CHAPTER WARNING: There are mentions of suicide in this chapter, read tentatively for your own safety.

"Norman, I desperately need to speak to you, ring back whenever you have the time."

*Beep*

"Norman, I've given you three days, please reply soon."

*Beep*

"NORMAN! I spoke to Lindsay Morris and she told me about Enid, pick up the damn phone!"

*Beep*

"This is irresponsible you know? I agreed to work *with* you, not *for* you."

Norman Dexter listened to the voicemails he had received from his adoringly caring colleague, Lucy Hope. His brows were furrowed. He hadn't anticipated Lindsay Morris becoming restless and he most certainly hadn't expected her to enlist the help of Lucy Hope. She had informed him of Lindsay's threat to sue the facility if no progress was made with Enid's development. He had to think for a moment how he was going to approach this threat. Negotiation? Seemed unlikely. Bribery? No chance of succeeding, Lindsay had enough money as it was.

Get rid of her entirely?

Norman definitely pondered this possibility. With Lindsay's removal, Enid would become ideally available for his project. Yet he wasn't entirely sure of the consequences in removing the woman just yet. He decided to humour her. Have Enid attend Miss Hope's sessions and see what happens. The fate of Lindsay Morris would be held in the reliable hands of Lucy Hope.

Thinking deeply, he grabbed his phone and dialled a number. After three rings someone picked up.

"Dr. Norman speaking, I need to have a word with Quentin Badger, is he available?"

A few mutterings of affirmation and the desired elderly man was on the other end of the phone.

"Norman! It has been a very long time, I assume there is no other reason except to request for my service?"

Norman wiped his nose, as if to clean it of any wrongdoings.

"Unfortunately I have no time for pleasantries. I need you Quentin, I have two young women handling the facility, they're doing fine but I'm overworking Jane Hart at the minute, do you think you could come in and take a share of her workload?"

The elderly man sighed deeply on the other end of the phone.

"Perhaps I could. What precisely is it you need me to do?"

"You would just be working the reception. Miss Hart can handle the heavy lifting, we just need a supervisor to check that everything is going smoothly."

Norman anticipated Quentin's sigh as the elderly man spoke into the phone.

"The other woman, Lucy Hope, is she the current doctor?"

"Yes."

Norman spoke quickly and hastily, cringing when he realised how undignified his reply came across. He could hear the disappointed tutting from Quentin coming before he had even done it.

"And you are aware of what you have done to that woman?"

If Norman had to guess, Quentin's expression was probably grave; perhaps disappointed. He was vastly aware of what he had done. What fate he had sealed her to. But it was a necessary evil. It was for the greater good! Lucy Hope's presence gave, well, hope! He was sure that with due time she would come to understand his methodologies, but until that day came Lucy's participation in the experiment must be kept in the dark.

"Yes. I am aware."

Quentin's sighs of disappointment were torture to Norman's ears and he quickly grew irritable. Why was he acting like that? Norman was going to make this world a better place so why did he keep sighing? Was his processing cognitive slowed? Or perhaps another unidentifiable explanation? He wasn't sure but he let Quentin know he wasn't appreciative of his attitude.

"Enough with the sighing! You know I'm doing this for the greater good, this is going to save lives!"

"At the cost of a select few?"

"Those select few don't deserve to live!"

Quentin hung up.

Monday: 8:56 AM

Lucy Hope was in an agitated mood. She had tried for days to get in touch with Dr. Norman but to no avail. Worst of all Jane had decided not to give her a lift to the facility today so she was a bit flustered when she made her way inside. What she wasn't expecting was the older man sitting behind her receptionist desk.

The old man gave her a pleasant smile as she walked in.

"Welcome Miss Hope! You don't know me but from this point forwards I will be your assisting receptionist, Quentin Badger!"

Quentin was a short, plump old man with a bald head and a scuffed moustache. He wore a plain white dress shirt underneath and an intricately designed jumper accompanied with black trousers and shoes.

