For Nevermore Season 1

like this have a way of snowballing out of control, faster than you realize. You think you have a handle on things, but then you realize that you don’t. But by then, it might be too late.”
    “No,” she said, shaking her head and breaking eye contact. Noella usually avoided eye contact with Dr. Foster, just like she did with most people, and she was afraid that holding his eyes would give light to her lie.
    “You know I’m here to help you, right?”
    “Yes, sir,” Noella said, her eyes now fixed on her folded hands.
    “And I can’t help you if you aren’t completely honest with me.”
    Noella nodded. “I know.”
    “So, that’s all you have to say?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    Dr. Foster sighed, cleared his throat, then gathered all the inkblots together, pushing them to the edge of his desk in a neat stack, but leaving the glossy photo of the charred corpse where it lay.
    “I believe that you don’t remember what happened to you at the coffee shop,” he said. “The brain has a way of protecting us from things we don’t wish to remember. My concern, Noella, is that without a coping mechanism, without some way to effectively deal with what you saw, you could be setting yourself up for something much worse.”
    “Like what?”
    “Well, obviously our first concern is another psychotic break, which is why I need to make sure you’re not showing any other symptoms and that your current medication is working to its full effect. Until I’m certain, I’m going to order an increase in your visits to twice a week.”
    “Two times a week?!” Noella cried, “Why?”
    Dr. Foster leaned forward, “Even without the mysterious circumstances, I’m concerned that you didn’t even bring up a situation as scary as a robbery and how you’re coping with facing death. That’s the kind of thing we should be talking about, Noella. That you kept it from me concerns me and makes me wonder why.”
    He didn’t say anything, waiting for her to say something. Noella kept quiet, though, afraid she’d say too much.
    Dr. Foster continued, “I really don’t want to have you committed. But I believe there is something happening which we must absolutely monitor. If we work together and you’re open with me, I believe I can help you and we can return to monthly visits. But you must trust me and let me do my job. Can you do that, Noella?”
    “Yes, sir,” Noella lied.

    * * * *

CHAPTER TWO

    10:45 a.m.

    Josie waited for Noella in the enclosed porch at the front of the Victorian, flipping through a copy of Cosmo from two months ago. Josie thanked Dr. Foster for his time, then followed Noella to the car.
    They stopped for lunch at McDonald’s, where they ate in silence. Unlike Randy, Josie never pushed Noella to talk when she didn’t want to, and she had an excellent ear for knowing when that was. Noella ate lunch, lost in her thoughts, thankful that Josie gave her space.
    As real as last night felt when she saw Dante, the notion that she’d somehow crossed over to somewhere and saw Dante seemed ridiculous in the middle of the day. It had either been the most realistic hallucination yet or something magical happened. And while she had a pretty vivid imagination, she had to go with the more logical explanation: She was losing her mind. And as they got closer to home, she regretted her decision to lie to Dr. Foster all the more. Sure, she could say something during their next session, but what if she had another episode before then? God only knew what might happen if she had another episode at school. Or worse, another episode at Tori’s.
    She thought again of the possibility of hurting the child, and cringed.
    The silence lasted after lunch and on the drive home until they turned onto Oak Lane, and Josie said, “What do you want for dinner? I have to run to FoodMart to get coffee since we’re totally out. I can pick up whatever you’d like. It’s just the two of us tonight. Randy has to pull another all-nighter, so I’ll make whatever you want.”
    “I don’t know,” Noella said. Then, after a few seconds she added, “I’m not really hungry.”
    They pulled into the driveway and Noella saw Jen and Tori across the street, climbing into their Honda Element. Tori was putting her seatbelt on, but Jen was still outside the car and caught Noella’s glance. She smiled wide and waved her over.
    Josie killed the engine, and Noella said, “I’ll be right back, ‘K?” Before Josie could answer, Noella was out of the