“Hi Kev. Can I talk to Kira for a sec?”

“Sure. Come on in.”

She walked inside and found Kira sitting on the couch, “He Kira, can I talk to you privately for a second?”

“Yeah.”

She got up off the couch and walked with Tristan to the kitchen. Kevin sat down where Kira had just been and waited for them to return. When they came back, Kira looked a little shocked and Tristan seemed to have this glow around her. He decided to ask what they talked about later.

Tristan left shortly after that and Kevin and Kira headed to Dr. Feldman’s office. Kevin sat in a chair by the door and waited for Kira to come out.

Inside, Kira was nervous. She didn’t know this man and she was sure if she could trust him or not. She shifted uncomfortably in the chair and eyed the man in the leather chair across from her.

“Listen Kira, we’ll never get anywhere if you don’t talk to me. That’s what you’re here for.”

“I know, but I’m nervous.”

“I understand that, most people are nervous about visiting a psychiatrist for the first time. But let’s just start out with the basics and we’ll try this out.”

“All right.”

“First, what’s your full name?”

“Kira Jane Samuels.”

“That’s nice, how did you get your name?”

“Kira was my aunt’s name, she died when I was little. Jane is my mom’s name.”

“How old are you Kira?”

“26.”

“When’s your birthday?”

“September 16th.”

“Okay, my name is Denis Feldman and I’m 43. I have two kids and I’ve been married for 24 years. My wife’s name is Karen and we have a daughter named Catheryn and a son named Lukas.”

“That’s nice.”

“Now that we know each other a little better, do you think that you can tell me why you’re here?”

“Because I’m going crazy.”

“I don’ t think you’re going crazy. Tell me what’s wrong. Start from where it all began.”

“Well, when I was 20, I started this group with my best friends Blake and Janine. It was called Sliversin. We were pretty successful and 2 years ago, we broke up. There were differences that we just couldn’t fix.”

“Like…?”

“Like the fact that we couldn’t stand one another. We couldn’t be in the same room with each other without fighting. I met Kevin a few months ago and we fell in love. We now live together and we’re pretty happy. He hid the fact that he was in a pop group from me because he didn’t want me to date him just because he was famous. When I found out that he lied to me about it, I left him. I spent two very miserable weeks without him. Our friends got us back together and now everything’s great.”

“So what’s the problem?”

“Well, I ran into Shelley, a girl that was in Sliversin with me, and she was with my ex-boyfriend Paul. Kevin and I ran into her before I knew about Kevin’s job. Anyway, she told me that she and Paul were having sex the night of our one-year anniversary. I tried to hit her, but Kevin kept me from doing it. A while later, Kevin was at practice and I was shopping at the mall. I ran into Shelley again and she told me that she was going after Kevin because she and Paul had broken up. I knocked her down and told her to stay away from Kevin and me or else. When I walked away, she attacked me and accidentally knocked me down the escalator. I went to the hospital with a broken rib and a punctured lung. I found out that I was pregnant, but I lost the baby. I was devastated. I want a baby, and I’m pretty sure that Kevin does too. We haven’t talked about having children since I lost the baby, but I see the longing in his eyes when we see kids playing around our neighborhood.”

“Do you think that this is causing your depression?”

“It’s a factor in it. Shelley is stalking me. She’s trying to kill me. She’s always wanted what I have, and I think that she’s figured out that she can’t have my life unless she kills me.”

“What makes you think that?”

“I’ve seen her around my job, my home, and around town. I honestly think that she’s trying to kill me.”

“I’m not so sure about that Kira.”

“So now you’re saying that I’m crazy too?”

“I’m not saying that Kira. I’m just saying that maybe Shelley isn’t trying to kill you.”

“And maybe she is, neither of us know that for sure. Kevin promised that he’ll keep me safe, but he can’t be with me all the time. I feel so terrified all the time. I don’t know what’s happening. I’m extremely paranoid of everything around me. I won’t even answer the door or the phone anymore.”

“I can understand that. I’d like to try hypnosis, if that’s all right with you.”

“Why do you want to hypnotize me?”

“It has helped some of my patients before in their fears. If you’d like, we can bring Kevin in here and he can sit with you while I hypnotize you.”

“Please.”

Dr. Feldman got up and walked to the door. He opened it and asked Kevin to come inside. Kevin sat down beside Kira and looked at her.

“Kevin, I’m going to hypnotize Kira and she wants you to be here.”

“Okay.”

Kevin sat back on the couch and Dr. Feldman proceeded to hypnotize Kira.

“Kira, I want you to listen only to my voice and see only the light.”

He spoke in soothing tones and kept talking to her until her head was lying limp on the back of the chair. He did some tests to make sure that she was really hypnotized and not just faking it. When he was absolutely sure that she was hypnotized, he began to try and abolish her fear. When he woke her up, she didn’t remember being hypnotized or anything that he said. They went back to the house and Kira wasn’t afraid of the phone or the door anymore.

Kevin asked Kira what Tristan had said when she came over before the doctor’s appointment that day.

“Well, she and Nick are getting married.”

“No way!”

“Yeah. He asked her last night. She wants me to be the maid of honor. She also asked me if you’d be the best man.”

“I’d love to! I can’t believe my little bro is getting married. That’s weird.”

“I know that. But hey, they’re in love and they deserve each other. They’ve been inseparable since they got together. It’s only fitting that they get married.”

“I know…” Kevin trailed off, thinking of the day that he would get married, hopefully, to Kira.

They sat there in silence, thinking about things. Kira looked into Kevin’s eyes and almost melted on the spot. She fell into his arms and they walked upstairs to their bedroom. Instead of making love, they just held each other all night.

Chapter 11
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