Twisted Obsession

Chapter 5 The Student

CHAPTER 5

THE STUDENT

The following Monday, Liz yawned and stretched out in bed. Her mind flashed back to the nightclub, a sense of guilt and shame over her behaviour. Initially, she was able to get that sense of relief and control, but later on, she’d always come to the realisation that her using men that way was only a temporary measure. She’d never had s*x with a stranger but enjoyed having foreplay in nightclubs, and always with people around. Even that could prove to be dangerous, but she couldn’t help herself. The relief never lasted, and she’d ended up feeling dirty and ashamed of herself. But she couldn’t help it. She loved controlling men, and maybe it was her way of dealing with Domenic over the years.

The last time she’d had s*x was with her ex-boyfriend after Domenic, and they’d been together for three years. In the end, she realised that he was too controlling and broke it off. Luckily, he didn’t dominate her to the point of violence, as Domenic had.

Liz had definitely enjoyed the touching and kissing on Friday, and the man had wanted to see her again, but why date someone she only wanted to have fun with? Bella would chastise her about her behaviour. Liz realised it was a destructive way of dealing with her pain, but she had no control over it. The man appeared nice enough, but she couldn’t focus on a relationship when eventually they would all control her. It was just a man’s way.

After a light breakfast of eggs and coffee, she grabbed her bag and keys and headed out to work. She found a parking space next to a black SUV that was taking up two spaces, and cursed. No-one was in the car. Damn! Given there was an event in the nearby area, some people must’ve decided to park here illegally.

Once she arrived at the building, she waved hello to Penny and others in the office and settled at her desk. She took out a case file and flicked through relevant points. She had a consent form to speak to Camilla’s psychiatrist so that he could write a report about the prognosis of her substance abuse, and the likelihood of having her daughter returned to her care. It was always a long process, but normally the centre had a high success rate with the families in crisis.

She picked up her phone when Penny approached Liz with a young woman behind her. When the woman moved beside Penny, in her line of vision, her body sat up straight and her mouth opened. She hung up the phone. What the hell! Gabriella? The woman was already stalking her, and she still hadn’t heard from Marco about her.

She stared at the short woman with her dark brown hair and blonde highlights tied up in a short pony-tail. Gabriella wore a tight-fitting black skirt and white shirt that showed off her buxom, slim figure. Her dark brown eyes penetrated Liz’s with curiosity as if sizing her up.

Penny was oblivious to Liz’s shock. “Hey, Liz. This here is Gabriella Jamitsan who we spoke about. She’s the work experience student doing the Certificate IV in Community Services course at the nearby college. She’s here to start the work placement.”

Liz didn’t want to make a scene and decided to question Gabriella later. She leaned forward and shook her hand. “Nice to meet you, Gabriella. Take a seat and we’ll have a chat.”

The woman had a piercing gaze but smiled, which made Liz uneasy. “Hi, Liz. I’m happy to be here. Thanks for taking me on. I realise how busy you must get, and I really appreciate it.”

Liz smiled without it reaching her eyes. “Not a problem.”

Penny rubbed her hands. “Okay, I’ll leave you two to it.” She turned back and returned to her desk.

Liz whispered. “Follow me.” Gabriella nodded, gripping tightly onto her satchel. She followed Liz to an empty interview room.

Liz closed the door behind them and took a seat behind the table while Gabriella sat opposite with her head bowed. “What are you doing here? You do know that stalking is a crime in Victoria?”

Gabriella frowned. “I honestly didn’t know that you worked here. It’s a coincidence. Besides, I love kids and have a passion to do this kind of work. Give me that opportunity, Liz. If I don’t do this placement, I’ll struggle to complete my course because right now there’s nothing else available for me.”

“What is really going on here?”

Gabriella pressed her lips together, shaking her head. “I meant it when I said my father’s still dangerous.”

She scoffed. “Are you my bodyguard now?”

