HE FELT INCREDIBLY horrible the next morning as he walked into work. He wasn't able to sleep last night because the guilt was clinging to him for dear life. And he felt terrible for what he did. He had tried to talk to her and apologize once the police officer left yesterday, but she wouldn't open the door. And he doubted she even listened to his pathetic cries of sorrow and regret. And so, he didn't get sleep last night because of what he did - that horrible mistake. He felt as if he had punched a baby.

Theo let out a deep sigh as he plopped himself down on the seat, placing a hand over his forehead. He suddenly heard quick footsteps and lifted his head up to see a worried redhead.

"Hey, where have you been?" Rebecca asked as she walked over, placing her hand over his forehead. "Hmm, you don't seem to have a fever ..." She said, pulling back and examining his face. "But you do look awful, just awful Theo. Are you feeling better?"

"I've had better days," Theo answered with a shrug. "God, I feel like dying."

"You might ... actually, wish you were dead." Rebecca said with a small frown. "Dr. Maundy is absolutely furious that you skipped work not only on Monday but also yesterday. And you didn't call in yesterday at all. What happened?"

Theo's eyes widened as he realized his mistake. "Shit. I can't believe I forgot to--"

"Look, she went out of town and won't be back until Friday, she has a patient in North Carolina," Rebecca told him and sighed as she looked at his ghastly face. "What happened?"

Theo opened his mouth to speak but sighed, shaking his head. "Uhm ... I had really bad allergies that past two days and yesterday I just forgot to call in and ..."

"Allergies?"

"Yeah, but I'm fine now. I think there was ... p-pollen in my house."

"Pollen in your house?"

"Yep," Theo pressed his lips into a thin line, mentally slapping himself for his lame excuse. "So, anyways, did I miss anything while I was gone?"

Rebecca's unwavering eyes lingered on Theo a moment or two too long and she cleared her throat, nodding slowly. "Well, Dr. Maundy and I diagnosed a few people and gave them some medication. I guess the real fun starts now because we have two new patients coming in today and I'm in charge." She said with a wide grin, lifting her head up a bit higher.

Theo chuckled as he clapped. "Well, congratulations, Dr. Finley. Patient one awaits in your office." He joked as he drummed his fingers gently along the side of the table.

"Why, thank you, Mr. Bennett." Rebecca giggled as she tucked a few strands of her hair behind her ear. "So, pollen? Got any better excuse?"

Theo let out an embarrassed chuckle as he rubbed the back of his neck. "No, ma'am."

Rebecca laughed and playfully tapped his arm. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me. But a little word of advice Theo,"

"Hm?"

"Think of a better excuse to tell Dr. Maundy. Well, I guess I'll, uh, be in the office until our first patient comes in." She said, reluctantly walking into Dr. Maundy's office.

Theo heard the office door close and sighed as he looked down at the desk. His mind went straight to the horrible mistake he made yesterday. "God, Theo ..." He groaned, rubbing the side of his face. "You screwed up big time ..." But if she isn't some kind of murderer, why does she do what she does. Staying in her house all the time, only coming out at night ... what's the deal?

"Excuse me," a soft voice shattered Theo's thoughts.

Theo immediately shook his head and looked ahead to see a girl wearing a hat standing in front of his desk. "Oh, hi! I'm so sorry, I didn't hear you come in." He apologized and chuckled nervously. "Uh, if you could wait just ..." He fumbled with the computer as he tried to open up the schedule. "...one moment." His voice faltered as he quickly took out the Guest Sign In binder from under the desk. He quickly set it up and handed the girl a pen. "If you could just sign in here for me - uh, please write your name, the date, the time, and your signature." He said and quickly pulled up the document to see the time schedule. "Uhm, you must be Janice Weldon?"

The girl simply nodded as she finished up signing in. She kept her head even lower as she awkwardly waited. "Uhm ..." She muttered quietly.

"Oh, and uh, right this way." Theo walked towards the office and knocked twice before opening the door and poking his head in. "Uh, Dr. Finley, Miss Janice Weldon is here to see you." He said with a goofy grin.

Rebecca grinned and got up from her desk, putting on her white coat. "Uhm, please let her in, Mr. Bennett." She said, trying to hide her laugh. But the second her patient walked in, she turned serious and professional. "Hi, nice to meet you, Ms. Weldon." She said, reaching over to shake the girl's hand. "I'm Dr. Finley." Rebecca stared at the girl and then her own hand and quickly pulled away. "Right, if you could just sit right here."

Theo watched as Rebecca began to make small talk and felt a sudden hollow pit in his heart. He closed the door behind him and looked over to see his small receptionist desk. "What am I doing with my life?" He mumbled and abled over to his desk, sitting down and staring at the ceiling. "Well ..." He sighed out deeply, drumming his fingers lightly on the table. "I guess I'll just ... wait."

After what seemed like forever, Rebecca walked out of her office with Janice Weldon following behind her. "Thank you for coming in today, Ms. Weldon. I hope to see you at our next appointment on Thursday." She said and looked across the room, locking eyes with Theo. She widened her eyes and cocked her head over to the office. "Uhm, Mr. Bennett, if you could come to my office for a brief moment."

