Chapter Thirty-Three

The wait from the time they all sat down in the waiting room to the time her name had been called by one of the receptionists was a lot quicker than Lorna had anticipated or would have liked. When they arrived inside the familiar office that she recalled sitting in only a few weeks prior, Lorna sat on the small sofa furthest from the door. She felt the cushion beside her sink somewhat and turned her head to find the culprit was Nicky, who instinctively clasped onto one of her hands. A warmth overtook her body momentarily, she bowed her head down to keep her rosy cheeks from being seen by her girlfriend.

Her eyes averted elsewhere and observed Franny claiming the chair nearest the door. She sighed, returning her gaze onto her lap. Maybe she reacted a bit harshly upon their arrival in the parking lot, her mind pondered on. Deep down, she knew Franny wasn't ever out to intentionally cause her any pain. Franny wasn't like their father, the smaller brunette reminded herself. No, Franny was one of the most caring and kind-hearted people she had known. Franny only wanted to help her, something Mr. Morello couldn't care less about engaging in.

The door to the room opened once more rapidly interjecting Lorna from her thoughts. She deterred her eyes over at who entered inside, feeling a mixture of both relief and dread come to the surface. Relief that maybe her shrink—therapist—might be able to convince Nicky and Franny that there was nothing they needed to worry about. Dread that she might end up doing the opposite, however.

Doctor Washington closed the door behind her and went to situate herself in her desk chair. When her eyes finally caught sight of who all was in her office, she nodded intuitively and focused her stare on Lorna. "This is quite a surprise," she stated, reaching for her traveler's cup of coffee that had been occupying space beside her laptop. "I wasn't expecting you to bring anyone with you, I didn't think you'd be ready for that so soon."

Lorna swallowed, shifting her feet against the ground beneath them. She felt Nicky's hand tighten around hers and immediately that brought a comfort over her. Her shoulders moved upwards in a subtle shrug. "I wasn't expecting to be here at all today, but my sista made the decision for me," a bitterness easily oozed out from her voice. She hadn't anticipated that and felt a guilt rise quickly within. Her eyes took a glance in Franny's direction, noticing how she slightly winced at the comment. The shame only strengthened after seeing that.

The dark-skinned woman slowly nodded, effortlessly picking up on the hostility in her client's vocal inflection. Her dark brown eyes shifted over to the other brunette, who she assumed to be the sister. She picked up her traveler's cup and sipped it slowly. "Would you like to let me know who the both of these two are, Lorna? Which one is your sister?"

"I guess," the petite brunette muttered. She gestured her free hand towards the teen who sat beside her and informed her therapist with, "This is my girlfriend, Nicky. And that over there," her hand moved in direction of Franny, tone less menacing than earlier, "That's my older sista, Franny."

Her eyes fixed back down onto her lap. An unsettling sensation took up residence in the pit of her stomach seemingly out of nowhere. She swallowed and felt a lump in the back of her throat. "I wasn't supposed to have an appointment with you for another two weeks. Franny made me come today and I have no idea why. I should be in school now and I am making Nicky late too, because she's here with me."

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you both. I'm glad you're all able to be here with Lorna," the therapist greeted Nicky and Franny with a kind smile. She shifted her eyes once more on Lorna, nodding her head intuitively. "Yes, Franny called me this morning to get your appointment moved to today. Oh, don't worry about that. I'll provide the two of you with an excuse for school. And anyway, I touched base with Mrs. Mendoza so she knows you're here as well, Lorna."

"Why? Are you and Mrs. Mendoza talking about me behind my back?"

Doctor Washington shook her head and held up a hand, "Of course not. I speak with her to help me coordinate my treatment plan for you. Nobody is talking about you behind your back, at least not here in my office. Why don't we talk about what brings you here today, yeah?"

"No, no, no. Treatment plan? I don't need no treatment plan. You and the school counselor think I'm crazy and you're plotting a way to send me to some institution, aren't ya?" Paranoia appeared to engulf Lorna's mind at that point, she found herself shaking her head in a profound manner. Knowing anyone would talk about her behind her back constantly made her assume the worst possible outcome.

"Lorna, that is not true at all. We are not plotting to put you in any institution. I work with Mrs. Mendoza on all my clients who happen to go to that high school. Treatment is just another word I use for therapy, that's all. Now, let's talk about why your sister thought it was best for you to meet with me today instead of waiting," the dark haired woman did her best to calm her patient's very fraying nerves. She sipped her coffee and then looked at the two others who hadn't said a peep since she'd come in.