This is the sort of man Lucy would have expected to meet on the first day. Trying to get her hair back in place, she held a hand out and shook his.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr Badger, I've heard about you from Dr. Norman; what exactly has happened to Miss Hart if you don't mind me asking?"

Quentin obliged.

"Miss Hart is still working here, but she has been overworked so I'm here to take care of the more lenient side of work. I assume that is no isse?"

"Of course..."

"Quentin is fine dear."

"Then you can call me Lucy."

If Lucy was being honest, the change in receptionists was a welcome surprise. There was something about her relationship with Jane that was slowly straining it. She presumed it was due to stress and thought that this was a healthy outcome. Now she wouldn't be able to use her as a toxic human punching bag!

"So you have files on my patients today?"

Quentin nodded, a curious smile on his face as he took out three files.

"Indeed I do! Your patients for today are Fawn Clarke, Grace O'Hanlon and Kailyn Moore! Seeing as Fawn is your first patient I'll give a brief overview of her file. Bear with me however, there seems to be some interestingly contradictory files made for her."

Lucy furrowed her brows in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

Quentin laughed, a bit nervously.

"Well my dear, both files document Fawn being involved in a young school girl's death. However, this file in my hand says it was by complete accident and that she was traumatised by what she had done and is prone to panic attacks. Meanwhile, this file indicates that she played a purposeful role in the school girl's death and has been diagnosed as a psychopath."

Lucy was thoroughly confused now. She asked if Jane had written the files.

"I spoke about it with Miss Hart, she says that both files are plausible. I personally recommend to view her dangerously, at least that way you stay safe."

With Quentin returning to his newspaper, the time was slow as Lucy thought about how she was going to handle Fawn Clarke. She decided immediately that she should be dealt with caution. There's a reason for the mix up and she would be foolish not to take that into consideration. In the end after thinking through the possibilities she addressed the man beside her.

"I need you to call Jane and have her do a background check on Fawn Clarke. What are the parents involvement, close relationships, how did the teachers describe her? I wouldn't ask this normally, but it is a necessary piece of information to know whether she had a purposeful involvement in the young girl's death. Do some research on her as well if you can."

Quentin nodded, writing everything into his notepad.

Lucy sighed contentedly to herself. While she did miss that familiarity beside her that was Jane, she couldn't help thinking how less difficult it was having someone like Quentin do something without having to be questioned on it or with an attitude of sorts. Besides, Lucy was sure that Jane much preferred taking an active role in gathering information, even if it meant not having their usual morning conversations anymore.

Monday: 9:27AM

The strangest thing had occurred when Fawn Clarke walked through the receptionist doors. She wore a smile that could brighten anyone's day as she skipped towards the receptionist desks and handed out a basket full of pastries and cookies.

"You must be my therapist! I'm Fawn Clarke, as further gratitude of your kindness, I insist, have a gooey cookie!"

Fawn has a soft and graceful sort of beauty to her, like a ballerina. She was small and very petite. Facial feature wise, she has dewy skin, although her cheeks are dusted with the faintest bit of blush. Her hazel eyes are wide, and framed with long lashes. She has a heart shaped face, and a button nose. Her lips are a soft pink. Fawn's hair is a milk silky chocolate colour, kept in a loose braid, with bangs to frame her face.

Fawn wears a white cotton button-down shirt, keeping the long sleeves rolled up to her forearm, and leaving the top two buttons undone. Her shirt is pleated into her trousers, which are a beige colour and wears black heels to complete the look. Finally she wore a black apron around her waist with crescent moon earrings.

Blinking away her surprise, Lucy graciously took the basket.

"Thank you very much Miss Clarke, now if you'll follow me into my office and we can have our session?"

Fawn clapped her hands happily, dancing along the floor as she tippy-toed into the office. Before Lucy closed the door she saw Quentin quietly mouth something.

"Cautious."