Theo got up from his seat and handed the girl a pen before walking into the office. "Hey, what's up?"

"I'm going to have a new patient coming in about ..." Rebecca checked her watch and sighed. "ten minutes. My session with Janice Weldon is over but I think she's going to be waiting for her brother to pick her up, so do you think you could make small talk with her or something while she's waiting?"

"Oh, uhm, sure." He said, nodding his head. "Yeah, that's no problem at all. Oh, is there anything you have to warn me about ... like if she has any psychological--"

"Hmm, she didn't talk much at all today. But from what I saw from today, she has a lot of anxiety and is struggling with her panic attacks."

"Okay, duly noted."

"Thank you, Theo."

"No problem," He said walking out and spotting the girl sitting in a corner with her back facing the desk. He cleared his throat and walked back to his desk when he suddenly heard someone walk through the door. A plump man in his mid-thirties nervously walked up to Theo.

"Hello, sir. I am here for an appointment with a ... " The man looked up as if the words he was trying to remember were floating above his head. "Dr. Finley?" He finished, looking back down at Theo.

"Uh, yes. And you must be ..." Theo checked his screen and then back at the man. "Mr. Arthur Coles. It says here your appointment is at 3:35, you came early."

"Exactly 6 minutes and 43 seconds early." He answered with each syllable enunciated. "Will I have to wait or can I go into her office now?"

"Oh, I will ask Dr. Finley if she is ready but in the meantime, if you could just sign in here, sir," Theo said, holding out the pen for him to use.

Arthur took a good look at the pen and shook his head, his face contorting into pure disgust and horror. "No, I have my own pen, thank you." He said, reaching in his black messenger bag and pulling out a pen.

Theo nodded and put the pen down. "Okay, and you come prepared, awesome." He said and walked over to the office, knocking before entering. "Your 3:35 patient is here."

"He's early," Rebecca said as she shoved the last bit of the snack bar into her mouth, chewing furiously. "Uhm, tell him to come in." She said, drinking water to swallow everything down.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just ... a little nervous since this is my first time consulting patients alone."

"Why? Don't be, you already did a really good job with Weldon, you're going to be great with Mr. Arthur Coles."

Rebecca breathed out and grinned. "Thanks."

Theo smiled back and walked out. "Uh, Mr. Coles, Dr. Finley is ready for you."

Arthur finished rubbing the hand sanitizer on his hands and nodded, walking over to the door. He stopped abruptly, staring at the doorknob and shot Theo a look. "Uh, do you think you could open this door for me?"

Theo raised an eyebrow but nodded with a smile on his face. "Of course, sir." He said, opening the door for him.

"Thank you," Arthur gave Theo a small nod and walked in.

Theo closed the door behind him and chuckled. "OCD." He muttered and glanced at the girl to see her staring out the window. He walked over to her cautiously. "Uhm, Ms. Weldon?" He called out her name softly.

She jumped in her seat and buried her face even deeper behind her jacket. "Uh, yes?" Her muffled voice responded.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. W-would you like some tea while you wait?" He offered with a small grin.

Janice peeked through the small space between her jacket and hat to see Theo standing in front of her. She shook her head and looked down at the ground. "No, thank you."

"Oh, okay," Theo said, taking a step back. But something caught his attention. He stayed frozen in his spot as he curiously stared at the girl dressed in all black wearing a hat and covering her face as if her life depended on it. He had seen this look before ... his neighbor. He furrowed his eyebrows and sat down in front of her, making sure to keep a big distance between them. "Could I ask a question, if you don't mind?"

Janice sighed but nodded. "Sure."

"Uh ... do you happen to stay in your house all day long?"

"Yes ..."

"And do you leave the house at night, usually?"

She took a moment to answer but slowly and quietly replied, "Yes."

"And you always cover up your face?" Theo asked, feeling his heart jump with excitement as he felt blood pumping through his veins.

"Y-yes ... why do you ask?"

Theo leaned back in his seat as he knitted his brows, trying to think through everything he learned in college. "This is more than just anxiety and panic attacks ..." He whispered to himself and raised his eyes on the girl. "Uh, just one more question, if you don't mind. Are you afraid to be around people? To be outside? To be out of the house?" He asked, his face brightening up with each question. This was the first time in a long time that he'd ever felt this excited about something - diagnosing a patient, using the knowledge he'd learned from college in the real world - something he never got the chance to do until now.

"...Yes." Janice answered honestly and lifted her eyes up a bit. "How did you know?" She asked softly.

Theo racked his brain, trying to link the symptoms to a phobia. A light bulb turned on inside his head as he snapped his fingers. "Agoraphobia." He said with a grin. "You have agoraphobia."

"What?" Janice asked, lifting her head up even more. "I have ... what?"

But before Theo could answer, her phone went off and she gasped. She quickly took out her phone from her jacket and sighed. "I-I have to go." She said, quickly getting up and walking out of the clinic.

Theo got up from his seat and frowned. "She has agoraphobia ... and I made her open the door when she didn't even want to." He said solemnly, the realization dawning on his face. "Oh, I really screwed up."

+ + +

*Agoraphobia: fear of places and situations that might cause panic, helplessness, or embarrassment.