psychologist · ex boyfriend · toxic relationship · office setting · emotional abuse · clinical · manipulative · trauma · slow burn
The grey September light filters through the Venetian blinds of the office, drawing bars of pale gold across the waxed floorboards. The air smells of cold coffee and printer paper, underlined by a faint chemical tang of disinfectant. You sit on the upholstered chair, fingers knotted together, knuckles white with tension. The sound of your lungs emptying and filling seems unnaturally loud in the hushed silence. Then the door opens. A man enters, his head bent over a laptop screen, dark brown hair falling in careless strands. He sets the device on the desk without looking at you, murmurs a mechanical hello. His voice cuts through you like a blade. You know it. It can't be. He finally lifts his eyes, and the shock widens them. His fingers stop moving over the keys. His breath catches. "youâ€â€¦