Lucy nodded in understanding, not letting it deter her as she sat across from the girl who seemed to be looking around her office with the utmost wonder.

"So Miss Clarke what can I do for you today?"

Lucy had already come up with a strategy for how she would be handling Miss Clarke. Risking an in-depth session was very unsafe with the lack of context for her situation so she had resorted to trying to keep it light and doable.

Fawn hummed to herself, seemingly in her own mind as she looked everywhere but at the other woman sitting across from her. Lucy decided to let this continue, hoping to run down the clock. After a bit more daydreaming, Fawn finally spoke.

"It's a bit chilly in here isn't it?"

Lucy herself didn't feel particularly cold, but she abided by the instructions she was given by Dr. Norman and fetched a blanket for her sake. Fawn took the blanket snugged herself up tightly, like she was trying to cocoon herself.

"Thank you very much! I hadn't realised how cold I'd gotten. Well you see, there was this incident when I was thirteen... Where... Umm."

Fawn hesitated, slow tears coming to her eyes as she tried to dry them but failed as she dabbed her eyes with the tissue Lucy was quick to hand her.

"I'm so terribly sorry, I thought, umm, if I t-talked about the root it would..."

Lucy put on a smile, deciding that psychopath or not, she had to talk to her as a fellow human being.

"We don't have to talk about anything that's going to upset you greatly. We'll build up to it, so don't feel pressured to confess anything that you're not ready for alright?"

Fawn nodded, blowing her nose into the tissue.

"Oh thank you very much Dr. Lucy Hope, oh that is a bit of a mouthful isn't it?"

"You can call me Lucy then."

"And call me Fawn! It's so much nicer when we say each other's names don't you think? It was a name my mother very considerably gave to me and I've treasured it for as long as I can imagine!"

Lucy smiled gently.

"Fawn is a very beautiful and uncommon name. Do you have a close relationship with your mother?"

Fawn seemed slightly caught off guard, as if she hadn't expected the question of parental relationships at all.

"Well, you see, umm..."

Her palms were beginning to turn clammy and her throat was taking noticeable gulps. Lucy held out her hand so that her focus wasn't on her mind, but on her.

"Just remember, we don't have to discuss anything you don't want to say."

Fawn nodded, a small smile on her face as her confidence began to build up again.

If Lucy was being honest, the remainder of the session seemed to be on Fawn's daydreams She dreamed of the perfect husband, the perfect wedding, the perfect family. How she hoped that she could be a pastry chef for the rest of her life. How she wished she was better at making friends and not just acquaintances. She generally spoke of how she didn't want to be lonely anymore, and spent the last ten minute of the session making a pros and cons list of whether she should get a dog or a cat.

Monday 12:15PM

Lucy sat in her office trying to review everything in her session with Fawn Clarke. As far as safety precautions went she was successful in making sure she hadn't put herself in a difficult position. On other hand she wasn't any closer to figuring out Fawn's true diagnosis. On the one hand she was incredibly sweet and seemed very gentle and empathetic. On the other hand that sort of personality was exactly why Lucy struggled to accept her innocence. Nevertheless she was now focused her next client: Kailyn Moore.

Lucy was surprised when she first heard Kailyn Moore was coming to this facility. She was a very well known businesswoman for her eco-friendly products. Perhaps she was overworking herself? She thought this was going to be a likely possibility as women in male dominated fields were likely to feel stressed based on their reputation. Her file indicated a lack of sleep and unnatural mood swings for the normally composed woman; but beyond that was materialism and facts that didn't seem particularly relevant, much to Lucy's confusion.

Said woman walked through the doors with brisk confidence and an air of maturity that would not accept unprofessionalism as another man walked in behind, slightly exasperated with her.

"I'm here for my appointment with Dr. Norman Dexter."

She went straight to the point.

Kailyn was a slender Asian woman, her face shrewd as her dark brown eyes analysed the workplace. She has long silky black that she keeps in a ponytail resting over her shoulder.