“No, of course not, but I’m here, so can’t we at least try to work together? I really aspire to be like you, Liz, a social worker. Please give me that chance to work in welfare. Please!”

Liz got the feeling there was more to Gabriella’s story, and hopefully, she’d hear from Marco soon. Right now, she had a job to do, and she was always the professional here. “Fine, but let’s keep this strictly business. I don’t want to hear that man’s name in this office. Do you understand?”

Gabriella swallowed. “Of course.”

“Fine. Now let’s get to work.”

Gabriella’s eyes darkened. “I’m so sorry to make you uncomfortable.”

Liz ignored her comment. She’d remain professional. If not, she’d probably break down. “So do you have a copy of your units of study in the course. It’ll give me an idea of what you need to focus on.”

Gabriella handed her a document. “Here it is.” Liz pulled over a chair from an empty desk and moved it beside her own. They both sat down, and Liz scanned through the document. “Okay, well obviously this is general stuff so what’s your main interest of work?”

“I’d like to focus on youth work as I can sort of relate.”

Liz rubbed her hands together. “I’ll give you a quick run-down of our services here.” She handed her a few brochures of their service then resumed. “We run a foster and kinship care service for children and youth who struggle to live with their parents, more often a sole parent. And we also provide residential care for those young ones who can’t live safely in their home.”

Gabriella nodded, jotting down notes in a small pad. “And what’s the main reason they’re not safe at home?”

Liz sighed. “Well, it could be drug or alcohol abuse, family violence, child abuse by the parents or step-parent. In some cases, we’ve had child prostitution orchestrated by the parents.”

Gabriella’s eyes widened and she leaned forward with interest. “Really? Child prostitution. Oh that’s awful. Tell me more about that.”

“Well, parents might take their child out of school and work with illegal companies by placing their child’s photo on their private site. They get interest from buyers then work out the logistics, and the child stays home to provide the service.” Liz briefly closed her eyes. “It’s despicable how many of these cases the police have.”

“I take it you’ve worked with the police on this?”

“I have,” Liz continued. “Anyway, we also support young people with new accommodation, building personal skills, and engaging them with other support services. We support the homeless, too.”

“Amazing work that you do here,” said Gabriella.

“Thanks.” Liz showed Gabriella a copy of the office policies and procedures. “I’ll give you this document to read, and then I’ll get you to observe a bio-psychosocial assessment of my next case. She’s due in about an hour. Then I have a visit to a drug rehabilitation facility in the city so you can come with me.”

Gabriella squeezed her hands together. “Sounds exciting. I can’t wait to work with you, Liz.”

“Okay, I’m just about to ring a psychiatrist about a client, Camilla, who presents with substance abuse. She’s been having therapy with him for a month, and she’s started drug rehabilitation. Her brother’s coming down from Queensland to care for her daughter temporarily, so we need to make sure she stays on the straight and narrow, or she’ll lose her daughter forever. She’s relapsed a few times and has no family here. Her mother’s in Queensland and will be having surgery soon. Once she’s recovered, she plans to visit Melbourne for a while to help care for her daughter. Depending on Camilla’s recovery, the mother may or may not apply for custody of her granddaughter, but there’s the brother too. If all else fails, we look into the foster care system on a more permanent basis.”

“And where’s the daughter now?”

“She’s with a temporary foster carer until Camilla’s brother, Matthew, comes down. He’s due here in the next few days and we’ll be meeting him and discussing arrangements for the care of the young girl.”

“Sounds complicated,” Gabriella said.

“It sure is.” She grabbed the phone. “Now, listen in on the types of questions I’ll ask the psychiatrist as you’ll be doing this sort of thing. Remember the bounds of confidentiality, which is in the guidelines that you’ll need to read by tomorrow.”

Liz dialled the number, a burst of energy sending waves through her body. She loved helping people and keeping busy, and Gabriella seemed keen and interested in the field. She only hoped they could have a professional working relationship with no personal interferences.