Throwing up her hands to gain their focus, the psychologist smiled warmly at them and gestured her hands to the pile of dixie cups she had sitting on the shelf behind her rather bulky desk. "Would either of you like some water or tea? What about you, Lorna? You want a cup of that peppermint tea again?" She reached into the drawer where her teabags were and grabbed a handful of them.

Lorna looked over at her girlfriend, then Franny, both girls shook their heads in response to her therapists' question. She switched which leg she had crossed and turned back to Doctor Washington. The peppermint tea was delicious, she recalled, and it certainly soothed her but she shook her head as well. If neither of the other two wanted anything, then clearly she shouldn't want either. A sigh escaped her. Her stomach craved for the tea despite her mind telling her she didn't need it—deserve it.

Giving a small nod, the professional smiled and placed the teabags back in their designated drawer. Though, she left a peppermint one out in case Lorna changed her mind. The expression on her face conflicted with the shake of her head that she gave. "If any of you change your mind just let me know," she advised them before refocusing her courtesy on the brunette sitting on the sofa.

"What's been going on lately, Lorna?"

Shifting her eyes from the therapist over to her sister and lastly on Nicky, Lorna gulped uneasily. Sweat oozed from the pores of her flesh as she became aware of everyone's stares on herself. Suddenly, she felt uncomfortable and tight in the chest. This wasn't how she had imagined her morning to go, she thought. In fact, she thought much the same about the incident that occurred the evening before. None of what happened was supposed to. She shook her head, focused her eyes on her hands that she clasped together atop her thighs. Her fat thighs, she observed.

"I don't know. I'm not the one who moved my appointment," she bitterly pointed out, throwing a hand up and waving it harshly in Franny's direction. "Maybe you should ask Franny that since she seems to think I'm incapable of making decisions for myself."

"That's not fair, Lorna," Franny interjected before the therapist was able to enter the conversation. Her blue eyes, despite the coldness in her sister's tone, gazed over at her with nothing but concern. "You know that's not what I think of you. That's not why I switched your appointment, either."

Watching the interaction between them in silence, Doctor Washington jotted some things on her notepad that was sprawled out on her desk. It was clear that something was amiss amongst the sisters. Her eyes fell on Franny, the older of the two, and she easily noted the apprehension that displayed on her face. "Franny, why did you feel it was a good idea to change Lorna's appointment to today?"

The older brunette, who sat on her cushioned chair with her right leg crossed over her left, turned away from her sister to return the psychologists' stare. Now, she felt a wave of unease. She swallowed a lump she only now realized existed in her throat and inhaled deeply. "Because Lorna needs help, more help than I can give her on my own. And after the incident that happened yesterday—"

"The incident that happened yesterday?" Doctor Washington repeated the words in a questioning tone, eyebrows curved over brown eyes. "What happened yesterday?"

Lorna met Franny's gaze and subtly shook her head at her. The woman had already caused her enough grief for one day, she internalized.

Franny repeated her head movement and looked back across the desk at Doctor Washington. Her sister may have been okay with hiding things but that hadn't meant she was. "Lorna and her friend—"

"Girlfriend, Franny. Girlfriend. Nicky's my girlfriend," Lorna interrupted her to correct her in a tougher than needed manner. Her hand was instantly squeezed in that moment, she peered over at the redhead who gave her a small smile and kiss to the back of her head.

"Sorry, Lorna and her girlfriend were being chased by our drunk father with a gun," the older sister finally informed Lorna's therapist after revising her words to calm the young teen.

Mouth gaped open at the revelation, it took a moment for her to finally find the will to close it again. That was an incident she wasn't expecting to hear about or rather to have occurred at all in the first place. Sympathy instantly formed on the therapists' face as she looked in the direction of the sofa where both Lorna and Nicky sat. She stared at the two for several seconds before saying anything. The only way she could control her emotions from showing themselves.

"I am—I'm so sorry to hear that. Are you both okay? Do either of you want to process how that made you feel?"

Lorna quickly shook her head, rolling her eyes out of frustration. The last thing she wanted to do was spend an undisclosed amount of time processing an event she'd rather forget happened. "Nope, I'm good," was her quick response, letting her body sink further into the cushion of the couch she occupied. Her eyes swiftly looked away from the therapist and focused in on Nicky, who's face displayed a contradicting expression to her own.