Kailyn wears a button up white shirt under a black blazer with an unusual logo pin on her blazer. She wears a black pencil skirt that reaches below her knees, and sensible black heels to finish off the look.

Lucy gulped, not quite expecting her to be as intimidating as she was. She quickly smiled to hide any discomfort.

"Dr. Norman is on vacation, for now you will be having your appointment with me, Dr. Lucy Hope."

As Kailyn nodded approvingly at this, Kailyn's companion tried to speak with Quentin who was very engrossed with his computer.

"I'm Henry Moore, Kailyn's husband. Do you happen to have a schedule slot for her to take daily sessions?"

As Kailyn scolded her husband for that request, albeit playfully, Quentin continued to ignore the bickering couple causing Lucy to cough politely to get his attention. Quentin lifted his gaze, unamused as his once jolly voice turned monotonous.

"I'm Quentin Badger, I'm the receptionist to this facility. If you need anything just let me know."

He flatly returned to his computer.

Henry forced a smile as Kailyn narrowed her eyes.

"W-well, I wanted to ask about future appointments?"

Quentin squinted at Henry, making the man vaguely uncomfortable.

"I'm sure you can wait till your wife is done with her session. You're both adults, you can both talk to me when you're available."

"Please forgive him!"

Lucy was very quick to try and placate Kailyn who opened her mouth to reprimand him for his unprofessionalism.

"He's very new so he's still learning how to adapt, he's socially inept!"

Lucy could feel Quentin's eyes burning the back of her head as she hastily lead Kailyn into her office wordlessly, leaving her husband a scuffling mess.

"Social ineptitude is not an excuse to be rude."

Kailyn pointed this out as she pristinely sat in the patient's seat with a calculating look on her face, her legs crossed together.

"Not only that, but you shoved my poor husband out of the doors, I have to say Dr. Hope this is not a favourable first impression I have to admit."

Lucy cringed, about to apologise again when she paused. Kailyn hadn't sounded resentful or even bitter at the unprofessionalism, in fact, it almost sounded like teasing to her? She decided to hold her tongue, deciding that perhaps pushing back might be the correct move. If not, she would peddle backwards and grovel on the floor.

"Well… Perhaps I can change your mind with this session? What is it you would like to talk about?"

Kailyn hummed thoughtfully.

"I suppose I'm here for overworking. Truly I wouldn't have come here of my own volition, but as you saw, I have a determined husband who cares for my well being."

Lucy furrowed her brows slightly, noticing a somewhat sly tone with what she said, though if there were any double meanings she wasn't catching them.

"I do have to ask though, why is your advertisement not updated? I found it jarring to find that instead of talking to Dr. Norman, I instead found… Well, you. I hope you don't take any offense but I'm very curious."

Lucy's lips pursed, not entirely liking how Kailyn had managed to take control of the conversation. She hadn't quite expected to be prodded on this subject for a few minutes, so Kailyn's insistence on bringing it up was slightly beginning to agitate her, though she remained professional of course.

She ignored the nibbling thought that she herself wasn't sure what Norman was doing anymore.

"I'm really sorry Mrs Moore, however all I'm allowed to say is that Dr. Norman is unavailable. You're absolutely right that it is ignorant of us not to update the advertisement, I'm sorry."

Kailyn seemed amused, her lips forming a tight smile as she laughed, albeit forcefully.

"Okay Dr. Hope, I accept your apology. Let's get into it then shall we? Is there anything you need me to talk about in particular…?"

Lucy's lips twitched slightly. Behind Kailyn's polite smile was a face asking to be challenged. Why was that? Was it a natural instinct to be on the defensive for her? It's likely that the business industry had built up a defence mechanism of sorts. A poker face was a natural talent to have in negotiations and if Lucy hadn't been watching her patient closely she would have thought Kailyn to be a poor, snarky, stressed out woman who just needed some medication. But now she was wondering if it went deeper than that.

