Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 130275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 651(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 651(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
I slipped on my headphones and turned up the music just in time to block out Travis and Dylan talking. I closed my eyes and just tried to think of nothing until a hand shook my shoulder.
I yanked my arm away and opened my eyes. “What?”
Dylan motioned for me to remove my headphones, seemingly unfazed. “It’s time for the meeting,” he said when I slipped them off. I must have fallen asleep, which was surprising. Sleep didn’t come easily to me these days.
I sat up, trying to inject some energy into my body. Dylan gestured to the bed. “I just about fit. Not great for you though, huh?” Dylan was fairly tall. About six feet on the nose. Travis was more around five ten. At six four, I was used to being the biggest in the room of most people my age. In hockey, I was just one of many.
Silently, I followed them out of the room, down the stairs, and into the main living room. A fire was roaring in the open fireplace. A large red rug covered the stone floor. Framed paintings covered the walls, landscapes from what I assumed were the many lakes and mountains in this region.
The girls were already seated, taking up one of the three-seater sofas. Despite myself, I immediately sought out Savannah. She looked tired. Her blue eyes were red, her peach skin pale. She was drowning in a thick cream sweater that she held tightly to her by the arms wrapped around her torso. She had pulled her long hair up onto a messy bun on the top of her head, and I couldn’t stop looking at the curve of her neck and her pretty profile when she turned her face.
I sat beside Dylan and Travis on the second three-seater sofa. Mia and Leo entered a few minutes later, and each sat in an armchair beside the fire. They were holding a bunch of what looked like notebooks in their laps.
“So, what are your impressions of our first stop?” Mia said, smiling.
As far as therapists went, Mia and Leo seemed okay. But I didn’t want or need therapists trying to dig into my psyche and help me. I just wanted to be left alone.
At least Mia and Leo didn’t seem pushy—not yet. In the past year, I’d been through four therapists. None had ever gotten me to “open up.” I barely spoke in the sessions, clock-watching until our time was up. None of them had ever been able to smash through the walls that had built themselves around me after Cill died. I didn’t hold out much hope that Leo and Mia would be any more successful than their predecessors.
“It’s beautiful,” Jade said, her voice boasting an accented English.
Mia nodded when no one else offered an answer. Leo cleared his throat. “We have designed this trip to help you. Each country we visit is to aid you in overcoming the challenges you have been facing.” Leo met each of our eyes. “Mia and I have an open-door policy. You’re free to come and talk to us anytime. But you’ll also have one-on-one time with us too. We understand, for some of you, conventional therapy has not been successful.” The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end when I saw Leo’s eyes momentarily flit over to me. Maybe I’d just imagined that. “But we hope this new approach will make you more comfortable about helping you through your individual grief journeys.
“You have all lost someone or more than one person of significance in your life. We won’t push you to share with the group who those people are. We do, however, encourage you to bond, to share your personal pain, but how much you confide is up to you. You are all in the same boat, and peer support can be life-changing in terms of your own path to healing. But please know, we are here for you.”
Mia smiled, and I caught Savannah’s shoulders relax. Seemed she liked to talk about whoever she’d lost about as much as I did.
“Now,” Mia said and got to her feet. One by one, she handed us what I saw was a journal and a pen attached to it. “As well as sessions with us, we will have a group session each day. These will be focused on anything from techniques to help you deal with feelings, or an open space for us to talk and answer any questions you may have. Or, of course, if you ever want to share your story with everyone else here.” She held up a spare journal. “But one thing we require as a must is for you to start keeping a journal.”
Mia sat back down, the flames from the large open fire casting shadows across her face. “These journals will be for your eyes only and can be used in several ways.” The journal lay in my lap like it was laced with poison oak. “You could write about your time here—the experiences you have. The sights you see.”