? In Sunset Valley?” Jenesis knew what her friend was really referring to, but didn’t want to believe it.

“No Jen. Here… Life… I don’t want to be here.”

That’s when Jenesis knew she couldn’t keep letting her friend mope around. This was a serious matter and Abrielle needed professional help.

“Now Abrielle, I know you’re not going to like this, but I’m not letting you say no. Tomorrow I’m going to call Dr. James, my therapist, and set up an appointment for you. You’re going to go see him, and you’re going to talk to him. Honey, I know this is hard for you, but trust me, this is the right thing to do.”

Abrielle simply nodded in agreement, she wasn’t going to be able to talk her way out of this one, and deep down, she knew that this was what was best for her.

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Abrielle was sitting in reception area of Dr. James’s clinic waiting for him to finish up with his latest appointment. She was nervously bouncing her legs and kept winding and unwinding strands of hair around her fingers.

“Abrielle.” The receptionist across the room smiled at Abrielle and motioned towards the door leading to Dr. James’s office. “Dr. James will see you now.”

“Peachy.” Abrielle grumbled to herself and walked into the small office.

Dr. James was sitting at his desk filling out some paper work but turned around and stood up as soon as he heard Abrielle enter the room. He extended his arm for a handshake and said, “Hi Abrielle, I’m Alexander James; you can call me Alexander, Alex, Dr. James, whatever makes you feel comfortable.” He sat down in a large brown love seat and motioned for Abrielle to sit at a matching sofa.

“So Abrielle, I just want to make it clear that this is a safe environment. Anything you say in here is completely confidential and will not be discussed with anyone outside of this room unless you instruct me otherwise.”

He paused and smiled. “I know sometimes it can be difficult to open up and share all of your innermost secrets and feelings, but the more detailed you are about your emotions the more I can begin to understand what you’re going through, and therefore help you.”

Abrielle nodded and began to relax while Dr. James continued talking. “Now, we’re going to start off by you telling me what situation has brought you here today, and how you've been affected by this situation or problem. Take your time, alright.” He nodded and Abrielle began to tell him about that night at the work party.

She thought that it would be difficult to relive that moment especially because she was required to provide such a detailed account about her assault, but the words flowed easily from her mouth, granted they flowed freely along with the tears that streamed down her cheeks. Dr. James would hold up the box of tissue in the moments she paused to regain composure.

After going over their session by forty-five minutes, Dr. James politely excused himself to tell his secretary to bump back all of his next sessions by an hour. He apologized to the people waiting and then went back to Abrielle.

“Well, normally I would recommend a sort of treatment, and then a few follow up sessions, but this is a unique situation. Abrielle, I know how scared you are of Mr. Morris, but you have to be strong and report him. You will not be able to fully heal until you know that he will not be able to hurt you or any other woman ever again.”

Abrielle bit her lip and began bouncing her leg.

Dr. James could see her nervousness and added, “Of course, this is simply my opinion, but this is probably the only thing that will completely free you from your pain and suffering.”

By the end of the session, Abrielle was convinced to report her boss.

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Collin Morris was fired from his job, and Abrielle decided not to press any charges. Mainly because once Abrielle reported her boss, and the word spread, another girl from work stepped forward and reported that Collin Morris had also sexually assaulted her. That girl was pressing charges and Abrielle would testify if she was needed.

People at work still stared at Abrielle differently but mostly with looks of sympathy. The rumors had stopped and a lot of people personally apologized for talking about her without knowing the whole story. Although she still had a lot of emotion to cope with, Abrielle was beginning to feel a glimmer of hope. Jenesis was right. Things are going to get better.