"Actually, yeah, I think that would be a great idea," the redhead chimed in after sitting silently for the past fifteen minutes. Her girlfriend's adamancy on not saying anything only convinced her further that that was something they needed to talk openly about right then and there. She sighed, feeling Lorna's eyes on her and returned her gaze softly. The refusal in the other's only made her wrap a protective arm around her waist, tugging her slightly closer so that Lorna's head instinctively fell against her shoulder.

Good. Good? Good!? Franny gritted her teeth hearing that word come from her sister's mouth. She shook her head profusely and peered fiercely ahead at the psychologist. The one person who she desperately needed to get through to Lorna and fast. "Can you please tell my sweet naïve sister that she is not good or okay right now?"

Being talked about like she wasn't even in the room only fueled Lorna's irritation. She slammed her hands piercingly against the glass of the coffee table in front of her. A splitting headache quickly began to form between her temples. Her fingers massaged furiously around the flesh of it, but that did nothing to ease it. The pain only grew stronger, in turn increasing the irritation that had already been brewing. It appeared, in her mind, that everyone in that room was pinned up against her.

It hadn't taken long for Doctor Washington to notice the overwhelming look that molded onto her clients' face. She quickly prepared a dixie cup with warm water from her kettle and a peppermint teabag, clasped her hands together as she peered at the three ladies before her. "Okay, let's everyone just take a moment to breathe. It looks like this is becoming a bit too much for Lorna," a nod with the words she spoke. She focused her stare back on the petite brunette and held the cup of tea out to her, "Here, how about a small cup of tea? I can see you're starting to get quite frazzled."

Albeit her mind arguing that she shouldn't accept the heavily desired liquid, Lorna reached her hands out for it regardless. The smell quickly hit her nose the second the cup was in her possession and immediately gave her a sense of comfort. She cradled her hands around it while gradually lifting it towards her lips, the aroma further sinking into her nostrils. However, before taking a sip of the warm liquid, her eyes widened slightly as they peered fiercely ahead at the black-haired woman behind the desk ahead of her.

"Are there calories in this tea? How many?"

The inquiries were an unexpected surprise to the psychologist. She returned Lorna's gaze with a rather worried one, shaking her head slowly in response. "No, there are no calories in it. What makes you ask that, Lorna?"

Lorna gulped at the small interrogation. She peered into the cup her hands cradled, feeling a strong urge to sip it all in one go. But she refrained, her mind telling her the opposite of what Doctor Washington had moments ago informed her of. It was as if her inner-self didn't believe the honest fact that the tea certainly did not contain any calories. Or even if it had, it wouldn't be a sufficient amount. "Uh, I just—I, um, am tryna be more health conscious. I just wanna be healthy…yeah, that's all, really." Her voice frantically spewed out and she mustered up a smile.

Without a word, Nicky instinctively wrapped her arms around the smaller teen's waist. To hear her stressed over the caloric intake of a single cup of tea brought an immense apprehension over her. She gently brushed her lips over the side of Lorna's forehead, yearning so strongly to find a way to help her. Her heart ached deeply to realize how much her girlfriend appeared to be suffering. Sighing, she only hoped that the therapy would be of benefit to the girl she so desperately loved.

"It's great to want to be healthy, but another to be a little obsessive about it. Just make sure you're fueling your body adequately, Lorna or we may be having a different conversation in the future," the therapist kindly advised her with a small smile sitting on her face.

Eyes peering down at her girlfriend concerningly, Nicky gently nudged the flesh of her cheek with the tip of her thumb. After walking in on her the previous night to see her so blatantly checking her stomach for signs of fat—she presumed that was what Lorna was doing, anyway—the worry she had for her only kept growing in intensity. It was obvious to herself that Lorna's secret health obsession was not just about being healthy. And it infuriated her that she hadn't seen any of the signs until very recently.

Averting her eyes back in the psychologists' direction, the redhead took in a rather large breath. Contemplating for a few silent moments on whether or not it was a smart idea to voice her concerns. She certainly hadn't want to say anything that would further Lorna's clear discomfort, however, she wasn't sure not voicing her worry would be of any benefit either. Another sigh escaped her.

