Chapter 11
"Gohan? Is there anything you would like to add?" Asked Lizzie as she prepared to finish her AA meeting.
"Nope." Said Gohan adamantly as he crossed his arms and waited for the session to be over.
Lizzie sighed, she should have known better than to expect Gohan to participate in these talks. "Alright then guys ill see you all tomorrow." She watched as the group stood up and started to leave. "Oh Gohan, could you stay here for a moment." It was more a demand than a question. He grunted but stayed behind anyways. "So it's been over a month since you've joined us here, not once have you contributed your story in this group. Why?"
"I don't like to talk about it."
"No one here does, the fact that they do is what makes them so strong. If you want to get better then you have to confront your past and work through it, otherwise the moment you get out you are going straight back to alcohol, do you want that?" He visibly flinched. "Didn't think so. Food for thought."
He watched as she turned and left. He sighed as her words bounced around in his head but shook them away and headed to see his shrink.
"So Gohan, how are you feeling today?" Asked Dr Paul as Gohan sat on the coach.
"Not great, wanted a drink this morning when I woke up."
"That's natural, alcohol addiction takes a long time to get over. These...cravings will be around for a long time."
"Cravings? Really doc? No scientific mumbo jumbo?"
"If you understood it then I'd use it." Gohan chuckled. "As far as your...cravings go, the main treatment for them are time and therapy."
"The therapy isn't helping doc."
"You're being impatient Gohan, besides I've been hearing that you aren't exactly cooperating in the group therapy. Why is that?" Gohan put his head in his arms and grumbled. "What was that?"
"I said its embarrassing. One on one with you or Videl is fine but its not something I like everyone to know about."
"That's fine Gohan, but remember that you should be proud to admit that you are better than that now, to be able to admit that you have bettered yourself is nothing to be ashamed of."
Gohan grumbled unconvinced. "Whatever doc, shall we just get back to the usual session?"
Dr Paul's smile faltered a little but refocused. "Alright then, last time we were talking about what happened after the battle with Frieza."
Gohan nodded. He had been surprised when the doctor had actually believed his stories about Frieza and the saiyans and even cell. The doctor had always been skeptical about Mr Satan and had seen Gohan fight the Saiyans on TV. Frieza was believed simply on common sense, his story had made a lot of sense when you included the other events that had happened to him. Gohan had been very happy to discover the doctor was eager to listen to him talk through his life story. Granted, Gohan had been reluctant at first but with some time he had managed to open up, slightly. "Yeah so after Frieza had been killed we were quiet for some time while we were waiting for the dragonballs to recharge, at that point my mother believed that instead of comforting her traumatised son who had lost his father TWICE now, he should be stuck in his room with books."
"How did that make you feel?"
"It made me feel like I was being punished for my fathers death. Because I was too weak to save him. In reality he had just gone joyriding through space because he didn't want to be with his family. Everyday mom stuck me in that prison cell of a room and shoved a book in my face going on and on about how I was going to be her 'perfect little scholar' as if it didn't matter if I wanted to or not. Meanwhile I was expected to become stronger so that I could save the world, it didn't matter that at the time I thought my father had just died, or that I was still five! My childhood ended at four when Raditz kidnapped me and then I was trained to fight, expected to kill when I was a child who's most violent injuries consisted of a paper cut and a bumped noggin. They say that it was because they needed me but it wasnt. I was only ever a liability in a fight, against the saiyans Piccolo had to die to save my life. Against the ginyu force I had my neck broken until my dad arrived joyfully and fixed everything. Against Frieza I never did anything more than bug him until dad finished him off. The only time I've ever been useful in a fight was against Cell and that was only because my father got full of himself and skipped training. But they try and justify it by saying that I have a 'great man' as a father. Dad never had a serious fight until the world martial arts tournament and he was 12 and a half years old. I was five years old fighting aliens after watching people get brutally murdered in front of my eyes." Gohan took a breath and calmed himself. "The worst part was when the fighting was over. Cell was dead and now we could relax. No more threats, no more training, no more worrying over whether I'll see tomorrow. But no, that wasnt good enough for him, he wanted to go on more adventures in Otherworld. He left his family behind to go thrill seeking because his entertainment was more important than being responsible for once in his pathetic life."
"Do you love him?"
"I...I don't know. He's my father so I know I should love him but I can't imagine him as more than just the person who took advantage of my strength and sent me into battle. He never raised me, Piccolo looked after me after Frieza when he was gone. Vegeta raised me more during these last seven years than he did during my entire life. Vegeta! The man who, until recent, took joy in exterminating all life on multiple planets was more clued in on my feelings than my own father! And don't get me started again on my mother, the woman who's plan on raising me consisted of no emotional contact aside from dissapointment." Gohan put his head in his hands. "Doc we've been through all of this before, every session I come in here and complain about my parents but its getting no where."
"Well we're getting close to our usual time anyway. For your next group session, I want you to talk openly with the group, force yourself if need be but if you really want to improve, then the best way as far as I can tell would be to talk about it in public. See you tomorrow son." Gohan dropped his head into his hands. He really did want to get better but...public? He really didn't want to do that. However his inner Saiyan was calling for him to accept the challenge. It was after all, a challenge. And Gohan Briefs never backed down from a challenge.
Lizzie sat down in her chair as she waited for the group to filter to their seats. Most of her members were middle aged people who had drank all their lives, then there was Gohan. An 18 year old boy who had drank so much so quickly that he had become an alcoholic when he was barely a man. She let her thoughts leave her mind as the group settled down. "So..." She began as they turned to face her. "Who would like to start?"
'This is it.' Thought Gohan. 'Just stand up and do it.' He put one leg forward and hesitated. 'Cmon!' He awkwardly stood up and cleared his throat making the group look at him in surprise. "H-Hi...my names...Gohan, and I'm..." 'Just say it already!' "...I'm an alcoholic."