"Tell me something that makes you happy."

Kailyn, much to Lucy's satisfaction, was caught off guard with the question. Kailyn spoke with a somewhat theatrically puzzled look on her face.

"What's the purpose of that? Seems a bit mundane."

"The purpose is to help you remember what it feels like to release endorphins. From your file, I've come to the conclusion that due to your stress, you find very little time for yourself thus forgetting what it feels like to take a moment to yourself. So try to think, what makes you happy. Doesn't have to be anything elaborate, bullet points are just fine."

Though caught off guard, Kailyn seemed amused as she tried to engross herself by closing her eyes. Lucy rather thought she was a funny person for a businesswoman.

"Well, my husband makes me feel happy, my children make me feel happy, improving the environment makes me feel happy…"

Kailyn opened her eyes, deciding she had said enough. This was understandable as Lucy had read about the controversy between Kailyn and her business rival, her father, Xiang Yu. According to news articles her father had tried to claim that Kailyn had stolen the prototypes for the blueprints to an eco-friendly manufactured mode of transportation, a car, in simpler terms. While some believed Xiang, there was an overwhelming amount of support for Kailyn overall. Though both took a hit to their reputation, Kailyn's success has made her a model businesswoman and caused other businesswomen to strive towards the same success as Kailyn's. Or so the public thinks anyway. Lucy rather thought Kailyn was a bizarre woman.

"Now, what observations do you see from that list?"

While Lucy wasn't trying to sound patronising, she felt it would be more effective if Kailyn came to her own conclusions.

"It's too short?"

A good start.

"Exactly, so how can we make the list of things that make you happy longer?"

Kailyn put on her polite smile again.

"I'm not sure. Why don't you tell me?"

Kailyn was getting impatient. Lucy decided to oblige, not wanting to lose her client's interest.

"Hobbies. From that list I didn't hear a single hobby, which is what I think we should talk about."

This was the first time a flicker of annoyance crossed Kailyn's face, her eyebrows creasing together as she tried to laugh lightly.

"I hope you understand how busy I am Dr. Hope, I don't have time to indulge in hobbies."

"No indulgence is required, all you need is a time pass. There are many things you could do. Read, sketch, knit, and diary entries! You need a moment away from work and a moment to yourself."

"You sound like my husband Dr. Hope."

"Maybe I sound like your husband because he has a point?"

That had Kailyn thinking.

For the rest of the session they attempted to try out these activities. Lucy recommended a book from Oscar Wilde, "The Nightingale and the Rose"; she had reduced her client to a snivelling mess with that story, much to Kailyn's embarrassment. They then tried to sketch pictures of animals. Kailyn produced a picture of a crudely drawn tiger much to Lucy's amusement. They then attempted to knit but Kailyn quickly grew bored and said she hated it. Finally Kailyn spent the last few minutes of the session writing a diary entry, though Lucy wasn't privy towards the contents inside of it. Overall while challenging, it was a good session.

Monday 3:03PM

"What on earth was that Mr Badger!"

Lucy confronted her fellow worker shortly after Henry Moore picked up his wife. She was not at all happy that Quentin had gone out of his way to sabotage a client from showing interest. She was fortunate that she had managed to make a rebound or else Norman would not have been happy.

Even if Norman was making her very unhappy at the moment, she persevered and held up the end of her promise.

Quentin, to Lucy's chagrin, feigned ignorance.

"Terribly sorry, I must have lost my manners for a moment, old age will do that to you."

Lucy could feel her nostrils flare as she reprimanded him further.

"Well don't do it again, this is very important and the last thing I need you to do is deter clients from this facility do you understand that Mr Badger?"

She hated sounding snappy, but with Jane no longer assisting her personally she had to will herself to be more assertive to maintain control. She had a job to do and she wouldn't delay its development because she wasn't assertive enough.

"Of course Dr. Hope."

