Here is the beginning of the story "More Than A Feeling" from my book, Falling Into Place: An Anthology of Short Stories.
Dr. Jill Musik froze the second she saw the gun in her patient’s hand.
Her first thought was that she was going to die, shot during a routine therapy session in her brand new office. She would bleed out right there in the Alma Bay chair she’d spent three days obsessing over in the Ashley Furniture showroom before finally buying it. The doctor felt her pulse pounding in her temples as she struggled to keep her wits about her, desperately trying to remember her training. Jill took a few deep breaths to steady herself, but it wasn’t working. What was she supposed to do? It was only her third day on the job, for God’s sake!
“Please, Agent Meadows, you know it’s against protocol to bring your weapon into our sessions,” the therapist said, still trying to maintain her composure.
“What does it matter anymore? Nothing matters now! Don’t you see that?” the patient screamed as he made his way to the door, locking it. “Just stay there, Doc. Don’t move! I don’t want to hurt you but someone has to hear what I have to say!” Jill remained perfectly still, her mind racing, searching for a way to calm him down without inciting violence.
Agent Meadows then moved the couch in front of the door before hurrying to the windows to shut the blinds. The disturbed man ran his hands around the window sills, under the desk top and looked in the potted plants Jill had bought to liven up the place. He kept gazing around the room, constantly jerking his head back and forth, looking for something that wasn’t there. The agent was frantic and sweating profusely, his eyes wide and ever vigilant against whatever perceived threat his mind had created. He ran his hands over his face and head repeatedly, as if trying to wipe bad memories out of his mind without success. For the briefest of moments, he looked bewildered as if he was unsure of where he was and what he was doing. He looked around cautiously before snapping back into his highly agitated state, rubbing his head once more.
Even if Jill hadn’t spent the better part of the last 7 years studying the effects of PTSD, she could’ve easily recognized the distress signs in the man before her. She’d seen enough angry outbursts, hypervigilance and difficulty concentrating during David’s struggles to understand Agent Meadows was a man on the edge. The doctor knew if she couldn’t find a way to help him right now, there was no telling what he could do, to her or to himself. Dr. Musik waited until he turned in her direction and very slowly raised her hands, palms out.
“Agent Meadows, Darrell, please sit down and let’s talk about what’s bothering you,” she said in an even, calm tone, her eyes full of compassion. “After all, that is why you’re here, isn’t it? To tell me what’s going on?”
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