Tainted Moonlight by M.J

Author:M.J. [M.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-08-12T04:00:00+00:00

The therapist’s building was a classy glass skyscraper on First Avenue, but the office itself was homey. The walls were painted a mint green with cream furniture. Despite the obvious cleanliness and state-of-art interior design, everything felt very comfortable. The couches were soft and well-used, the office smelled like peppermint and honey, and the lobby music was Pop turned Classical. Colorful, sequined pillows were everywhere along with little activities from coloring books to puzzles.

I was escorted in quickly, surprised to see that the personal offices matched the lobby, right down to the blankets.

“Emilia,” the woman said with a smile. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Elena.”

She was only five feet tall, wearing a prim white blouse and yellow skirt, but a sunset orange, thickly woven cardigan was draped across her shoulders, making her more approachable. She had short blonde hair that hung in waves around her round face. I didn’t think she was older than thirty, and everything from her voice to her smile was calming.

“Can I help you to tea? Coffee? Water?”

“Tea would be nice,” I said. Her office was cold, and I took a seat on the couch, eyeing the fluffy blanket for a moment before draping it over myself. After she offered me the full selection, I chose a fruity flavor.

“I got a few details about you from your file. This is your first time in therapy, right?”

“Right.”

“So, let’s talk about it. I’m here to make you comfortable. We’ll get to the actual therapy part later, but I want to know what approaches you like, what makes you comfortable, what you’re seeking from this experience, and if you’re alright with it, what made you want to start?”

I took a sip, burning the tip of my tongue. Elena smiled kindly at me, patient. “Okay. So, I guess I like a more direct approach. Maybe that’s weird since your job is to beat around the bush and give open-ended questions, but I think I’ll get confused and nervous with that.”

She nodded. “That’s absolutely fine, Emilia.”

It was reassuring, that bit of validation. Maybe Dante was right. I knew plenty of people benefitted from therapy, even if there wasn’t a specific need for it in their lives. “I’m already pretty comfortable, probably because I don’t have a lot of expectations. I’m here because my husband thought I should be.”

“Dante Salerno?” she clarified, though I was sure she knew.

I nodded. “He’s worried that I grew up slightly sheltered from violence, and now that I’m with him, I have to face it upfront.”

“You’ve been married for a while. Why is he coming to this realization now?”

I rubbed my arm before catching myself and pulling my hands into my lap. “It’s a lot of things. I mean, I guess the trigger is… Can I talk about sex stuff? Is that weird… or like, not your area of specialty?”

She laughed softly. “That’s fine, honey.”

“Well, he’s rough with me, and he likes it when I’m afraid of that. At night, I like it, too. But we were having a dinner with my family, and he started going on about how I had to obey him.

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