Distance Session

“Hello, can you see me?”

The video chat window remained black for a few moments after the notification that the call was connected came onto the computer screen.

“Good afternoon, Ashlie,” came the reply, over the laptop’s speakers, just a second before the therapist’s face appeared on the screen. “I can see you.”

Ashlie smiled and gave a small wave.

“Thank you for meeting with me on a conference call,” she said. “I knew that I wouldn’t be able to make it across town to your office after work in time.”

“My pleasure.” Dr. Hayz smiled. Her brows creased for a moment, and she tilted her head slightly. “Did you repaint your apartment?”

“No.” Ashlie shook her head, glancing at the honey beige colored walls of the room she sat in.

“Are you not at home?”

“I’m not. I’m at Miguel’s house.” Ashlie touched Miguel’s knee, who sat beside her on the brown suede sofa in the well-lit lounge of his house.

“Hello, Dr. Hayz,” Miguel said with a smile, leaning into the laptop camera’s view.

On the screen, Dr. Hayze lips pursed slightly, but her expression remained the same.

“You remember Miguel, don’t you?”

“Hello, Miguel,” the therapist said with a nod. “And yes, Ashlie I do remember Miguel. We’ve met before, and you have spoken of him many times.”

She watched amusedly as Miguel turned his head to look at Ashley with a questioning look.

“All good things, Miguel,” the therapist said with a hint of a smile.

“Aww…” Miguel broke into a smile and quickly gave Ashlie’s cheek a peck, to which she gave him a sidelong look.

“Ashlie,” she said, trying not to sound stern.

“Yes?”

“I realize that these are slightly different circumstances, but you are aware that this is still an official session…” Dr. Hayz let the words linger for a moment. It was a statement but held a slightly questioning tone.

Ashlie felt her face flush, and she nodded, wondering what the therapist was hinting at.

“Yes,” she said.

“…and being a session, falls under doctor/patient confidentiality.” The doctor inclined her head, slightly raising her brows.

Her face still warm Ashlie nodded again, it dawning on her what the therapist was hinting at.

“I asked Miguel to be on the call with me,” she stammered.

“I can go.”

Miguel glanced quickly from the computer screen to his friend and began to slowly pull away, but Ashlie grabbed his hand.

“Dr. Hayz, I asked him to be here. You said last time that my dream had something to do with my family. And Miguel is the closest thing I have left to family. He’s been my best friend me since we were children, and I assure you he knows as much about… her… as you do. I tell him everything.” Swallowing hard, Ashlie took a deep breath, trembling slightly. She felt as though perhaps she was being defiant or rude, though it was not what she meant to come across as. “And considering what we are going to discuss today…”

“This is highly irregular, Ashlie.”

“I know, Dr. Hayz, but if I understood what you told me at our last session, I think I need him here.” Ashlie’s hand tightened around her friend’s. Her face wore a worried expression and her eyes glistened as she looked past the laptop screen to the mahogany coffee table in front of her. “Like I said, Miguel knows all about Christina. He was there the first time I - she… and he’s dealt with her several times, even recently.”

“Recently?”

Ashlie nodded, looking toward Miguel. She pushed her right hand under her thigh, between it and the suede she sat on to keep it from shaking. Grimacing slightly, she realized that she hadn’t meant to say everything she’d just said.

“Well, a few weeks ago. We were having coffee.”

“When was this?”

“Before I asked you to try and talk to Christina for me.” Ashlie felt like a child admitting a wrongdoing.

Onscreen, the therapist’s eyes narrowed as she processed the answer.

“I thought you told me that you didn’t know when it was exactly that she had presented, or that she had, until later on that night.”

“When did that happen?” Miguel wore a look of surprise and hurt as he quickly looked at his friend, his mouth slightly ajar.

Suddenly feeling boxed in with guilt, Ashlie blinked back tears as she looked from Miguel to the laptop, unsure who to address first. She hadn’t been trying to hide anything from either of them, and felt embarrassed that she’d gotten so caught up in things that she hadn’t spoken to either of them.

Feeling helpless, she turned to Miguel, shaking her head. Between he and the doctor, it was his understanding Ashlie was most concerned with. He was her rock.

Pursing his lips, Miguel squeezed her hand and tilted his head sympathetically. With a thin smile, he gave her a small nod, hoping to reassure her as well as convey to her that he would save his questions until later.

Giving a slight nod in return, Ashlie held his gaze for a moment before looking again to laptop. The therapist watched the exchange from on its screen.

“It was just before the night I spoke with you about,” Ashlie said softly. “It was part of the reason I asked for help talking to her.”

Dr. Hayz was silent for a moment, considering the new information, wondering just what had happened while they had been out to coffee.

“How would you like to proceed, Ashlie?” she asked her patient.

She wasn’t one hundred percent comfortable having a session with Miguel present but reminded herself that it was common for younger patients to have a family member present during therapy.

And while she knew that Ashlie was older than the average patient who usually had a relative accompany them, she also knew that Ashlie’s case sometimes warranted extra consideration. Miguel and Ashlie had no actual family ties, and she knew that the two of them shared a bond that was as close as any she’d witnessed between blood siblings.

She also saw it as a possible opportunity, as having Ashlie’s best friend and confidant may make her a little bit more comfortable in speaking during the session. He might also divulge something useful, being that he had been with her when Ashlie’s alter had presented.

“Please don’t make him go away,” Ashley replied almost pleadingly, not letting go of Miguel’s hand. “We can talk about anything we usually discuss… I do want him here for this.”

“Miguel can stay.” On the screen the doctor nodded slowly. “Over the years, for most intents and purposes, I’ve come to recognize your family relationship, considering your pasts. I may not allow this to become a regular occurrence, but in this instance, I think it could be good for you.”

“Oh, thank you, Dr. Hayz!” Ashlie exhaled with a smile of relief. “I do tell him everything…”

Again, the therapist pursed her lips as Ashlie spoke.

“I may also have a few questions as to what happened during the incident you mentioned a moment ago,” she added.

“Thank you…” Miguel said, leaning slightly toward the laptop again with a smile. During the exchange between the doctor and her patient, Miguel had been sitting quietly with a slightly uncomfortable look on his face. He now addressed Dr. Hayz with a nod, partly in gratitude for being allowed to remain by his friend’s side, but also to prevent Ashlie from saying something that might make the therapist change her mind.

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