Fight, Flight, or Freeze: The Healer's Story
Chapter 53: Almost Felt Sorry For Them

Chapter 53: Almost Felt Sorry For Them

I blinked a few times, the flames disappearing back into the recesses of my mind as Cheng Bo Jing pulled me into his arms.

"It’s fine. We’ll sell this house and get you another one," he said, stroking my hair.

I shook my head. It wasn’t Bai Long Qiang’s fault that I had... issues. I left everything up to him to do, and I would accept the consequences. Besides, I haven’t been that little girl for a while.

"I’m good," I assure him. I should step back and put distance between us, but I wanted to soak in his comforting embrace for a while longer.

"You aren’t good. I might not be a shrink like Ye Yao Zu, but even I can recognize PTSD when I see it," snapped Cheng Bo Jing as he held me tighter.

"It’s not PTSD," I assured him. "Simply a nightmare. No big deal. I am going to assume that Bai Long Qiang has been here long enough to make sure that there are no dead bodies in the basement anyway."

I tried to make a joke, but the expression on Cheng Bo Jing’s face let me know that it had missed its mark.

"I have an extreme love/hate relationship with horror movies," I pressed, forcing out a laugh. "I make myself watch them, and then they give me nightmares for months after."

"Then I’ll make a note to make sure that you don’t watch them anymore," replied Cheng Bo Jing as he slowly let me go.

Leave it to my best friend to know when to change the subject.

I took off my shoes and walked into the living room. The couch was more than big enough to sleep on every night. I would just have to make sure that Bai Long Qiang didn’t catch me. I wouldn’t want him to feel bad for picking this house.

"What do you want me to do with your luggage?" asked Cheng Bo Jing as I continued my tour of the upper floor.

"If you don’t mind bringing it downstairs? I’ll go through it later." I could make myself go into the basement to shower and stuff... I think.

Nope. I can’t run from this. I would force myself to become comfortable living in the basement. Besides, I haven’t even been down there. It might be super nice.

Screaming echoed in my ears as I closed my eyes, and I forced them back open.

Not today, Satan. Not today.

"Do we have roommates?" I asked, curious. There seemed to be a lot of seating for only Bai Long Qiang and me.

"This is the unofficial meeting place for the team. While we don’t always stay the night, a lot of us spend the majority of our off time here," yelled Cheng Bo Jing as he walked down the stairs.

Peachy.

Think positive thoughts. Think positive thoughts. If this was the worst thing to ever happen to me in this life, then that wasn’t bad.

Well, this house and my family’s death.

Not like this house was comparable to my family dying....

I took a deep breath and put a smile on my face. It was always important to smile. It was always important to be cheerful. No one wanted to be around a person who was always thinking the worst of things.

My smile was firmly back in place by the time Cheng Bo Jing came back upstairs.

"This place is fantastic!" I said enthusiastically. "And it is so great that you all spend so much time here!"

Cheng Bo Jing looked at my face, studying it. "We don’t have to be here if it is going to make you uncomfortable."

"Hardly," I said with a chuckle. Walking over to the loveseat, I flopped down on it. "I will be gone so much that I probably won’t even see you guys. Besides, there are only six of you, right?" I continued. Going by the number of seats at the table, subtracting for Bai Long Qiang and me, that left six others.

"There are sixteen of us on the team," answered Cheng Bo Jing, picking up my feet before sitting down beside me. He placed them on his lap and picked up the remote.

I blinked rapidly, not sure if he was being serious or not. There was no way this place was big enough for sixteen people plus me...

I closed my eyes.

"It might feel like the world is ending, but you still need to smile. The patients look to us for guidance, and if they see anything but calmness or a smile on our faces, it is going to affect them negatively. Besides, you are a child. You need to always be smiling."

The words of the director echoed in my mind. I was having a hard time dealing with the death of my parents, and I guess a few patients complained that I was too... serious. Apparently, I needed to smile more.

So I did.

And everyone was happy.

I took in a deep breath. I still had the cabin in the woods when I wanted to be alone. I also had the Song Family mansion. There were a lot of places I could go if this one got to be a bit too much.

Maybe Cheng Bo Jing wasn’t wrong. I really was a rabbit.

And a smart rabbit always had more than one burrow to hide in.

"What are you in the mood for?" I asked Cheng Bo Jing, changing the topic again.

He raised his eyebrow at my question but thankfully didn’t call me out on it. "I can always go for some Thai food. There is a phenomenal restaurant nearby that delivers."

"Sounds perfect! You put in the order, and I’ll figure out what we are going to watch," I said, taking the remote from his hand and hitting the guide button. I wasn’t in the mood for a movie... but

"Ah! Perfect!"

"Iron Chef?" he asked, looking up from his phone at my choice.

"Yup! I can only watch cooking shows when I am eating. Otherwise, I get cravings for whatever they are making on TV."

"Good to know."

The poor man had no idea how obsessed I was with cooking shows.... And documentaries.

I almost feel sorry for the guys.

Almost.