“I think that nurse needs to be fired,” the therapist said.

“Spencer knows,” Ashley added uneasily. “She knows and I can tell she does. She was giving me this look of such … sadness…she was trying to get me to tell her … you to open up … and I lied to her. It hurt so badly… ” The rocker took a deep breath to calm herself.

“Why did you take the pills?”

Ashley toyed with the corner of a book lying on one of the doctor’s filing cabinets. “I don’t know,” she whispered after a heavy beat. “I don’t know it’s just … that’s always been my escape you know? When things … when life becomes too hard … the pills …” She trailed off.

“The pills what Ashley,” Dr. Johansen pressed.

“The pills are like a crutch to me,” Ashley confessed with a helpless shrug. “There like a security blanket or something. I thought I was over this shit! I thought I was recovered.”

“Relapse is a part of the-”

“Recovering process I know,” the rocker growled out. “Please don’t lecture me with that doctor bullshit! I had to hear it enough in rehab; I don’t want to hear it now.”

“Tough,” Dr. Johansen countered sternly. “Let me tell you something Ms. Rock Star and I do mean Rock Star cause right now it’s obvious I’m not talking to Ashley. You will always be a drug addict. You will always be tempted to pop a pill okay? That does not go away. There is a ninety percent chance that a first time, second time, even third time, rehab ‘recovered’ addict will relapse. It’s up to you to fight that temptation Ashley.”

The rocker let out a sob, “What if I’m not strong enough?” She asked weakly.

Dr. Johansen shook her head with a small smile. “Ashley, you have the strongest support system I think I have ever seen in my life. You have a loving fiancée and a large amount of supportive friends who will break their backs to make you happy. They are your strength.”

Ashley wiped at her eyes, “Why am I so stupid,” she groaned.

“You’re not stupid,” the therapist said with a smirk. “You just had a stupid moment.”

“Yeah,” the rocker laughed out. She looked at her watch, “I better head back to the hospital. It’s getting kind of late.” She said.

Dr. Johansen stood and picked up the bottle. She walked over to a small end table near her front door and set the pill bottle on it. The rocker raised a questioning eyebrow. The therapist smiled lightly. “I’m going to leave this pill bottle here,” she informed. “I am going to turn my back from it as you leave…do you understand where I’m going with this?”

Ashley nodded. She eyed the pill bottle nervously. The therapist grinned and then turned away from the door. After a heavy minute she heard the door close shut. She turned to look at the end table.

The pill bottle was … still there as she left it. Dr. Johansen smiled.

5 comments or more = next update