The venom in the man's eyes seemed to intensify when the infamous Dr Thelma didn't recognize him at first glance. He dammed woman was testing his patience!

"If you must know, I am Engr. Charles Roberts, the father of the boy hiding behind your back like a pussy." The man said.

He shifted his gaze from the therapist to his son who wrapped his fingers around the tips of Dr Thelma's coat. As the boy was almost a head shorter than she, her body managed to shade him from his father's wrath.

When Engr. Charles turned his angry gaze back to her, he was amazed that her expression remained impassive and emotionless. She scanned his figure from head to toe before she spoke in a pn almost demeaning tone.

"I can see some of the resemblance now. Well, Engr. Charles Roberts, to what do I owe your presence? As you can imagine, you have greatly disturbed the sanctity of my office which I'm certain was your end goal." Dr Thelma said.

"You call this cupboard an office?" Engr. Charles snarled.

"Cupboard or broom closet, this is my personal space paid with my money. A pity it isn't fancy enough for you but I find that it suits me perfectly." Dr Thelma said briskly.

"You think you're so smart? You're just proof that the only place for women is in bed or in the kitchen." Engr. Charles said.

"Is that so? Perhaps you can bring it up with the Senate or Lawmakers so we can work towards creating an utopia just for you with women holding your hand and feet at every turn. Till then, I hope you can keep your misogynistic comments to yourself as we do not indulge in vulgar verbal attacks within my cupboard." Dr Thelma said.

Angry that she had somehow managed to still have the upper hand, he shifted his venomous gaze to his som who was obviously an easier target. Dr Thelma recognized bullies when he saw them.

"Once agin, I'd like to ask. To what do we owe the pleasure of your dazzling presence?" She raised eyebrow.

Engr. Charles noticed the paper in Christian's hand and ripped it out of his son's hands. He crumbled it and threw it to the ground.

"I came to see if it was true." Engr Charles said menacingly.

"Would you be kind enough to expantiate or do you believe mind reading is one of the attributes women should possess?" Dr Thelma asked.

"I demand to know who sent my child to a bloody shrink without my goddamn permission! A bloody female shrink!" He snapped.

"I'm going to ask you to lower your voice or leave." Dr Thelma raised an eyebrow.

"I'll talk however I like, missy! I'm sure it's my stupid wife who brought him here! She doesn't do anything but meddle and baby the silly boy! All she ever thinks about is how to waste my hard earned money!" Engr Charles snapped.

"Is that so?" Dr Thelma looked amused. The boy hid behind her like he wanted to escape his father's wrath. Dr Thelma felt his hands hold onto the sleeve of her black suit

"Damn right it is! The boy needs to man up! So what if he watched his sister get killed! It's because of this same stupid attitude that he couldn't even protect her in the first place. He's nothing but a weak pussy!" Engr Charles dragging his son from her back.

"While that might be acceptable language where you come from, it's not acceptable in here." Dr Thelma said coldly. She couldn't exactly tell the man how to treat his son. It wasn't in her place.

"You're a fraud! I have connections that can fuck you over and ruin your goddamn practice! I've forbidden my child from engaging in this silly activity called drawing and you're encouraging it! You stupid..." He snapped.

"Hilda? Please call security to get this man off my premises. I will not allow anyone disrespect me in my place of work. If you believe my methods aren't suitable for your child, then you're welcome to try another male psychologist." Dr Thelma said coldly.

"He doesn't need a psychologist! He needs to man up! He is 16 for crying out loud. He's old enough to father a child yet he is hiding behind a woman." Engr Charles snapped.

"I can't tell you how to raise your child. I will no longer serve as Christian's psychologist since you're against it. However, please note that I will not take him back as my patient except I get a handwritten and delivered apology from you accepting that you're a misogynistic fool. Please show this man out." Dr Thelma said to the security men who appeared.

