"That's one way of looking at it, I guess. A wild, self destructive way, but a way nonetheless." Achterberg shook his head and struck the notepad with the sharpened end of the pencil. A jagged, unsure line marked the page, he saw when he pulled the pencil away. He tapped the eraser against the coils at the top of the booklet, closing his eyes. Iris bit down on the insides of her cheeks, nodding her head in anticipation of Achterberg's next question. Which came accompanied by a sigh; "Let's go back to your family. Is Mark your only sibling?"

"No! I have another brother and two sisters!" she said, eyes lighting up. "Though, the sisters are twins, and five."

"And the other brother?"

"Older. Twenty-three, twenty-four? One of the two."

"And your relationship with him?"

"Oh, great! Honestly, it's great. Haven't seen him in a while, though."

The smile on her face sunk into a slight frown as she laid her hands in her lap. She took a deep breath in through the mouth and sighed, throwing her head back against the back of the couch. Her arms fell behind the couch, and she tried to pull herself forward, she could feel her shoulders about ready to pop out of their sockets. The rough fabric of the couch chafed her skin for all of a few seconds before her arms started to fall asleep.

"How long?"

"About a month ago. Last time I went to see him, my mom came with and she couldn't stop crying; we didn't stay very long."

Achterberg's eyes widened.

"And why was she crying, if you don't mind me asking?"

"It was the first time she'd been to his grave since he got buried. I guess the wound was still pretty raw, three years after the fact. Can't say I blame her, I broke down every time I went back for the first month after it happened."

"Wait a second, he's dead?

Iris nodded, lip quivering.

"Normally when people talk about late family, they say they had, not have, so forgive me for the confusion."

"I don't understand that. He doesn't stop being my brother just because he's dead, after all. I didn't disown him or anything so yes, he is my brother. My dead brother, but still my brother."

"Oh no, I'm not questioning anything."

"Good." Her voice was flat and inexpressive to match the blank look on her face. She stared straight ahead, not bothering to look for eye contact. Eyes pinned to the wall in front of her, as if she was in a trance. She didn't move a muscle, which was a radical departure from her previous demeanor; all fidgety and anxious. Her arms dangled weightlessly, her hands tingled though she seemed like she couldn't feel a thing.

"Hello?" Achterberg asked, sticking his hand out and waving it to get her attention. She could see it out the corner of her eye, but she didn't react to it. Not in the slightest.

"Iris?" he asked, raising his voice. As if on cue, Iris blinked and shook her head. She pulled her arms out from behind the couch and let them fall off to her right side, before falling over completely. Her head hit the armrest of the couch and shut her eyes.

"Yes?"

"Ar--"

"If it's all the same with you, I'd like to leave."

"Our appointment isn't scheduled to end for another ten minutes."

"Then I'll sit in silence for that long. It really doesn't matter to me though I'd think you'd want this to be done if I'm not going to say anything else. Y'know, get ready for your next patient."

"Client."

"Same difference, isn't it?"

Iris shifted over into a seated position and pushed herself off the couch from there. She grabbed the back of the couch and cracked her back before shoving off the chair and walking over to the Doctor's desk. Putting her left hand on the corner of the desk, she stuck out her right with an open palm and motioned with her eyes for him to shake, which he did.

"I appreciate this, I really do. I just, I don't think I can go any further with this today."

With that, she turned away from his desk and made her way out of the office. Or, she would've made her way out of the office, had she not stopped in the doorway. She took one look back at Achterberg and cleared her throat to get her attention.

"Since I know it'll be a question in our next session; his last words to me were 'The world's a great place. Remember that.' It's the first thing I think about when I wake up, and the last thing I think about when I fall asleep. Everyday. I've never told anyone that before today."

She turned back towards the hall and stepped out of his office.