Chapter 219


    Chapter 219: Dr. Rhodes


    This is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Moana


    By the next morning, Edrick had already called the therapist for me and I was scheduled to have my


    first session right there in the penthouse that very morning. I was nervous, but also excited in a strange


    way. I wanted to get to the bottom of these strange urrences, not only to figure out why this knife


    seemed to be so prominent in my mind and to see if it had any real, tangible significance, but I also


    wanted to get better so I could return to work.


    When the therapist walked into my room, I immediately noticed that he seemed like a nice man. He


    was older, tall and thin, and had apletely bald head with a gray mustache on his upper lip and a


    pair of round wire-rimmed sses sitting on his nose. He had a warm smile on his face and wore a


    tweed suit, and carried a notebook in his thin hand.


    “Hello, Moana,” he said, holding his hand out for me to shake. “I’m Dr. Rhodes. Are you ready to get


    started?”


    I nodded nervously. Edrick had moved a small loveseat into my room that was ced across from my


    armchair by the window, and I gestured for the therapist to sit on the armchair while I sat down on the


    loveseat. It felt strange to have a therapist in my bedroom, but it was alsoforting to be doing this in


    afortable space that I knew well.


    “So,” Dr. Rhodes said as he opened up his spiral-bound notebook, “can you start with telling me what’s


    been going on recently?”


    I took in a shaky breath, then began.


    “A few weeks ago, I was kidnapped and held at gunpoint…”


    Over the course of the next half hour, I exined everything to Dr. Rhodes. I told him everything about


    the kidnapping, about Kelly and Ethan, about witnessing the fight between Ethan and Edrick, and about


    Edrick almost dying. I told him about Ethan choking me, the incident at the police station, and finally I


    told him about the dream that I had in the hospital. Of course, he asked a lot of questions about my


    rtionship with Edrick. Earlier, Edrick had told me that it was okay to bepletely truthful about our


    fake engagement with Dr. Rhodes, as it would be illegal for him to reveal the truth to anyone else. And


    so, by the end of the thirty minute mark, I had exined everything to Dr. Rhodes from beginning to


    end.


    When I was finished, the therapist leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a moment,


    processing what I told him while I nervously fiddled with my hands on the loveseat. When he finally


    opened his eyes again, he smiled at me.


    “I think I’d like to hypnotize you,” he said. “If you’refortable with it, I mean.”


    I nodded and took in a deep breath. “Will it help me figure out what that dream was about, and why I


    cked out and drew those pictures?”


    Dr. Rhodes shrugged lightly. “There are no guarantees,” he said. “Not everyone is susceptible to


    hypnosis. If you’re not open to it subconsciously, it might not get you anywhere. There’s also a


    possibility that the dream and the drawings don’t actually mean anything more than a simple


    machination of stress in your mind after the traumatic events. Perhaps you subconsciously view


    Edrick’s father as thest remaining threat to your physical safety now that Ethan and Kelly are behind


    bars. Or, maybe…”


    “Maybe they’re visions?” I blurted out.


    The therapist looked at me nkly for a few moments before standing. “I won’t say anything in regards


    to that just yet,” he said. “I don’t want to make assumptions before our session is done.”


    I nodded ufortably. The therapist directed me to lie down on the loveseat. He closed the curtains


    and dimmed the lights in my bedroom, then began the session. He started by ying a low, droning


    tone on a singing bowl in his hand for a long time while he repeated a mantra, then had me repeat the


    same mantra for a long time while he circled around me with the singing bowl, causing the low tone to


    emanate around me from all directions. With my eyes closed, it felt a little disorienting. After that, he


    began to ask me questions.


    But I didn’t really feel any different. Even after almost half an hour of attempting to get me into a trance,


    I still felt perfectly conscious and found myself entirely incapable of delving deeper into my


    subconscious mind.


    After half an hour of trying to hypnotize me, Dr. Rhodes finally ended the session. He opened my


    curtains and helped me sit up, then sighed deeply.


    “I think that’s all we’ll be able to manage today,” he said, sounding regretful. “I’m sorry. But I don’t think


    that you’re subconsciously prepared to go into a trance.”


    “Oh.” I felt a little disheartened.


    “But don’t worry,” Dr. Rhodes said. “It doesn’t mean that this session wasn’t helpful at all. I’m d that


    we had a chance to talk about everything that’s getting to you, and it’s helped me to better understand


    your mental state. Sometimes just talking about these sorts of things is enough to help the brain


    unwind. Do you feel any more rxed than before?”


    I paused for a moment, thinking, but finally nodded. “I do feel a little better,” I said.


    Dr. Rhodes shot me a wide grin. “Good. I’lle back next week and we can have another session.


    Whether or not you want to just stick with talk therapy or try hypnosis again ispletely up to you.


    Okay?”


    “Okay.” I stood, then walked over to the door with Dr. Rhodes. But before I opened it, I suddenly turned


    to face him with a burning question on my mind. “Dr. Rhodes,” I said, “can I go back to work, do you


    think? I really hate being cooped up.”


    The therapist looked at me for a little bit. “Would it make you feel better?” he asked.


    I nodded vehemently. “Yes. I love working with my students… Without that, I feel like I’ll go crazy.”


    Dr. Rhodes nodded. “Well, that’s up to you, then,” he said. “I think that if it would help you, then you


    could go back to work. But I think that you should make sure you have an aide in the ssroom in case


    you have another episode. In fact, if you do go back to work, I must insist that you have an aide,


    actually.”


    After that, Dr. Rhodes and I said our goodbyes and I saw him out. As I watched him disappear into the


    elevator, I thought about what he said about an aide, and it reminded me of my conversation with


    Edrick about having a bodyguard in the ssroom.


    At the time, I hated the thought of having a bodyguard with me. But now, after everything, I was


    beginning to realize that the help was really important. And I couldn’t stay cooped up in this penthouse


    all day; with E still going to school and Edrick going to work, it was just me, Selina, and the maids all


    day, and they were busy during the day as well. I feared that if I stayed cooped up in the penthouse for


    much longer, my mental health wouldn’t get any better.


    So, I waited for Edrick to return home from work that day so that I could talk to him about bringing a


    bodyguard to my ssroom.