Noticing the eyes of the redhead girl on her, Doctor Washington shifted her focus on her for a moment. She mindlessly shuffled a few papers that sat on the top surface of her desk. "What's on your mind? You look like you wanna say something."

"I do wanna say something but I don't know if it's a good idea."

Curving an eyebrow inquisitively above her eye, the older woman peered her over attentively. "Well, what makes you think it might not be a good idea to say what you're wanting?"

Nicky recoiled her shoulders upward slightly. A pang filled her chest as her eyes fixed themselves back down on the girl her arms were engulfed around. The last thing she wanted to was to further the distraught that already seemed to plague her, yet, she knew if she kept silent it would only be even more detrimental to her in the long run. Her lips softly stroked the top of her ahead. She refocused her glance on Doctor Washington across from them. "I don't wanna make Lorna any more upset but I'm, I'm so worried about her. I slept over her house last night and she was doing something that caught me off guard—I don't know if I'm just looking too much into it or if there's something more going on."

"What happened?" The psychologist gently asked, assuring her to continue. She deterred her eyes slightly onto her client, observing the expression on her face closely.

"I came in her room after she and her sister had a kinda heated talk and Lorna was on her bed with her shirt slightly up, it looked to me like she was, um, checking her skin or something. I-I don't know but it makes me even more worried," Nicky uneasily recalled the events from yesterday evening, letting her hold on the petite brunette tighten.

Both Doctor Washington and Franny felt their eyes widen somewhat at Nicky's revelation. The older of the two swallowed thickly before mentally putting her emotions to the side and refocusing her attention on Lorna. Everything she'd been hearing so far only led her to believe that the young brunette was likely suffering from the early stages of an eating disorder. She softened her eyes slightly as she held her gaze on the girl. "Can you possibly share with your girlfriend what you were doing, Lorna? Are you comfortable with that?"

It was hard enough for Lorna to even try to catch her breath at that moment and now, her therapist was wanting her to answer an unnerving question? She couldn't get in a decent breath of air long enough to form a coherent sentence that wouldn't make her sound as mental as she knew she truly was. The only thing she was able to do was reach for the dixie cup and slowly sip down the rest of the tea. She shut her eyes, hoping to get a grip back on reality. Just a sufficient amount so that she could give an answer, she pleaded with herself.

When her eyes reopened a few seconds later, she rapidly took notice that everyone in the room was staring at her. Intense staring, she deemed. She swallowed a lump in her throat and reached her hands up to place around her cheeks, squeezing them in a way that she wished would magically make the uneasiness fade away. "I was—I just wanted to make sure that there were no marks on my stomach. I fell in my bedroom—when my dad was real upset—and landed on my stomach, so it was hurtin' a little," the words easily spilled from Lorna's mouth as she looked straight ahead into her therapists' attentive eyes.

Nicky instantly shook her head at the explanation her girlfriend gave. It didn't add up, she inwardly noted. There was something majorly wrong with the younger girl, and it was rather obvious how much she didn't want to admit to that. No wonder Franny always appeared so exhausted and drained, constantly having to help someone who clearly didn't want help had to be wearing on her own mentality. Lorna was certainly a lot to handle, she concluded the older brunette's words from their conversation the prior evening to be true. An intense breath expelled from her lungs.

"Yeah? Are ya sure that's the real reason, kid? Because I don't know about the therapist but I'm not buying that."

Doctor Washington kept silent and observed the interaction between the two.

Lorna immediately grew distrustful, removing herself from Nicky's embrace and getting up from the sofa to pace angrily around the small office that her therapy session was held in. The walls suddenly felt too close for comfort; she squeezed her eyes shut and the sound of her breathing echoed loudly in her own ears. She fastened her pass, walking in a circle from how small the space around her existed. Her hands instinctively lifted up towards her head and she used them to cover over her ears but that did nothing to stop the loud echoing from occurring. Again, her pace quickened and kept at it until she felt her heart racing rapidly in her chest and her lungs felt like they were on fire.

The unexpected sensation of her lungs being on fire was enough to halt her pacing. She opened her eyes, letting them glance around her surroundings in a frantic motion. Once again they were all staring at her in an agonizing concern. She swallowed thickly, guilty for making them feel that way. Her eyes slowly averted down to her abdomen and the feeling of a warm liquid running down the skin of her cheek came as a surprise to her. She lifted her thumb to wipe it away, unsure of when she had started crying.

