Her Nightmare

Henry Kageyama placed his hand on his knee cap as he stretched out his prosthetic leg before placing his foot back on the floor. He repeated the process before shifting his chair and pressed the intercom.

"Next." Henry said then adjusted on his seat waiting for his next client to come in as he checked the email his secretary forwarded to him of the details of his next Patient.

"Hi, Dr Kageyama." A soft voice called.

"Miss Adriana Ross." Henry frowned saying out loud the name of his next client he read on his computer. He raised his head to see no one other than his ex girlfriend, now he could believe that it was really a small world. "Come in take a seat." He stood up and walked up to the chair beside the window and took his seat waiting for her to sit on the sofa.

Henry was a bit surprised to see her and looking at the way she looked, different from how he remembered her was the most shocking part.

Adriana was dressed in plain blue turtle neck gown, a big handbag hung at her shoulder, she looked pale, her eyes hollow and dull with dark circles under her eyes that her makeup barely covered, her hair pulled into a pony tail and she looked so lean that Henry had to take another look at her to be sure it was really his ex girlfriend that showed up.

"Thank you." Adriana walked slowly up the sofa and took her seat. "My coworker told me that you help people leave their old lives behind and you helped her moved on from her past just by following your suggestion she was able to move on after her divorce and that's why I came thinking you can help me, you will help me right?" She said briskly her eyes beseeching, her hands shaking terribly that she had to fold her hands.

Henry wanted to open his mouth to remind her of him because it had been ten years but then he remembered he had almost five plastic surgery on his face and he totally looked different from how he looked ten years ago and he also changed his last name because he took his wife's last name when he got married.

"Yes, Miss Ross as long as you tell me the full details without withholding anything back from me." Henry assured her. "Anything you say here stays in this room and trust me." He was also curious about what she wanted to say. He was curious about her life, how it got to the point that one of the hottest chick when they were in highschool turned into someone he barely recognised.

"Yes.. Ehmmm... Its started ten years ago, I ehmmm ehmm hmmm I killed him, I left my boyfriend Henry to die..." She said only for her to burst into tears bringing out a handkerchief from her bag to dab her face.

"Miss Ross." Henry called softly when she stopped crying. "You have to tell me how it happened."

Adriana sniffed and reach for the tissue paper on the table to blow her nose. "I am sorry." She threw it in the dustbin next to the sofa. "I am sorry, I assure you I am not like this but I think it's finally time for me to tell someone."

"Take your time Miss Ross, we will go at your pace." Henry told her.

"Yes, it started ten years ago and my childhood friend......"

No it all started twenty years ago. When the Ross family moved into town and then came to knock on the Hart's door to introduce themselves. Henry was only six and the one who opened the door for them and then he came face to face with a six years old Adrianna who held a covered plate of apple pie.

Adriana's parent introduced themselves as the neighbor who moved in next door and Henry was very happy to know he found a new playmate then he ran in to call his parent who invited the Ross family to dinner.

After that Henry and Adriana became good friends, went to school together and then when they stared hitting puberty. Henry found himself staring at her and his heart racing every time he sees her while his hands gets sweaty then his face heating up but he was unable to name that feeling and after seeing a movie tittled 'Titanic' then he knew had fallen in love and then started avoiding her but after Adriana confronted him, they became good friends.

They both got into the only Highschool in town and then Adriana changed, wearing trending cloths, posting on Instragram, creating a blog and they drifted apart slowly and ended up hanging out few times till they stopped being friends but Henry too tried to change in order to match Adriana's style so she won't leave him behind but each time he bought and dressed in trendy cloths he would chicken out and wore his plain hoodies and jean trousers to school.

When Adriana started dating David Stone, the most popular boy in the school, Henry felt like dying at that moment, he only cried and cried in his room with no one to wipe his tears and when his parent ask him why he looked gloomy all he did was forced a smile and tell them nothing and when they asked why Adriana wasn't coming as usual he would lie that she had things to do.

In school he walked with his only friend James and they later became good friends while he gaze at Adriana from afar. James pushed him to at least tell her how he feels but as a coward, Henry used to end up running away.

Then one day Adriana came to knock on his window and when he opened it, he saw her dressed in a short shiny dark strapless gown, holding up her heels and her bag, her eyes puffy and nose red and it seemed like she had been crying. Henry quickly let her in through the window and she cried on his shoulder saying that David cheated on her. One thing led to the another Henry found himself confessing about his feelings for her and they ended up having sex, it was his first time and he was over the moon then they started dating.