Monday 3:58PM

After her confrontation with Quentin, she looked through the final file of the day, Grace O'Hanlon. She wasn't sure what she was expecting when she read Grace's file, but the file her college had given her was very telling. Grace was an underachieving student; often handing in projects late, not making enough of an effort, or not handing in work at all. From college counselling it has been noted that she is a compulsive liar and will often try to find loopholes not to hand in her work. There's a clear lack of effort and interest and so far no breakthrough has been made into how to motivate her. Very recently she was reported by Grace's friends; Laura Ford and Nicholas York, for suicidal tendencies. They reported that they went to her dorms and discovered her sleeping in her bed with a knife in hand. She also had an assessment from her previous therapist, and though there were no clear solutions, it documented Grace's numerous breakdowns and emotional nerves collapsing on itself.

It was clear to Lucy that Grace O'Hanlon was in a very dark place.

Despite her earlier spat with Quentin, she knew she needed his advice. Grace sounded like an emotionally unstable patient and she needed advice on how to handle her.

"Keep it safe."

Quentin advised.

"Do not trigger her in any way, meaning… Don't talk about her education, don't talk about her family, don't talk about her friends; don't talk about common topics because it's likely the reason for her emotional vulnerability is linked to an unmotivating environment."

Lucy nodded. She could feel anxiety bubbling in her chest. She wasn't sure what Grace's emotional response was going to be and frankly it terrified her more than any previous patient.

Finally, the young girl, accompanied by a middle aged woman, walked into the facility.

Grace was a scarily unkempt girl with a body heavily malnourished for her age. She's got light brown skin. Her eyes are a piercing dark blue colour. Her messy hair is a reddish brown shade and the most she does to take care of it is pull her fringe up into a messy ponytail at the back of her head. Some strands come loose in ringlets and fall in front of her eyes. Her nails looked horribly jagged and noticeably chewed. Lastly she's got a couple tiny moles dotted around on her hands, arms and legs, with one on her neck, another above her right eyebrow and a final one below her lip.

A large white shirt and a pair of dark grey cargo pants. She wears tattered white sneakers that have almost been worn to death and a pair of odd socks under that. She wears a sky blue unzipped hoodie over her shirt, one with loose drawstrings and a design of two doves taking flight on both the front and back. She also has a grey snapback with a blue brim.

Grace wore an apathetic, if not, sullen expression as she actively avoided making eye contact with her anyone; taking notice of the shiny marble floor instead.

The older woman beside Grace spoke, puffing her chest out in a haughty manner.

"I'm Kathleen Strong, we're here for Grace O'Hanlon's appointment? I'm her aunt."

Grace rolled her eyes, a glare on her face as she side-eyed Kathleen. There was definitely unspoken hostility as Kathleen glared down at her niece even harder after noticing the attitude, forcing the smaller girl to scoff and look away. They definitely did not get along.

"In advance I am sorry for any of Grace's behaviour, she's been problematic for years and I simply don't know what to do with her anymore. I hope you can give her the help she needs."

Lucy had to hide a cringe from crossing her face as she observed Grace's face twist into a look of disgust and guilt. Nevertheless she didn't object to what her aunt had said.

"Ma'am, if it isn't too much trouble, I would like to have a conversation with you while Grace here has her session with Dr. Hope."

Quentin said gently.

Kathleen looked like she wanted to object, but looking at Quentin's non-threatening behaviour, decided it wasn't worth the argument.

"I suppose I can. Where is this 'Dr. Dexter' person? Isn't he the therapist?"

Lucy spoke up to explain.

"Dr. Norman is on vacation. However closing down the facility was not a feasible solution so I've stepped up in his place, I hope no problems are present?"

Kathleen seemed unbothered by the change.

"None."

Then she turned to Grace, whispering, but still loud enough for Lucy to hear.

"Behave yourself, am I clear?"

Grace sighed and nodded. Lucy bit her lip, feeling sorry for the teenage girl. She quickly tried to usher the girl into her office as Quentin and Kathleen began their conversation.