Everyone still sat watching her in an uncomfortable silence, Franny and Nicky uncertain on what or if to do anything, and Doctor Washington allowing her client a moment to gather herself and respond when she felt ready to. Lorna finally caught her breath and remained standing in her spot, looking anywhere but at any of the people who appeared before her. Instead, she reached her hand down on a loop of her jeans and let her fingers nervously play with it.

"I would like to leave now," Lorna finally spoke out, not looking up to see the frustration that she sensed was looming on both her girlfriend's and sister's faces.

Franny didn't stop herself from letting out a boisterous grunt at her younger sister's suggestion. Her head shook madly as she turned to glare frustratedly over at her. It was tiring to constantly watch Lorna run away from talking about her problems or even admit that she had any. She crossed her arms furiously over her chest, averting her eyes violently fast over at the therapist. "She does this any time anyone fucking tries to talk to her about anything she refuses to admit to," her voice harshly pointed out.

Doctor Washington took in a breath and calmly looked over at her patient. There was a lot of emotion on her face, she observed, a lot more than at their first session only a few weeks ago. Obviously, a lot seemed to be going on with the young teenager and it wasn't going to be fixed in just two therapy appointments. She sighed, looking back at the clearly upset older sister. "We can't force her to talk about anything she's not ready to share, Franny. I know it's upsetting to you and I'm sorry, but we have to take things at Lorna's pace."

That was all it took for Franny to slam her hands menacingly against the rim of the coffee table. "Lorna's pace? Then nothing will ever be fucking accomplished. Lorna will never be ready to talk about anything because she is fucking living in her own little world—her own little world of denial," she cried out, knowing her words would only cause all of them more frustration than anything but she didn't know what else she could do. She couldn't continue to sit back and watch Lorna to constantly spiral downward.

"Okay, you know what? I think both you and Nicky should step out so I can talk to Lorna alone. I can see on her face that she's very clearly overwhelmed and your yelling, Franny—although it is from a loving and concerned place—is not helping the situation. So, please, go sit in the waiting room for now," the therapist firmly commanded, standing up from her chair and walking over to the door, motioning for everyone who wasn't her client to exit.

"Obviously now is too soon for family sessions," she added once they walked past her and out the open door. Her eyes solemnly fixed themselves back on her blatantly distressed client and she decided to walk over to her, standing beside her. "That was too much for you, wasn't it?"

Lorna swallowed a wad of saliva and timidly nodded her head. Guilt overpowered her, though, at the fact that she very clearly upset the two people she so deeply cared for; the two people she loved more than anything. It hurt to see them both hurting because of her own stupid self, she angrily thought. Tears fell from her eyes without her even realizing until her vision was clouded. She felt a rather loud sob escape from her esophagus. "I-I just—I really, I care so much about them both and now they're—they're both upset be-because of me," the words choked out between sniffles. Her knees buckled and she felt her body fall to the floor.

The unforeseen breakdown had Doctor Washington acting quickly on impulse, she sat down on the floor beside the other and placed a comforting hand over Lorna's to let her know she wasn't alone. "I don't think they're upset at you, Lorna. They're just upset about the situation. A situation that I hope you know is not your fault in any way," her voice calmly informed the petite brunette beside her. Her heart ached at the sound of such violent sobs coming from her client's body.

"How can it not be my fault? Everything that goes wrong in my life, the common thing is me. Everything is my fault. I-I just want life to be normal again."

Squeezing the hand that was held in her own, the black-haired woman peered sadly at the girl beside her. It was heartbreaking to see how clearly hurting she was. She let out a small sigh and opened her mouth to respond, "You can't control how other people react, Lorna, or what other people choose to do. You can only control yourself. You are not at fault for your current circumstances because of that simple fact. Do you feel comfortable with telling me what a normal life to you looks like?"

Lorna felt a knot slowly forming in the pit of her stomach. Control. Control, she closed her eyes at the word. She needed more control. She craved more control. The sense of uncontrollability, alone, was enough to agonize her. Nothing in her life, at that moment, seemed controllable to her. The only thing she appeared to have control over was her body and what she put into her mouth—or currently, what she didn't put in her mouth. She sighed and regained focus on the conversation with her therapist.

