You Don't Belong Here

Chapter 2

I turn around to see an older man smiling at me. He has dark brown and gray hair and light blue eyes. He looks to be in his forties or fifties. I notice he has on an all-black security guard uniform.

"Thanks, I'm Kaia Keegan," I say returning the smile. Recognition flashes across his face.

"Oh...Dr. Keegan. They're expecting you," he says, before walking back to a desk that I didn't notice there at first.

I walk further into the building until I see a receptionist sitting behind a mahogany desk. I walk up to the desk, but she doesn't notice me. I clear my throat to get her attention. She looks up and smiles at me brightly. Wow...everyone is so friendly here.

"Hi, my name is Bethany. How may I assist you?" She asks politely. 

"Hi, my name is Kaia Keegan. It's my first day here..." I say trailing off. I'm not really sure of what to say or where to go. Recognition flashes over her face, too. I wonder if they had a meeting announcing that I would be working here.

"Oh, Dr. Keegan. Wait here, I'll give the facility manager a call to assist you," she says with that same polite manner. Her customer service skills are excellent. She picks up the receiver of the phone and presses the number nine.

"Hi, Mrs. Nicks. I have Dr. Keegan here." She listens for a second, then says, "Okay." She hangs up the phone, and I look at her expectantly.

"Mrs. Nicks will be with you shortly, Dr. Keegan," she informs me. 

I nod my head, and we fall into an awkward silence. I study Bethany's face while I wait for Mrs. Nicks. She is really pretty with her shiny, blonde hair and her light-brown eyes. Her face is round and a little chubby, almost baby-like.

I hear someone clear their throat. I look up, and it's like I'm looking at Bethany's clone. I look from Bethany to the lady, that I'm assuming is Mrs. Nicks. They have the same shiny, blonde hair and the same smile. The only difference is Mrs. Nicks' baby blue eyes and her face is more defined.

"Hi, I'm Leanne Nicks, and I'm guessing you've already figured out that this is my daughter, Bethany Nicks," she says while chuckling lightly.

"Yes, I'm sorry for being rude. I'm Kaia Keegan," I say, smiling warmly at her.

"It's fine. Follow me, and I'll show you around." 

She turns on her heels and walks away. I wave goodbye to Bethany and follow behind her. She spends about ten minutes showing me the main areas of the first floor before we get on an elevator.

"This elevator and the one directly behind the receptionist desk are for employees only," she explains to me. I nod my head, letting her know that I understand. She slides her badge in a scanner, and the elevator moves.

"You must have your badge or the elevator won't move. We'll get your badge taken care of after the tour," she says while glancing over at me. 

"Okay," I say quietly.

The elevator stops on the second floor. We step out, and she informs me that this is where the residents' rooms are, along with the psychologists' offices.

"Most of the residents' living spaces are on the right side of the building, starting with the hallway in front of us. The offices are on the left. The lounge area is in the middle. You still with me?" She asks looking concerned.

"Yes ma'am," I say putting her mind at ease. 

"That's good," she says sounding relieved. "This is a big place, and I would hate for you to get lost."

She walks me past a few of the residents' rooms. The area is pretty quiet. I wonder if it is like this on a daily basis. I could only hope so. 

I don't have a problem dealing with unruly patients. I just want to be settled in before the chaos starts. I want to know the patients and find out what makes them the way that they are. I would be able to do my job correctly if I got to know them first.

Leanne walks me to my office. When I step in, my mouth falls open a bit. I love it. 

The color scheme is white and black. On the right wall is a fireplace and shelves with several books on them. My desk is black and white marble with a white chair behind it. There is a large window behind my desk, but, from where I am standing, the view isn't that great. 

I might add a few personal touches, but I love it overall.

"Do you like it?" Leanne asks, waiting for my reaction. 

"I love it," I say, excitedly and slightly giddy.

"Great," she says while giggling. "On your desk is a list of the residents you'll be starting sessions with. The room numbers and session times are on the paper as well," she informs me before turning to leave.

"Wait...aren't you going to show me the third floor?" I ask, slightly confused. She shakes her head.

"No, that floor is for inmates. Only psychologists with enough experience are allowed up there," she says sternly. 

I nod once in understanding, and she walks out of the room without another word. I check my phone for the time. 8:45 a.m. I sigh loudly. Today is going to be a long day.

*******

It's almost 10:00. After an hour of going through my assigned residents' files, it is finally time for my first session. First on the list is Emily Bower. I grab a pen and notepad from my bag. I grab her file and decide to grab my 11:00 session's file, too.

I leave out of the office and head down the hallway that leads to the residents' rooms. I walk past the lounge, and a few residents are in there playing games or watching T.V. I walk a little more, then turn right, and I am finally by the rooms. 

I notice that all the even-numbered rooms are on the right side of the long hallway. I stop in front of room 212. I knock on the door twice. I hear a hoarse voice say, "Come in." 

I take a deep breath, then I enter the room. I look around the room, and I am surprised. The room is a decent size. It has a twin size bed made up with light blue covers on the right side, a white desk by the window on the left side of the room, and a small, white dresser on the wall a few inches from the door. I don't know why, but I expected something prison-like.

I notice that I don't see Emily anywhere. I look around the room again, thinking I might have overlooked her.

I see a small foot slide from under the bed.

"Emily, can you come from under there?" I ask politely. After a few minutes, she peeks at me from under the bed. Her dark brown eyes meet my hazel ones.

"Are they gone?" She whispers to me. 

I look around confused before I remember that she suffers from hallucinations. "No one is here with us, Emily," I say smiling warmly at her. Her dark eyes search my face before she slides her body from under the bed. Her eyes dance around the room before landing on me again.

"Who are you? Are you one of them? Have you come to hurt me?" She asks quickly.

"No, Emily...I'm just here to have a conversation with you. My name is Dr. Keegan. Have a seat," I say sitting down slowly so I don't frighten her further. She sits in the chair across from me while eyeing me suspiciously.

"You look too young to be a doctor," Emily says looking me in the eye. 

I smile gently at her. "Thank you, Emily, but I am here to talk about you. So...tell me. Why were you hiding under the bed?" She looks away from me and shifts nervously in her seat.

"It's okay, Emily. You can tell me," I whisper, trying to put her mind at ease.

"T-The demons said if I tell anyone about them, they will kill me in my sleep," she whispers.

I nod keeping my face void of any emotion. I'm not trying to be hard, but I don't want to be too sympathetic and have one of my patients think they can use that over me. 

"And when do you see these demons?" I ask Emily. She shakes her head at me.

"It's okay to tell me," I say reassuring her. 

"No! Leave me alone!" Emily yells while standing up.

I nod slowly and smile at her. "It's okay, Emily. Do you want to listen to music?" I ask her calmly. She hesitantly nods her head. I pull my phone from my pocket and put on Dusk Till Dawn by Zayn Malik. Emily sits back down in her chair and listens to the music.

Our session goes on like that until it is time for me to leave. I get up slowly and tell her bye. She waves and moves to sit on her bed.

I walk out of the room and let out a deep breath.

I think that went well.