Engr Charles spat at her feet, shoved off the security men and dragged his son out. Christian looked back at her with an expression of concern. He mouthed an apology to her but she wasn't paying attention.

"If I ever see you 2 feet near my premises again, I will have you arrested for trespassing." Dr Thelma warned before Engr. Charles left.

It wasn't the first time a parent had discredited her work because she was a woman. They somehow believed she was incompetent.

Dr Thelma would have slapped him and would have faced the charges but seeing Christian wince actually made her calm down for the first time in her life.

Engr. Charles was a fool if he believed there was nothing wrong with his son. She hated leaving the boy with his father. Unfortunately, everything she'd learnt about the man was sealed by the oath of confidentiality. She couldn't tell anyone else.

Dr Thelma groaned angrily. It wasn't like losing one patient would affect her private practice. She had a waitlist of patients dying to get her to see them.

She didn't need the stupid man's money and she wouldn't collect a dime from him anymore.

Dr Thelma felt a crushing feeling in her chest when she eventually began to calm down.

Was it....pity?

Her reception watched her pick up the crumpled paper, straighten it, then walk back into her office. It looked like her boss wouldn't be going on her lunch break after all.

***************************************************************

As Dr Thelma sat on her revolving chair after she'd finished all her sessions for the day, she tried to push the nagging feeling that was causing her head to throb. She pressed her hands to her temple, hoping she could eradicate the whispering voices in her head.

Blindly, she pulled the handle on her office drawer as she tried to place her finger on why she was so hot and bothered. She didn't stop searching her desk until she found two sketches she still couldn't bring herself to toss out.

"Christian Roberts. Wherever you are, you're doing a good job at haunting my head." Dr Thelma said as she stared at the pictures.

The last time she'd seen Christian was when his father had barged into her office three months ago to shower her with insults. Since that day, she thought of the boy constantly.

Dr Thelma had long accepted that she was oddly fascinated by the strange boy. Though she would never admit it to another, the boy deeply disturbed her.

Half the time, she felt like she was stumbling in the dark with the boy. He was one of the most difficult clients she'd ever met. His dead grey eyes haunted her in her dreams. Looking into the felt like staring into a bottomless pit.

At first glance, the drawings he'd given her were magnificently done. If she hadn't been present while he was drawing, she would have found it difficult to believe Christian had made them.

That was only at first glance though. When she looked at them properly, she realized the drawings were vulgar, graphic and extremely violent. Even the sketch of the dog had portrayed the animal in a terrible fashion. She started wishing she had kept her cool and found a way to calm his irate father down.

Angrily, she stuffed the drawings back into her desk. She wouldn't let herself dwell on the strange boy anymore. She needed to get a grip. Surely, she was overreacting and imagining things.

Waving goodbye to her receptionist, she walked out of her office with her sleek black bob swaying gently in the wind. She'd barely taken three steps when she saw a tall man standing exactly three feet away from her office.

The moment he saw her, he started walking towards her but stopped when he saw her reaching for her bag defensively.

"I have pepper spray and I'm adept in self-defense. I will not hesitate to send you into the emergency room if you take another step, Engr. Charles." Dr Thelma held her pepper spray menacingly.

"I'm not here to do trouble you. I promise." Engr Charles took a step back.

"Why are you here?" She asked but he didn't reply.

He kept his eyes glued to the ground. It was still bright outside and people were still walking around by Dr Thelma didn't take a step closer. She wouldn't risk coming close to the man who had all but harassed her the last time she'd seen him.

"Shouldn't you be on your way from court? According to my morning paper, the trial started officially today." Dr Thelma said coldly.

Engr. Charles cleared his throat. He finally looked up and met her eyes. As Dr Thelma was a woman who made her fortune reading people's emotions, she immediately saw that he wasn't faking the misery and anguish she could see in his eyes.

Her blood went cold and it took all her power to keep her expression impassive. She saw his lips move but her ears refused to hear the words he said.

"Christian attempted suicide."

#MenteMelan💀🖤