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Blaire shifted and looked up at the professor.
“I like kids, and I know what it’s like to experience loss young.”
“I see.”
“My parents. Not long after I turned sixteen, my mom died in a car accident. My stepfather too.”
The professor nodded quietly, not pushing as Blaire volunteered the information freely. However, when Blaire didn’t add anything more, she asked, “Where is your birth father?”
“He died when I was a toddler.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
Blaire shifted in her seat and looked out the window behind a desk on the back wall, watching the dogwood trees sway in the wind. After several minutes of silence, when it became apparent Blaire wasn’t providing any additional details, the professor cleared her throat.
“I think taking a career path you can relate to is a wonderful thing, but if only you have dealt with your own grief. How does one help others if one doesn’t know how to help oneself?”
Blaire shifted her focus back to the professor and began twirling the ends of her long hair around her finger. “Mom put me in counseling when I was a little older, when I started asking questions about my dad she had difficulty dealing with. I went for a couple of years.”
“Have you spoken with a therapist since your mother and stepfather’s passing?”
Blaire looked down at her lap. “No.”
“Why is that? It appears to me as if you have no reservations about therapy.”
“My…” She took a deep breath and exhaled. “My stepbrother would never allow it. It would be shameful for his family to need therapy.”
Professor Sinclair sat back in her chair, surprise flickering across her face before she schooled her expression. “Allow it? I apologize, but I’m not following.”
Blaire gnawed on her lower lip before standing up from the chair and walking to the window. Quiet filled the room as the professor watched her intently. Breaking the awkward silence, Blaire began to share her story with the professor. When she finished, she dropped back into the chair. At some point in her rambling, she had made her way back over to the middle of the room. She waited with suspended breath for the professor to respond.
“That is… quite the story, Blaire. Thank you for sharing with me. That took a lot of strength and bravery. Again, I thank you.”
Blaire breathed out. She didn’t think it brave to explain what happened to her, but she wasn’t going to argue. She was finally in a place she could deal with it. Splitting-hairs over something basic, like what was or wasn’t brave, held no purpose.
“I would like to work with you on this. Help you develop coping mechanisms for dealing with what happened to you. Give you a safe space to talk about that, and about the loss of your family. Would you accept this?”
Blaire nodded. “I’d like that.” She could trust the professor. While a Vasirian, she was a licensed professional, and Blaire had experience with this sort of thing before. She found comfort in something that seemed normal in the weird world she’d found herself in.
“Wonderful. I believe we should approach this slowly. I want you to be able to trust me before we get into triggering subject matter. Let’s start with more basic things.”
“Sure.” Blaire finally settled back into the chair.
Noting her relaxed posture, the professor motioned to the bottle of water and Blaire picked it up, taking a long drink of the cold liquid.
“So, as I understand it, you’re here at Blackthorn because you share a Korrena bond with another student. Is this correct?”
“Well… that’s what they tell me. I don’t really know. I don’t fully understand what it means.”
Nodding, the professor tapped her chin. “From my experience, I feel like it is something that needs to be experienced more than read about. The nuances of a bond and natural connection between two individuals vary wildly from person to person.”
Blaire took another drink.
“Can you tell me about your pair?”
“Lukas?” Blaire choked on her water and her face warmed.
The professor smiled and lifted her own bottle for a drink. “Is that his name?”
