Head Over Tails by Brianna Tibbetts

Author:Brianna Tibbetts
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: mermaid romance, ya clean romance, summer beach read, mental health fiction, contemporary fantasy, sweet romance
Publisher: Uncommon Universes Press
Published: 2021-11-09T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Three

Dr. Wilcox sat in his office chair, watching Jacob.

Jacob watched him back.

They’d met a few times since Jacob had checked himself in, and both of them viewed the meetings very differently.

Jacob considered this his chance to convince Dr. Wilcox that he was actually experiencing the symptoms of his father’s illness. This was his best hope at getting help.

Dr. Wilcox seemed to think this was the time to convince Jacob of the perils of not keeping a regular social life.

In the short time Jacob had been at Mana’o, they’d already fallen into a pattern of beginning their sessions in silence, watching each other.

Them meeting at all was a little unique. Dr. Wilcox, while trained to conduct therapy sessions, was not a therapist. Dr. Wilcox carried enough specialties related to the brain that Jacob wasn’t sure what kind of doctor he technically was. Still, he wasn’t a therapist. He just knew Jacob better than anyone else in the building, other than Gerald. It’s why they had their deal. The deal that Dr. Wilcox wasn’t treating as seriously as Jacob wanted him to.

“You keep acting like there could be a ton of reasons I might hallucinate. Does that seriously happen to people? They just invent entire relationships and there isn’t an actual disease behind it?” Jacob finally asked, not bothering to conceal his skepticism. He rested his head in his hand, his elbow propped on the arm of his chair.

“That depends on what you mean,” Dr. Wilcox replied. He fiddled with a pen on his desk, tapping it at odd intervals. “Do people hallucinate for no reason? Generally, no. Do people hallucinate for reasons other than degenerative brain diseases? Reasons that are completely non-harmful? Yes, Jacob. Far more often, in fact.”

Jacob scowled at him. “My hallucination wasn’t an acid trip, and I’m genetically at risk. Why aren’t you taking this more seriously?”

“You know the answer to that,” Dr. Wilcox chided gently. The man’s slicked back hair was less well-behaved than normal. A stray piece curled up near the crown of his head.

Jacob’s eyes drifted to the misplaced hair, taking a little satisfaction from the chink in Dr. Wilcox’s otherwise well-put-together manner. “Because you don’t believe me. You think I’m crazy. Just, not the right kind of crazy.”

Dr. Wilcox shook his head. “You know we don’t use that word here, Jacob. It’s disrespectful.” His lips twisted into a frown that was more disappointed than angry.

Jacob sighed heavily and waved a hand. “Sorry, but you know what I mean, Dr. Wilcox.” He gnawed on his lip, resisting the temptation to bite down. He’d met his father’s doctor a year ago. They knew each other pretty well by now, for men with only one major thing in common. Dr. Wilcox had never called Jacob “Mr. Pearson,” unlike the rest of the staff. The doctor knew a lot about Jacob, knew what it meant to him to be Gerald’s son. Jacob couldn’t quite bring himself to address Dr. Wilcox by anything but his title, but if he asked, he was pretty sure he could get away with a first name basis.

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