The Therapist

by Kelly Holm

  The image was almost more than Mila could take, and it was becoming clear to her, now that she wasn’t judging her patients, that listening to their disgusting stories wasn’t very fun if she can’t judge them. She missed it so much; and wasn’t it almost her duty to rid the world of these crazy and demented people? No, Mila, this is the wrong way to think about it, she reminded herself.

  The hairs on the back of Mila’s neck were still standing tall. This Brittany woman was disgusting. Oh, how Mila wanted to ask her what her truth was and sentence her to death for her indiscretions; but she wasn’t going to be that person anymore. It was her job to help this woman see the error of her ways, not to punish her.

  Mila looked at Dr. Blackmore’s ghost, he was still sitting in the chair, but now he was pointing at the table behind the desk. Mila knew exactly what he was suggesting, and she wasn’t going to fall for it. She had to be strong, she knew he was just a figment of her imagination, but he was really beginning to freak her out.

  “Are you still able to control the urges?” Mila continued.

  “I can still control them, but I don’t want to. I know Alejandro would be pretty pissed at me if I act on them, but only

  because he would consider it cheating on him; anyway, I don’t really care. I want what I want. Besides, Alejandro’s stuck in Mexico, he’d never know… that is until I file for divorce and marry the kid.”

  Mila felt sick to her stomach; this woman was horrible. Who thinks about a fifteen-year-old, mentally challenged boy like that? She thought for a moment about what Brittany’s truth might be; would it be that she already molested the boy, or would it be worse? Mila had a hunch that it was much worse.

  No! I am NOT that person anymore, she screamed in her mind. She kept telling herself that, but it wasn’t helping. The urge to judge this patient was getting stronger by the minute, and she was fighting as hard as she could to resist the temptation.

  “I’m going to prescribe a medication that I think will help you stop having so many of these thoughts.” Mila pulled out her prescription pad and filled it out. When she finished, she handed the sheet to Brittany.

  “Are you sure this is going to work doc?”

  “I think we should try it. If the thoughts get worse, give me a call, and I can adjust the strength.”

  They talked a while longer, and then Brittany Bakerstrut left.

  Mila’s first month back was turning out to be very stressful, several of her patients, including Brittany, were very sick and she was very tempted to start judging, but she was determined to stay on the straight and narrow path no matter how difficult it was.

  Mila took a moment to collect her thoughts. She was very disappointed that her instinct was still to drug the patient and find her truth, but she told herself that this, like any habit, will take some time to go away. She was proud of herself for remaining steadfast and not giving in to the temptation. She walked out to the

  lunch area to get a fresh cup of coffee and to clear her mind before her next appointment arrived.

  When Mila returned to her office, there was no sign of Dr. Blackmore’s ghost. She sighed with relief. Today was turning out to be incredibly challenging for her, but she was winning. So far, she’s had seen several patients and hadn’t drugged any of them; oh, it was difficult, she had seen some real scumbags, but she reminded herself that she was a winner and she could control this.

  Mila’s next patient, Courtney Pennbrook, was on her way back. This was a first visit and Mila wasn’t really sure what she was talking about when she made the appointment; all she got was that this woman believed that something was trying to kill her.

  Courtney Pennbrook was a professional belly dancer. She had long dark hair and piercing brown eyes. She was dressed in a mid-length yellow dress with red flowers on it.

  “Hello, Courtney, please come in and have a seat.”

  “Thank you.”

  “So why don’t we start by you telling me what’s been bothering you lately.”

  “It’s the icons; you know when they jiggle?” Courtney said as she held up her phone.

  “You mean the icons on your phone?”

  “Yes, when they start to jiggle, they’re actually trying to escape and kill me. I don’t know what to do to make them stop.”

  “Why do you believe the icons on your phone are trying to escape and kill you?”

  “Because… haven’t you seen them? They jiggle around like crazy. I just know they are trying to escape, and I can tell they want to kill me.”

  “Do you have any proof that they want to kill you, or is it more of a hunch?”

  “A hunch… I thought you were a professional, are you actually insinuating that I am crazy and making this all up” Courtney asked as she stood to leave.

  “Absolutely not; I know you genuinely believe this. I’m just trying to understand so I can help you. Please, sit down so we can talk some more.”

