It was Saturday night. Usually, the Sutherland household would be close to
empty with only the two adults at home, but not on this Saturday night. Everyone
sat around the dinner table rather awkwardly. Kirsty was still in a mild
state of depression, she was staring at her plate miserably rather than eating its
contents. She still felt that her family resented her and looked down on her
because of what she'd done and this made her uncomfortable around them. She
didn't know how to talk to them anymore. Next to Kirsty sat Brodie. The two had
made up only the day before and it had been quite emotional. Brodie still saw
herself as an outsider in the family. She was extremely grateful to be there
but she didn't want to outstay her welcome. She'd made a best friend in Dani
aswell as two little sisters in Jade and Kirsty and she had new parental
figures in Rhys and Shelly but did they see her like that? She wasn't sure. At one
of the ends of the table sat Dani. She was curled up in the chair, deep in
thought. There was no prizes for guessing what she was thinking about. She was
unintentionally putting a depressing atmosphere over the family but she was
afraid. She didn't know what was going to be brought up the next day and she was
having second thoughts about it. Her mother noticed this and squeezed her arm,
reassuringly. Shelly was being strong for her family's sake, she always was,
but deep inside she was hurting to see her family in such an awful state.
Sitting at the dinner table, she wondered how they'd become like this. Wasn't she a
good enough mother? Next to her was Rhys who was thinking the same thing. He
had let his daughters down as a father and because of this they'd all gotten
hurt in some way or another. His wife often made the key decisions even though
he liked to think that he did but he still felt like he'd failed them all.
Lastly, at the other end of the table sat Jade. She was desperately trying to
shadow some happiness over her parents and sisters. She was telling them of what
she and Nick had done that day, adding in a few jokes, trying to lift the
dampner to no avail. Jade didn't understand why no one communicated in her family
anymore, everyone was acting as if they were listening to her and interested
in what she was saying but really she knew that no one was. They were all lost
in their own problems but Jade would not stop talking. She couldn't bear the
deathly silence when she did.
"Can I please be excused?"asked Dani.
"Emm...yeah, ok."
"Does that mean that I can go aswell?"followed on Kirsty.
"Ok."
"Well, I might aswell leave aswell if everyone else is."said Jade.
Shelly gave up. She left the table before anyone else had gotten up and
retreated to the living area. Her husband joined her and soon all the girls were in
their rooms. Dani went straight to bed, she had a lot of thinking to do
overnight. Brodie just lay on her bed and tried to work out her life...what did she
really want? Kirsty sat on a chair next to her window and just stared outside
and Jade sat down to read a book. She'd given up trying to talk to Kirsty,
there was no getting through to her when she was like that. After a while, Rhys
and Shelly went to bed also and soon the night was over.
It was 8am and only Dani was up. Two hours to go...it was frightening.
Shelly joined her at around 8.30am, knowing that her daughter would need some
preparation for her counselling session.
"I thought I would have to wake you up at 9.30am this morning!"
"No, I've been up a while and awake a lot longer."
"You're worried?"
Dani sheepishly nodded.
"There's no need to be, Flynn is really experienced, he'll do it right."
"I know."
"You will get over this you know?"
"Really? Because I can't see how at the moment."
"Trust me, Dan, it's just a matter of time."
"How much time, mum? It's been 8months already!"
"Everyone is different."
"I'm going to go and see Josh, he asked me to before I left."
"Will he be up at this time on a Sunday morning?"
"Yeah, he knows what time the sesh is at."
"Ok."
Shelly was upset. Her daughter preferred to go and talk to her boyfriend
about her troubles rather than talk to her, her mother. As 10 o clock approached,
Dani wasn't home yet so Shelly decided to go to Josh's caravan and get her.
On the way there, she met Dani and Josh who were on their way down to the
Sutherland household.
"You all set, Dani?"
"Uh huh."
"You coming with us, Josh?"
"Yip."
"Ok, we better get a move on, it's five to."
"Fine."
The journey was silent. When they entered the Drop-in Centre all three were
glad that Flynn spoke.
"Ok, Dan, are you coming in with your mum and Josh?"
"No, I need to do this on my own."
Shelly looked quite hurt. Josh wanted to be there for Dani.
"You sure you don't want me to come in there with you?"
"I'm sure. I don't think I could do this with you there, or you mum, I'm
sorry, I just have to do this by myself."
"That's alright, Dani. We'll be out here waiting for you."
"No, mum, don't wait around...I'll call you when I'm finished."
"If that's what you want. See you later, honey."
"Later, Dan."
"Bye."
Josh and Shelly left, leaving Dani to confront her fears...
"Ok, Dani, so it's just you and me now, do you want to come inside here?"
"Sure."
"Now, I can tell that you're nervous so we're going to do a little
relaxation exercise first."
"Emm...ok."
"Ok, close your eyes. And breathe...deeply. In...and out. In...and out.