"Living back home with both of my parents and brotha and sista, that was normal. It was normal and everything was fine. I just want that back, so bad," she cried out, her voice cracking as sniffles and sobs escaped her in truckloads just the same as tears leaked down her cheeks nonstop. Had she finally hit a breaking point? Suddenly, she couldn't recognize herself anymore. That wasn't the Lorna Morello she knew. And such a realization only intensified her craving for control.

"Well, what happened to change that?"

The brunette shut her eyes tightly, letting her free hand lift up towards her forehead and she placed it over her right temple. Massaging at it in a slightly vicious manner. It was a simple question, she tried to convince herself, and she had an answer. She knew exactly what happened to change everything. She did, despite what her sister commented earlier. Lorna certainly wasn't in denial of their mother's death. Of course, she acknowledged their mother's death—she was the one who was there when it happened. She watched Mrs. Morello take her last breath, saw her heart pump its last course of blood through her veins. Stansie was dead and she knew that. But to say it out loud? That would make it final. There wouldn't be any room for hope, for her to hold onto that miniscule string of hope that miraculously one day her mother would come back. And that—that was something she wasn't ready to give up.

"My mom hadda move outta state for her job and Mikey, my brotha, he enrolled in the military when he turned eighteen. So, now, life doesn't feel normal…and I just, I wish they'd come back," was the answer that Lorna settled on giving, at least the military part was honest.

"Oh, Lorna, I'm so sorry to hear that. That must be very difficult for you to deal with. Do you call your mom often? Maybe talk to her about planning a visit, do you think that might help you? And have you thought about writing letters to Mikey? I'm not sure if they have access to phones in the military or not but I bet it would help you feel a little better if you set aside some time each day to write to him, what do you think?"

Lorna nodded at the suggestion, finally feeling the sniffles ease up. She moved her hand to her cheeks and wiped at the remaining tears. At least the letter suggestion was something she could actually start doing, she thought silently. It sounded like a great idea in all actuality the more she thought about it. Her eyes averted up at the therapist who still sat right next to her. A sense of comfort overwhelmed her. There was a genuine aura that emanated from the older woman, just the same as the one from her school counselor.

"Yeah, I uh, I think those are real good things for me to do. Thank you, doctor—"

Holding up a hand to halt her comment, the psychologist gave a kind smile down to her. "You can call me by my first name, Poussey. Doctor Washington just makes me feel old, honestly. But, yes, I believe those will be good things for you to start doing as well. Maybe even talking to your girlfriend or sister when you feel upset over it would be beneficial, too."

Giving another slow nod, Lorna inhaled a much steadier breath now. She let her eyes focus down on the floor that she sat upon and noticed the bright colors that appeared to swirl so seamlessly together. "Poussey? I've never heard that name before. It's real pretty, though," she commented, deterring the conversation away from the previous topic of her family.

The smile still molded to her face, the older woman only gave a light-hearted chuckle. That wasn't an unusual statement she received from others' when they heard her name. It hadn't been a very common name, at least not there in the US, she deemed. Her client's comment hadn't come as a surprise to her. "It's French, my dad was the one who picked it out when I was born. He was a military dad and he'd been stationed in France several times before he and my mom had me so he wanted something unique for me to remind us all of our roots, I guess."

To hear that she and her therapist had some common ground with each of them having had a close family member in the army brought another reassuring awareness over her. Made her realize that maybe being in therapy wasn't such a bad thing like she made it out to be in her head. She felt the corners of her lips form into a faint smile. Maybe therapy really was the best for her right now, she tried to reason with herself.

"Thank you," she abruptly found herself murmuring.

Poussey arched an eyebrow at the words. "For what?"

"For being my therapist and not my shrink," Lorna replied, bouncing her shoulders in a nonchalant shrug. She focused her stare back down on the pattern of the carpet, tracing her fingers through each line.

"Aw, Lorna, you don't have to thank me for that. It's my pleasure to be here to help you. Now, I know it's been a very rough and draining session today for you so I think we can call it quits and set up your next one, yeah? We'll wait on another family session, clearly now is still too soon for that. I don't want you to feel so overwhelmed that you're frightened of therapy, okay?" The psychologist stated—after walking back behind her desk—while taking out an appointment card and jotting down information for their next one.

She gently handed the card over to Lorna, giving her a comforting smile. "I'll see you in a couple weeks. Take care of yourself and don't be afraid to reach out to your loved ones for support."