  “Ok, but I’m not crazy, they really are trying to kill me. How can you not see that?” She asked as she sat back down.

  “Are you currently taking any medications or recreational drugs?”

  “No way, they will make me weak, and then the icons will be able to kill me for sure.”

  Mila was relieved; finally, just a typical nut job that isn’t trying to kill anyone, this is refreshing, she thought.

  “You said the icons are trying to escape and want to kill you when they jiggle, do they still want to escape and kill you when they aren’t jiggling?”

  “If they aren’t jiggling, they can’t escape, and therefore they can’t kill me,” Courtney replied sarcastically. Mila could tell she was getting very frustrated.

  “Have you thought about changing your phone to one that doesn’t have the icons?”

  “Why would I do that, I love my iPhone, I’ll never get rid of it.”

  “What if you just don’t tap the icons to make them jiggle?”

  “Again, you’re talking to me like I’m crazy. I have no control over these icons. They just start to jiggle whenever they want to escape and kill me.” By now Courtney was getting very sarcastic and frustrated with Mila.

  Mila wasn’t sure how to approach this one. This woman was obviously delusional and could benefit from medication, so Mila decided to try and outsmart her.

  “I know you said you didn’t take any medications because they’ll make you weaker so the icons can attack, but what if I prescribe you a special pill that makes you strong and the icons weak?”

  “I’m listening…”

  “How would you feel about trying something like that?”

  “How would I know that it’s making me stronger and the icons weaker? I mean, what if I try it and it doesn’t work, and the icons kill me?”

  “You would have to take a small leap of faith and try it. Plus, you can always stop the medication if the icons seem to be getting stronger.”

  “Do you really think it would work? I think I’m willing to try, but I’m scared.”

  “How about we give it a try for a week, then you come back, and we can take it from there. If it’s working, great; if not, we’ll try something else. What do you say?”

  Courtney Pennbrook sat in the chair silently as she mulled it over in her mind. Apparently, for her, it was a massive leap of faith to even consider trying medication. Mila waited patiently.

  “Ok, I’ll try it, but if they escape and kill me, my blood is on your hands.”

  “I really think the medication will work, so I’m willing to take the chance if you are,” Mila said, as she wrote out the prescription and handed it to Courtney, “Let’s try this prescription, and I’ll schedule you for the same time next week.”

  After Courtney Pennbrook left, Mila took a moment to jot a few notes down in her file. This was a strange case, but she was intrigued. She felt good about not having an urge to punish this patient. Now if more of the patients were like Courtney, she wouldn’t have a problem anymore.

  Fifteen minutes later,
Linda, the new receptionist, buzzed her…

  “Dr. Thorton, Jenna Macobb is here.”

  “Would you ask her to have a seat, I need a couple of minutes.”

  Mila had just received Jenna’s file that morning, and she hadn’t had a chance to look at it yet. Jenna Macobb was appointed by the court system because she beat a man almost to death. She claimed that he tried to rape her in a parking lot, but there were security cameras in the lot, and it showed that the man was walking out of the bar and towards his car when Jenna walked up to him and just started beating him. It was evident to the judge that Jenna was lying and had severe anger issues.

  Mila got up and went out to the waiting room to greet her newest patient.

  “Jenna Macobb?”

  A gorgeous lady, probably in her early to mid-twenties, stood up. She was wearing a tight black bodycon dress with matching black pumps, which accentuated her amazing figure. Her long blonde hair had loose curls cascading down to her waist, and her face was angelic and done up with just the right amount of makeup.

  “Let’s go back to my office to talk,” Mila said, as she led her new patient back.

  “I see the court ordered these sessions; do you understand why?”

  “I guess I should have looked around for the cameras first,” she said as she laughed.

  Mila could tell that Jenna Macobb was going to be a difficult patient. She didn’t like her attitude.

  “Do you realize how serious this is?”

  “I guess,” Jenna replied nonchalantly.

  “Let’s start out with a few questions.”

  “No,” Jenna said, as she stood up and walked over and stood before Mila, “I’m going to tell you how this is going to go.

  You are going to sign off on me and tell the court I am fine.”

