“Or at least move on from this metaphoric dick-measuring contest to something a little more definitive.” That was Tessa.
“Definitive how?” asked London, who had deigned to be cuddled by Santiago in one of the overstuffed chairs.
“Pants to the floor, whip out their cocks, and settle this bullshit once and for all.” Tessa’s smile was sharp. “Assuming anyone has a tape measure small enough?”
“Seriously, Poltergeist?” Caleb turned away from me to shoot the brunette a glare.
“Don’t worry; I’m sure some woman out there still mistakenly believes that size doesn’t matter.”
“I don’t know, Tessa… unless Skeletor sleeps with a billy club in his pants, you might need an actual ruler,” mused Silt, who had manifested in the door to the girls’ hall like some sort of avenging angel of humiliation. “Because something was sure squashed up against my ass the other night.”
“Maybe it was his thumb?” mused London sweetly. Next to her, Santiago coughed and went beet red for some reason.
“Nah. Trust me… I know exactly where his hands were.”
Fucking hell. Caleb and I traded glances, and then made for opposite doors as quickly and as quietly as possible. The Jitterbug may have won our first showdown, but I’m pretty sure we both lost the second.
•—•—•
The other event of note occurred the following weekend, a day before classes were to resume. Most of the first-years had slept in, tired and hungover from a night at The Liquid Hero. For only the second time ever, Jeremiah had invited me to join them, but I’d chosen not to attend. I wanted a clear head for Sunday’s showdown.
I also wanted a reliable witness. Thankfully, Vibe was waiting in the common room as promised. The little Empath had come back to the dorms on Monday, and had stopped by my room every day since for some Crow-granted emotional deafness. During one of those visits, I’d broached the issue of my possibly non-existent counselor, and she’d agreed to come with me to my next session with Alexa.
She held my hand the entire way across the campus. As empty as the grounds were, I wasn’t sure it was strictly necessary for her to maintain contact, but I wasn’t going to complain. Since Shane’s death, I’d been disconnected and weirdly distant. It felt like her cold hand was the only thing keeping me from floating away entirely.
I was also terrified and trying not to show it. If Alexa wasn’t there… if Alexa didn’t really exist… it would mean I’d already truly lost it, that none of this training had done a damn thing to fix me, and that I’d be out on my ass within minutes of Bard finding out. I’d have little choice but to check myself into an asylum and pray that they were equipped to keep me from hurting anyone.
The waiting room outside the office was the same as I remembered it from my sessions and the trip with Silt. I turned the knob on the office door, nudged it open with one toe, and risked a peek inside.
Alexa’s black eyes moved from me to Vibe.
“Do you see her too?”
Vibe nodded, frowning. “That’s not Dr. Gibbings.”
“Very true,” agreed Alexa pleasantly, long fingers steepled on the desk in front of her.
“Who are you then?” asked the Empath.
“I think that should be between my patient and me, Ms. Watai,” the other woman answered smoothly, “although I am pleased to see you taking an interest in your classmates. Perhaps those Control lessons are paying off after all. Now, would you excuse us? Damian has already missed one session, and for the sake of his continued enrollment here, I’d prefer he not miss a second one.”
I nodded when Kayleigh looked at me for confirmation. “It’s fine. I really appreciate your coming all the way over, but now that I know she’s real, Alexa is right. We have a whole fucking lot to talk about.”
She gave a half-nod, let go of my hand, and then leaned in. “Be careful. She’s not exactly like you, but I can’t read her at all.”
That was more than a little interesting. I waited for the door to close behind the departing Empath, and then I folded my arms across the chest, leaned against the nearby wall, and shot Alexa a look. “Who are you?”
She nodded to the couch. “Why don’t you have a seat, and I’ll tell you.”
“I’m doing fine over here.” I waved at Stephanie Gibbings’ diplomas. “Are you even a real shrink?”
“According to Stanford University, yes.” Her smile was razor sharp.
“But you’re not Dr. Gibbings…. right?” I’d never heard of a Shifter that had different human forms, let alone one that was also a psychiatrist, but there was a first time for everything.
“As I told Ms. Watai, I am not.”
“Funny how you didn’t make that clear in a single one of our sessions over the past five fucking months.”
“Did I ever claim to be Dr. Gibbings?”
“That’s not the point.”
“Isn’t it? I gave you my name.”
“Your first name.”
“The only name I am at liberty to share with you, Damian. And, I might add, a name that quite clearly does not figure in any of the very many diplomas you keep waving at.”
“So all I have is your word that you’re even a professional. Why the hell should I trust you?”
“I would point to the sessions we’ve already had, and the good I believe those sessions have accomplished, but the truth is even simpler; I am the only person qualified to give you what you want.”
I frowned again. “What I want?”
“In our very first session, you told me you wanted someone that could determine if you were going insane… and who could stop you if you did.” Black eyes flickered with some emotion I couldn’t decipher. “Having met Stephanie Gibbings, do you believe she would be
