Personal Demons Read Free Page B

the room while Megan thanked Dr. Hunter. “I’m Arthur Bellingham.” He held out his hand. Megan shook it. It was warm and limp. “I’m head of the Fearbusters program here at the hospital.”
    â€œRight,” Megan looked at him with new interest. “Kevin’s therapist.”
    â€œYes, Kevin’s therapist.” Something about the way he said it made Megan itch to tune into him, but she refrained. She wasn’t about to take a chance of something else going wrong when she was so close to freedom from the hospital. “That’s why I wanted to talk to you. What happened to Kevin?”
    â€œIt looked like a seizure, but you’d have to ask Dr. Hunter if it was.”
    â€œI will,” Bellingham replied. “I’m glad neither of you were seriously injured.”
    â€œMe too.” What did he want? He was clearly building up to something, and Megan wished he would just come out with it so she could leave.
    â€œI suppose things could have gone very badly if your receptionist hadn’t come and found you.”
    How did he know that? Had he been peeking at her triage forms? Not worth arguing about. It wasn’t like there was any information there he couldn’t get elsewhere anyway. “I suppose,” she said. “I’d rather not think about it.”
    â€œOh, come now, Dr. Chase. We’re psychologists. It’s our job to face fear.”
    â€œIt’s our job to help our patients face their fears.”
    â€œYou say potato. Actually, it’s just that kind of thing I was hoping to discuss with you. Fears, I mean, not potatoes!” He chuckled at his own joke.
    Megan smiled with her mouth closed. “What about them?”
    â€œWell.” He thrust his hands into his pockets and leaned against the EKG monitor, only to stumble and nearly fall when the monitor on its wheeled cart rolled away. Megan tightened her lips to keep from laughing as he pulled it back into place. He looked back at her, with the guilty expression of a child who expected to be beaten for his clumsiness.
    â€œStupid wheels,” Megan said. “Whose idea were they, anyway?”
    He gave a nervous little giggle. “Yes. Right. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about Fearbusters.”
    â€œThe program Kevin was in?”
    â€œThe program Kevin is in. He hasn’t officially left.”
    â€œMost therapy clients don’t officially leave, do they, Mr. Bellingham? I mean, there’s no graduation ceremony for feeling better. They just stop making appointments.”
    Bellingham shrugged, but the lines of his face tensed. “Fearbusters is…different. Special. We do have a ceremony of sorts, and our clients sign up for a set periodof time. If they feel better before that time is up, they help mentor those who aren’t as strong yet. It’s a wonderful program.”
    It may be wonderful, but it also sounded unethical. “And they pay for the sessions where they’re acting as mentors?”
    He nodded. “We reduce the fee, but our theory—and our clients agree—is that they’re still learning new coping mechanisms while helping others to cope. Often they decide to stay, even after they’ve had their Leaving Ceremony.”
    â€œI see.”
    He narrowed his eyes. “If they really want to leave, they can. They just have to tell us. But in the two years we’ve been running the program, only one person has.”
    â€œImpressive.”
    â€œThank you. Let me cut to the chase, Dr. Chase.” He smiled. Megan smiled back, just as if she hadn’t heard that joke a million times. “I’d love to have you on board. I heard you on the radio last night, dealing with the woman who heard voices. You were great. Most of our clients have issues like hers, hence our name. I think you’d be a great asset to our team.”
    Was there a person in the city who hadn’t been listening? In