  Oh, hell no, not today bitch, Mila thought as she stood up. Luckily for her, she chose to wear her favorite pair of Jimmy Choo’s today, and she towered over Jenna by four lovely inches.

  “No, I’m going to tell you how this is going to go. You are going to sit your ass down in that chair, and we are going to talk. I am going to ask you questions, and you are going to answer them truthfully, and you are going to come to each session until I release you. Do we understand each other?” Mila asked forcefully.

  Jenna slowly retreated back into her chair. She wasn’t used to someone standing up to her.

  “That’s better; now, you’re here today because the court said you have anger issues. Is this the first time you’ve acted out like that?” Mila asked.

  “First time I got caught,” she said proudly.

  “Ok, so this is a habit. Do you find pleasure in it?”

  Mila wondered why she always seems to get the patients that are just bad to the bone human beings. Even though she isn’t judging them anymore, she can see just how rotten they actually are.

  “Hell ya, wouldn’t you?”

  “Is this something you do only to men or do you beat up women too?”

  “Just men; I’m not into chicks.”

  “Are you married?”

  “I suppose technically I am, but my old man is in jail and won’t be getting out until 2035, so I’m basically single, at least in my mind.”

  “What do you do for a living?”

  “I go on professional dates.”

  “Like an escort?” Well, this is starting to get juicy, Mila

  thought.

  “I pick men up in bars, take them to motels and have sex with them… consensually. What they don’t know, is that while they are enjoying my fantastic body, I’m filming the whole thing. I usually wait a week or two, and then I bring the tape to them and ask for $10,000.”

  “What if they refuse to pay you?”

  “I tell them that I will show the tape to their wives, or I can use it to ruin their careers.”

  “So, you extort money from them?”

  “Extortion is such an ugly word; I think of it more as payment for my time and the use of my body.”

  “What do you do if they can’t pay? I mean $10,000 is a lot of money, I can’t imagine many of these men would have access to that much cash.”

  “The men I target do. I only hit the most expensive bars in town, and expensive hotels, like the Beverly Wilshire. I’ve only had a few that refused to pay.”

  “What did you do when they refused to pay?”

  “Ummmm… I convinced them it was in their best interest to fork up the cash.”

  “How did you do that?”

  “You sure ask a lot of questions. I don’t know what this has to do with me being angry either.” Jenna was beginning to drift off into her own world.

  Mila could feel the hairs on the back of her neck, standing at attention. All she could think about was asking this woman if she wanted a glass of water. She desperately wanted to hear her

  actual truth. Mila knew Jenna was holding back and she did something horrible to these men who didn’t pay.

  She did her best to suppress the urge to find Jenna’s truth, even though she knew that the water pitcher along with the dropper that held the special truth potion was sitting on the table only a couple of feet away from her.

  “Jenna, I asked you how you convinced the men to pay you.”

  “I told you, I convinced them. You don’t need to know the details.”

  “Yes, I do need to know the details.” Mila was doing her best to remember that this woman was sick and not just evil.

  “Fine, I beat the shit out of them, and all but three agreed to pay me.”

  “What about the other three that didn’t want to pay you, what did you do to them?”

  It was almost like the special truth potion was calling Mila’s name. She was fighting the urges with everything she had, but in her heart, she knew this woman was just plain evil and needed to be taught a lesson.

  Mila continued to remind herself that she wasn’t that person who judged her patients, or maybe she was. This woman was clearly sick and apparently doesn’t know right from wrong, and doesn’t deserve to live alongside ordinary people. If she were to find Jenna’s truth and punish her for it, wouldn’t she be doing society a favor? She quickly pushed the thought from her mind and tried to focus on Jenna’s answer.

  Come on Mila, you’re stronger than this; don’t let this disgusting piece of trash make you do something you don’t want to

  do. Be strong… she pleaded with herself, but something inside her snapped, and she knew what she had to do. She tried to resist, but then Jenna said…

  “Let’s just say I used a little… creativity and took care of the matter.”

  Everything inside Mila was screaming ‘this woman is pure evil’; she tried to push the urge down but it’s too strong, she tries and tries to resist the temptation to judge but she just can’t, she has to ask…

  “Jenna, would you like a glass of water?”

  The End