Grace trudged into the room, standing awkwardly as Lucy sat in her chair. She looked around, trying to gather her surroundings. Lucy allowed this for a few minutes, not wanting to intimidate her. After a reasonable amount of time, Lucy said:

"Why don't you sit down? Feel free to make yourself comfortable."

Grace shook her head nervously, pursing her lips she crossed her arms in a guarded manner.

"No thanks."

Suddenly, screaming from outside shocked both Lucy and Grace as they turned towards the door.

"HOW I HANDLE GRACE IS NONE OF YOUR CONCERN! UNBELIEVABLE!"

After the initial shock, Grace started smiling lightly, giggles coming out of her mouth as she clutched her diaphragm. Through her giggles she coughed and Lucy quickly handed her a cup of water to drink.

"Thank you. I like your receptionist, whatever his name is."

Lucy held in her groan, realising Quentin hadn't even introduced himself.

"His name is Quentin."

Grace nodded, biting her lips.

"I like Quentin."

Her giggles died down and the neutral face returned. Her walls had been built back up and she just observed the room. She seemed to be making an active effort to avoid looking at Lucy in particular, instead opting to stare at one of the walls.

As Lucy was staying silent, Grace's impatience and curiosity overtook her.

"You're kind of doing a poor job don't you think? I'm supposed to be getting help but you haven't even done anything, then again my aunt isn't new to wasting money on therapy sessions for me."

Lucy ignored the barb thrown at her, realising Grace was just trying to sound smart to cope with her own feelings.

"I'd still like to kill myself you know. The world would probably be a better place without me. So I should just die, I'm nothing but a nuisance anyways."

"But… If you committed suicide, you wouldn't be a survivor."

That seemed to catch Grace off guard, who actually made eye contact with the other woman in the room. Her eyes had widened, interest grabbed as a retort was on the tip of her tongue.

"Survivor? I'm not a war veteran."

Lucy shook her head, making sure to maintain her interest as she talked slowly but concisely for Grace to comprehend.

"You're a survivor of your mind. This will be hard to hear, but there's always going to be this pain in your heart because you've been hurt and unfortunately that's normal, especially for young girls your age."

Grace just looked bewildered. The young girl had never heard such a blunt explanation for how she was feeling before. She had heard the more optimistic explanation, how everything was going to get better if she applied herself a little more. It sickened her when she heard stuff like that, so this new perspective being offered to her was… Refreshing...

"So… It never goes away?"

Lucy took a breath and articulated her next sentence as carefully as possible.

"As long as you're hurting, it doesn't. I don't know you as a person Grace, but you've been through a lot and your mental fortitude is really strong. Most girls in your situation probably wouldn't be alive right now, so the fact that you're fighting the temptation to kill yourself? That takes a lot of courage and strength."

Grace took the opportunity to sit down, her legs wobbly as she buried her face into her hands to stifle her sobs. Lucy grabbed a tissue. It seemed she had been wanting to cry for a while, for as soon as she quieted down her nose was runny and her eyes were slightly bloodshot from how much she cried. She also seemed noticeably embarrassed as she was pink in the face, most likely feeling shame.

"I… Don't hate that explanation."

Grace finally said, taking in a deep breath. While Grace remained downtrodden, there was also hope in her eyes as she said:

"Sorry, for being difficult, I don't mean to be, I just am sometimes. Sorry."

Lucy smiled kindly, deciding she'd rather sit on the floor. Sometimes patients could feel timid if the eye level between doctor and patient was slightly unbalanced, so by making sure Grace was taller, she was granting the young girl control of the conversation. Something Lucy suspected Grace lacked in her everyday life.

"No need to be sorry, being human is by far the most difficult thing to be on this planet."

She got a flash of a smile out of Grace with that comment.