That's it, keep going. Now, I want you to think of all the good things in your
life just now and say them, tell me them."
"Well, there's my family. Josh. School's good. I don't know."
"No, that was good. Keep thinking of these things throughout because we'r
going to get onto the heavy stuff now."
"Right."
"Ok, I want you to think back 8months ago to the day of your attack. Think of
how the day started out...the morning, and then into the afternoon. Then I
want you to skip a few hours and think of after the attack...how did you feel?"
"I...em...stiff, numb. I didn't feel anything, I was in a state of shock."
"Ok, and as time progressed what did you feel? What did you feel towards
Kane?"
"I was frightened of him but I hated him."
"Ok, look at it like this. See your feelings towards Kane as a number of
layers. If he was standing here now, what's the first thing you would feel?"
"I would be anxious and nervous."
"Why?"
"I don't know, it's his effect. At the mention of his name, I
worry...thinking that something is going to go wrong."
"After nervousness, what do you feel?"
"Fear."
"Why are you scared of Kane?"
"Because he hurt me."
Tears were running down Dani's face.
"He hurt you, yes, but he can't hurt you anymore."
"Yes he can, " Dani points to her head, "up here he can."
"Ok, we need to establish all of your feelings towards Kane so that we can
tackle them one by one. What's the next layer after fear?"
"Hatred."
"Thought so...why do you hate him?"
"Because he ruined my life."
"Think of the good things, Dani, the good things."
"It's not the same, it never will be. I hate him because he made me hate
myself...it's my fault, it all was and I hate myself for that..."
Dani was working herself up, she was shaking and she was crying, she couldn't
take anymore.
"No! I can't do this, Flynn, I can't."
"Ok, take it easy...you're ok."
"I'm not, if I can't even tell you how I feel about Kane without breaking
down then what hope have I got? It's useless, he's with me for life."
"No, Dani! For a first time, you done very well."
"I can't deal with this now, I have to go."
"Dani, please. Let's schedule another sesh."
"No, Flynn, I can't do this, I just can't!"
Dani ran out of the Drop-in Centre in tears. She'd only been there a matter
of half an hour but she couldn't take anymore. She bumped into Josh on the
beach and he took her home. Her mum was disappointed that the counselling hadn't
been more successful but she decided to give Dani some time to cool off and
think about things. Her daughter was sensible and she would come to the right
conclusion for herself. Meanwhile, in her room, Dani was wondering if there was a
conclusion for her. Would she ever find a way out? She couldn't see it, Kane
was there with her to stay and there was nothing she could do about it.
empty with only the two adults at home, but not on this Saturday night. Everyone
sat around the dinner table rather awkwardly. Kirsty was still in a mild
state of depression, she was staring at her plate miserably rather than eating its
contents. She still felt that her family resented her and looked down on her
because of what she'd done and this made her uncomfortable around them. She
didn't know how to talk to them anymore. Next to Kirsty sat Brodie. The two had
made up only the day before and it had been quite emotional. Brodie still saw
herself as an outsider in the family. She was extremely grateful to be there
but she didn't want to outstay her welcome. She'd made a best friend in Dani
aswell as two little sisters in Jade and Kirsty and she had new parental
figures in Rhys and Shelly but did they see her like that? She wasn't sure. At one
of the ends of the table sat Dani. She was curled up in the chair, deep in
thought. There was no prizes for guessing what she was thinking about. She was
unintentionally putting a depressing atmosphere over the family but she was
afraid. She didn't know what was going to be brought up the next day and she was
having second thoughts about it. Her mother noticed this and squeezed her arm,
reassuringly. Shelly was being strong for her family's sake, she always was,
but deep inside she was hurting to see her family in such an awful state.
Sitting at the dinner table, she wondered how they'd become like this. Wasn't she a
good enough mother? Next to her was Rhys who was thinking the same thing. He
had let his daughters down as a father and because of this they'd all gotten
hurt in some way or another. His wife often made the key decisions even though
he liked to think that he did but he still felt like he'd failed them all.
Lastly, at the other end of the table sat Jade. She was desperately trying to
shadow some happiness over her parents and sisters. She was telling them of what
she and Nick had done that day, adding in a few jokes, trying to lift the
dampner to no avail. Jade didn't understand why no one communicated in her family
anymore, everyone was acting as if they were listening to her and interested
in what she was saying but really she knew that no one was. They were all lost
in their own problems but Jade would not stop talking. She couldn't bear the
deathly silence when she did.
"Can I please be excused?"asked Dani.
"Emm...yeah, ok."
"Does that mean that I can go aswell?"followed on Kirsty.
"Ok."
"Well, I might aswell leave aswell if everyone else is."said Jade.
Shelly gave up. She left the table before anyone else had gotten up and
retreated to the living area. Her husband joined her and soon all the girls were in
their rooms. Dani went straight to bed, she had a lot of thinking to do
overnight. Brodie just lay on her bed and tried to work out her life...what did she
really want? Kirsty sat on a chair next to her window and just stared outside
and Jade sat down to read a book. She'd given up trying to talk to Kirsty,
there was no getting through to her when she was like that. After a while, Rhys
and Shelly went to bed also and soon the night was over.