Even though they were dating, Adriana gave him rules and Henry followed those rules which include they shouldn't talk at school but Henry buy her alot of gift and pay for all the shopping she does at the mall.

Then one day Henry saw David trying to kiss Adriana and he had to step in to defend her but Adriana walked away after telling him to mind his business.

Henry was so sad that he sent bunch of texts to her but she never replied. He was checking Instagram and saw Jackson, David's best friend stories on Instagram, he saw that Adriana and David were yelling at each other at the background. Henry didn't think and only grabbed his coat and rode his bike to the station and took a cab to Jackson's house in the city.

It was so loud as bunch of drunk teenagers were dancing, playing games, making out and Henry pushed his way through asking some of his mates at school where Adriana was. He later found her at her car trying to get in while David was pulling her. Henry had to butt in and pushed David away while Adriana used that opportunity to enter her car. To patch up things, Henry quickly opened the back door and got in giving David the opportunity to get in the passenger seat. They argued while Adriana was driving when a large truck was coming towards them. Henry didn't know what happened after that except waking up at the hospital, A Japanese girl that seemed to be his age mate at his side, his left leg cut off and him losing his memory which he was able to regain after some years then he went back home with Hinata, his Japanese wife that found him on the side of the road and took him to the hospital, paid the bills then allowed him to stay at her house because it was basically mansion with many rooms. Henry never expected someone that was born into wealth could be so nice that he couldn't help but fall in love with her.

Henry took her to meet his parent and they wept when they saw him, they were happy he was alright even though he lost his left leg and did face surgery. They told him how they tried to find him, handing out his missing posters, running to the police station and back, Henry asked about Ariana and found out the Ross family moved out after Adriana graduated from Highschool.

"..... then the accident, David was hitting Henry and then the truck, a large truck was coming even though the truck only hit Henry's side then Henry's head hit the window, his nose was broken and a large gash on his face but we were saved because of the seat belt and airbag and I told my ex boyfriend David to let us help him but David convinced me that we should run, the truck driver drove off and David told me he would clean it all up before we were locked up for murder and spend the rest of our lives in prison so we ran... we ran.. I have been drinking to forget, I smoke a lot and can't even keep a job because." Adriana cried as she blew her nose.

Henry took a deep breath knowing if Hinata didn't find him, he probably would have died. "The guilt is eating you away." He said softly looking at the very woman he would have laid down his life for when they were teenagers.

"Yes... I waited but then I didn't get any news about him, I lied to the cops I haven't seen him then I couldn't find him when I went to the site a week later, I do not know if the truck driver came back to dump his body away." She cried, her hands shaking terribly. "For the past years I haven't had a good sleep unless I use sleeping drugs. I do not mean to kill him, I swear doctor.. but what should I do......."

Henry placed his index finger on his cheek, he had already lost the chance to introduce himself and in this case he decided to not tell her who he was. "In this case Miss Ross, the first thing to do is to forgive yourself but you couldn't do that right?"

"Yes." Adriana nodded.

"Then let's start with this." Henry stood up and reached for a sheet of paper on his desk and placed it on the table in front of Adriana. "I want you to write an apology to him on this paper then go to the site where the accident occurred with a bouquet of flower then picture him smiling standing in front of you then talk to him and burn the paper while you say goodbye to him placing the bouquet on the ground."

"Will my nightmares stop?" Adriana asked hopefully. "Do you think I am a bad person for pulling him along and played with his heart? Do I need to find and apologize to his parent?"

"Humans are not perfect and humans makes a lots of mistakes but acknowledging and correcting that mistake is the way to move forward and in this case Miss Ross, you may think you owe his parent an apology but it was an accident and you have to let it go but start with this first and also go to the site the next day to see how you will feel then come back to tell me how you feel." Henry told her concluding their meeting.

"Thank you doctor. I will take my leave." Adriana said and shook his hand wiping her tears before rushing out.

Henry took his seat wondering if he did he right thing by not telling her who he really was but he decided to leave it at that.

The next day Henry went to the site of the incident and there he saw a bouquet of rose flowers on the ground. He carried it and left. When he was walking on the bridge to his office thinking of what he would do to the flowers he carried on a whim. He unwrapped the wrapping paper and scattered the flowers in the sea then he walked away.

After three days Adriana came for her second session with tears in her eyes but it was a different kind of tears.

"The flowers, I can't find it on the site. I think he accepted it and I didn't even have a nightmare." She said with tears of joy and she held Henry's hand. "Thank you doctor."

Henry couldn't help but smile. He was really glad Adriana now had a little colour on her face but his work was not done yet till he helped her leave her old life behind.

THE END