Attempting To Come To Terms

“Nine wouldn’t leave my room and kept touching me.” Tzeitel said miserably.

“Sadly, that’s the only way Nine knows how to show affection.” Delilah tapped her chin. “We’ll try to keep him out of your room, but it’s hard to keep up with him when he’s always wandering around. He’s a curious young man.”

“He has a very…animalistic nature.” Nurse admitted.

“I can’t stand being touched.” Tzeitel said in a small voice.

“I understand that, but we can’t have you running up and down the halls using your powers on others. You know the rules here.” Delilah explained calmly.

“I know. I’m sorry.” Tzeitel said. She hated herself. She did not know if she could keep living here if she was going to lose control like this. But where else could she go?

“What can we do to make this less likely to happen?” Delilah inquired. “Klaire can’t always be around to help keep you calm, sadly. Dr. Chi has tried helping you in therapy for the past month, but from what he’s explained there has been no progress. So, what can we do?”

Tzeitel looked down. “Nurse thinks if I get used to touching people I’ll be less likely to freak out…” Tzeitel did not want to touch anyone. She shivered.

“That would help a lot,” Delilah nodded. “It might even make things easier on Klaire.”

Tzeitel nodded jerkily. Tears ran down her face. She was terrified. She still felt like her finger was burning from touching Nurse’s hand.

“I know it will take time, but think of the benefits this will give you in the future.” Delilah said and leaned back on her hands.

Nurse slowly got to her feet. “I should get to my room. Dr. Chi and I always enjoy reading a bit to each other before getting to sleep.” She said before going to the door.

“It hurts to touch.” Tzeitel said shakily.

“That’s why it’s something you need to work on.” Delilah got up and went to the bed. Pulling the blanket off, she brought it over and draped it around Tzeitel without actually touching her.

Tzeitel huddled under the blanket. “Is the guy I attacked really okay?” She felt especially sick about that part of this episode.

“Skorn will be fine,” Delilah answered with an eye roll. “He’s a tough man that a little nausea won’t kill. Plus, some bruising will just toughen him up. He actually defended you when he explained things in detail to me. The reason he didn’t let you go was because he didn’t want you hurting anyone.”

“I thought he was er-er- a guard from MegaCorp.” Tzeitel said. She had been so out of her head, she knew she was a danger to others.

“He recognized the signs that you thought he was someone else.” Delilah sat on the bed, swinging her legs. “I can tell him you’re sorry for it, but knowing him, he’d rather you just focus on getting better. Skorn has helped a lot of meta women out of terrible situations like yours. He knows it’s not easy…”

Tzeitel hunched her shoulders and nearly disappeared under the blanket. She didn’t want everyone knowing what she had gone through. Life seemed too hard to make it worthwhile.

“You know, just because people know what happened doesn’t mean they’re going to judge you, Tzeitel.” Delilah continued. “Skorn didn’t judge you. He just wanted to help you and he hasn’t even seen the videos. He just noticed the signs in your actions.”

Tzeitel curled into a tiny ball under the blanket. She was more afraid of those that enjoyed the videos and pictures than those that judged her.