It was 8am and only Dani was up. Two hours to go...it was frightening.
Shelly joined her at around 8.30am, knowing that her daughter would need some
preparation for her counselling session.
"I thought I would have to wake you up at 9.30am this morning!"
"No, I've been up a while and awake a lot longer."
"You're worried?"
Dani sheepishly nodded.
"There's no need to be, Flynn is really experienced, he'll do it right."
"I know."
"You will get over this you know?"
"Really? Because I can't see how at the moment."
"Trust me, Dan, it's just a matter of time."
"How much time, mum? It's been 8months already!"
"Everyone is different."
"I'm going to go and see Josh, he asked me to before I left."
"Will he be up at this time on a Sunday morning?"
"Yeah, he knows what time the sesh is at."
"Ok."
Shelly was upset. Her daughter preferred to go and talk to her boyfriend
about her troubles rather than talk to her, her mother. As 10 o clock approached,
Dani wasn't home yet so Shelly decided to go to Josh's caravan and get her.
On the way there, she met Dani and Josh who were on their way down to the
Sutherland household.
"You all set, Dani?"
"Uh huh."
"You coming with us, Josh?"
"Yip."
"Ok, we better get a move on, it's five to."
"Fine."
The journey was silent. When they entered the Drop-in Centre all three were
glad that Flynn spoke.
"Ok, Dan, are you coming in with your mum and Josh?"
"No, I need to do this on my own."
Shelly looked quite hurt. Josh wanted to be there for Dani.
"You sure you don't want me to come in there with you?"
"I'm sure. I don't think I could do this with you there, or you mum, I'm
sorry, I just have to do this by myself."
"That's alright, Dani. We'll be out here waiting for you."
"No, mum, don't wait around...I'll call you when I'm finished."
"If that's what you want. See you later, honey."
"Later, Dan."
"Bye."
Josh and Shelly left, leaving Dani to confront her fears...
"Ok, Dani, so it's just you and me now, do you want to come inside here?"
"Sure."
"Now, I can tell that you're nervous so we're going to do a little
relaxation exercise first."
"Emm...ok."
"Ok, close your eyes. And breathe...deeply. In...and out. In...and out.
That's it, keep going. Now, I want you to think of all the good things in your
life just now and say them, tell me them."
"Well, there's my family. Josh. School's good. I don't know."
"No, that was good. Keep thinking of these things throughout because we'r
going to get onto the heavy stuff now."
"Right."
"Ok, I want you to think back 8months ago to the day of your attack. Think of
how the day started out...the morning, and then into the afternoon. Then I
want you to skip a few hours and think of after the attack...how did you feel?"
"I...em...stiff, numb. I didn't feel anything, I was in a state of shock."
"Ok, and as time progressed what did you feel? What did you feel towards
Kane?"
"I was frightened of him but I hated him."
"Ok, look at it like this. See your feelings towards Kane as a number of
layers. If he was standing here now, what's the first thing you would feel?"
"I would be anxious and nervous."
"Why?"
"I don't know, it's his effect. At the mention of his name, I
worry...thinking that something is going to go wrong."
"After nervousness, what do you feel?"
"Fear."
"Why are you scared of Kane?"
"Because he hurt me."
Tears were running down Dani's face.
"He hurt you, yes, but he can't hurt you anymore."
"Yes he can, " Dani points to her head, "up here he can."
"Ok, we need to establish all of your feelings towards Kane so that we can
tackle them one by one. What's the next layer after fear?"
"Hatred."
"Thought so...why do you hate him?"
"Because he ruined my life."
"Think of the good things, Dani, the good things."
"It's not the same, it never will be. I hate him because he made me hate
myself...it's my fault, it all was and I hate myself for that..."
Dani was working herself up, she was shaking and she was crying, she couldn't
take anymore.
"No! I can't do this, Flynn, I can't."
"Ok, take it easy...you're ok."
"I'm not, if I can't even tell you how I feel about Kane without breaking
down then what hope have I got? It's useless, he's with me for life."
"No, Dani! For a first time, you done very well."
"I can't deal with this now, I have to go."
"Dani, please. Let's schedule another sesh."
"No, Flynn, I can't do this, I just can't!"
Dani ran out of the Drop-in Centre in tears. She'd only been there a matter
of half an hour but she couldn't take anymore. She bumped into Josh on the
beach and he took her home. Her mum was disappointed that the counselling hadn't
been more successful but she decided to give Dani some time to cool off and
think about things. Her daughter was sensible and she would come to the right
conclusion for herself. Meanwhile, in her room, Dani was wondering if there was a
conclusion for her. Would she ever find a way out? She couldn't see it, Kane
was there with her to stay and there was nothing she could do about it.