Haunted By The Past

CHAPTER 3: A VISITOR

CHAPTER 3:

A VISITOR

Bella fiddled with the lock on the door. Her shoulders slumped, sighing at the dreaded Monday morning. It took her a while to get going, but she’d be fine later in the day.

The grey building had red awnings above the windows with a sign to the right that displayed, Bella’s Counselling Services. The building was in the middle of Williamstown, close to Bella’s favourite bookshops and retail stores.

She unlocked the front door and stepped inside. The interior of the building was well-furnished with its white-washed walls. A waiting area greeted her, filled with a mixture of small armchairs and plastic chairs, magazines, and business cards piled on a glass tabletop. There was a rug covering the floorboards in the waiting area. Above the reception counter on the wall, 3D butterfly decals protruded in two rows. Each insect had two pastel colours. The largest was yellow and black. Two butterfly crystal figurines sat on either side of the counter. It had been her receptionist, Mari, who had wanted to bring a bit of colour and vibrancy to greet clients in the area. The butterflies added aesthetic appeal and brightened the place, and Bella was grateful for the decorating idea.

Bella’s office contained a white ergonomic chair and a large desk. An array of stationery, a telephone, and manuals lay neatly across the edge of the desk, and a filing cabinet held case files and assessment test results. Diagnostic tools, psychological inventories, and books sat on a towering bookshelf, and her Postgraduate Diploma of Psychology hung on the nearby wall.

Bella almost tripped on the round rug set in the middle of the room. She regained her bearings then hunched over to grab a case file from the cabinet. She placed her bag in a lockable steel cupboard then sat at her desk, peering over the notes of her first client of the day. Bella had time before the client arrived in an hour. Bella’s workday would be over by early afternoon as she only had a few bookings. If she didn’t find more clients, it would be a struggle financially. She would have to dip into her savings.

Bella turned over the pages. The client had been abused by her violent husband. Luckily, he was in prison now. The woman was slowly learning to manage the flashbacks and nightmares of the abuse. No children involved, thankfully, but it would take her a while to trust another man again.

Bella understood abuse only too well. Her mind took her back to another time, another place, when her old school acquaintance, Bridget Mardot, had called her a few weeks ago wanting to make amends after bullying Bella for years. Her friends, Dawn and June, gave her a few good experiences at school that got her through the bullying. The conversation with Bridget was clear in her head. “Hey, Bella. It’s Bridget from high school.”

Bella’s hand gripped the phone, her breath stopping. “Why are you ringing me?”

“Listen, I know it’s been a long time, but in that time I’ve changed and want to make amends. I feel badly about what I did to you. Can we meet?”

It took Bella a minute to get her head around this. She figured she had nothing to lose. Maybe closure was best. “Okay, where do you want to meet?”

“At the usual cafe the school kids went to close to the port. Say one o’clock next Saturday?”

“Okay, see you then.”

Bella hung up with a heavy heart and took a calming breath to fight off the images that had haunted her for years.

She had shown up at the cafe near the port but Bridget had stood her up. She called her a few times after that, but the call went straight to voicemail. Typical. It was probably better this way.

Bella returned to the present. She smiled at the progress her client had made. Initially, the poor woman would cry inconsolably for half of their session. Now, after one month of weekly counselling, she was able to deal with the disturbing images without completely breaking down.

Light footsteps and a voice jolted her out of her reverie. She turned around and smiled at Mari, who only worked with her on a casual basis whenever she had clients booked in, as she couldn’t afford to put her on full-time at this stage.

“Hello, Mari.”

“Hi, Bella. How are you going with getting more clients?” Her smiling blue eyes drew people in, and her brown hair with copper highlights was damp. Mari mentioned how she was always rushing in the mornings, hence her wet hair. She was twenty-seven years old, the same age as Bella, highly intelligent, nurturing, and efficient in her role as receptionist. Hiring her had been the right decision.

Bella put down her case file and rose. “I have some marketing ideas, and I promise once I can afford to pay you full-time, I will. Bear with me.”

Mari nodded. “No worries. I’ve got my website work that gets me by. Happy to help.” She cleared her throat. “I’ll let you know when your first client comes in.” She waltzed out of the office humming to herself. If only Bella could be that chirpy in the mornings.

Bella walked over to the staff room and picked up a mug. She filled it with coffee, sugar, milk, and then water from the boiling urn before sitting down and sipping it slowly.Mari walked into the room. “I’m sorry to interrupt, Bella, but there’s someone here to see you. Her name’s Claudia.”

Bella’s head jerked up from her coffee. A sudden coldness hit at her core and her heartbeat raced. What more could this woman do to me? “Thanks, Mari. I’ll be out front in a minute.” She swallowed and put a hand over her chest, calming her thoughts. It’s all fine. It’s all fine. I can handle this.

She walked back to her office and locked away her case file, then straightened her stationery. Her finger flicked over the desk and she felt dust lingering. She grabbed a tissue from a box on the shelf and wiped the dust from her desk, careful to clean under the stationery items.

Bella straightened her blouse, took a deep breath, then walked to reception. The woman sat on an armchair, flicking through a magazine. When Claudia saw Bella, her serene expression shifted and her brows bumped together. Those cold, grey eyes, the rigid strawberry-blonde hair tied up in a bun, and the ash-black business suit made her appear exactly as she was. Aloof and clinical.

Bella forced a smile. “Hello, Claudia. How are you?”

Claudia’s eyes raked over her from top to bottom. “Fine. I can see you’ve made somewhat of a name for yourself.”

Bella ignored the flutter in her stomach and regained her breath. “It’s still new, but I am doing fine for now.”

Claudia peered at her watch then rose from the seat. Her eyes flickered over to Mari. “Is there any chance of some privacy? I have somewhat of a proposition for you.”

Bella was sick in the stomach. She couldn’t go back there again. She wouldn’t.

“What kind of proposition?”

She moved ahead of Bella, searching for her office. “If you don’t mind, I’d rather speak in private.”

Bella nodded then led her to her office, dawdling a little. Whatever Claudia had to offer, it couldn’t be good.