"Yeah, of course, umm I guess I can tell you more about me…"

And so forth Grace talked about a variety of subjects. Her opinion on Christianity and how she thought herself to be an atheist despite the Saint Christopher bracelet she wears, it was a gift from her aunt she explained. She then talked about her insecurity with her sexual identity and how to properly label her sexuality. How she had been in numerous failed relationships. How she hated her college courses: taking Game and Design, General Art and Design and most recently Zoology in the span of three years or so. She spoke of how she came from a dysfunctional family and wished she never had to see them anymore.

Grace's walls slowly started coming down and Lucy was slowly learning more about Grace. But, at the back of her mind, she couldn't help thinking to herself.

"Is Grace lying to me?"

Lucy laid on her sofa in her pyjamas, watching an animal documentary as she stroked her purring cat, Clementine. She was distracted, not really thinking about anything, but there was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind. Suddenly, her phone made a noise and she picked up.

"Hello?"

*You have received 1 new voicemail*

*Beep*

"Hey Lucy, It's Norman."

Lucy's ears perked, sitting up as she leaned into her phone to listen closely, much to Clementine's annoyance as she insistently purred to be stroked, only for Lucy to shush her harshly.

"I am very sorry for not replying to your voicemails earlier love, I've been swamped with work and haven't had time to address them. As you know I've sent in Quentin Badger to help assist both you and Miss Hart. However it appears you require a meeting with me, while I am busy I can always make time for you, Lucy Hope."

And Lucy, the besotted woman she was, almost instantly forgave Norman for any feelings of hurt he had caused for the past couple of days. He still cared about her, and that validation was all she needed to hear.

"Let me know when you need me and I'll be there."

Lucy felt guilt overtake her. She had disturbed him despite how busy he was. She was about to send a voicemail about how everything was fine when she remembered Lindsay's words.

Norman had been encouraging Enid to talk to her dead father despite the circumstances.

She gulped. No. She had to stand firm on this. Sweet talking to her was not a solution to her problem with him. She wanted an answer and she was going to get it, even if it meant disturbing his work.

She needed an answer.

A/N: WOO! I'm so happy to have gotten this chapter out! I took much longer than I should have on this chapter but I ended up on a surprise holiday that did not have internet. Special thanks to CandiedStars, Ahn Jihlo and Singular Scissor for submitting Fawn, Kailyn and Grace respectively. I hope I portrayed your characters to your liking!

Just some final notes before I end off, I do have a finalised cast so all submissions are now "CLOSED" so hopefully the speed in which I'm releasing chapters flows by quicker. I'm very happy with my finalised cast so to everyone who submitted a character to this story thank you so much, it means a lot!

As usual, if any of the names in this story have an IRL counterpart, that is purely coincidental.

Reviews

Abitat Eco: "Thank you for submitting Jules! He was a really well written character that I had to have in my story! I'm glad you appreciate the way in which your character was introduced as I wanted to make it more unique from the games where too many characters can sometimes be side lined for a future chapter. I'll reduce Jules' stuttering for when I next write him, thank you for the tip! Most characters in this story will have their depth explored so the safe assumption is that every character has more than meets the eye to them. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter!"

TheRoseShadow21: "I send you a PM about this, but I definitely should have been more clear about why the assumption was made about Arash's parents occupations. This story at the moment is from Lucy's perspective, albeit third person, so she made the assumption that Arash's parents were a businessman and housewife respectively. You're absolutely right that I should have included their actual occupations at some point during the chapter, so I'll definitely rectify that in a future chapter. I'm glad you noticed what effect Norman's disappearance is causing within the story! As for Enid... I can't go into any spoilers for that I'm afraid. Thanks for reading!"

Joseph King: "Thank you for the kind words!"

CandiedStars: "Not a problem! I needed more submissions anyways haha!

Other Senpai: "I'm glad you like the theme! I'm really hoping to explore it effectively as the story continues."

Sempi: "Yes, what does our doctor have planned indeed..."

Have a great day!

With love - Quillegy