closed: @thcophagy based: after his first experience with hypnotherapy, fern has been treading lightly during their sessions to build back his trust, but she hasn't been able to stop thinking about it, either. who: fern caruso, she/her, 40, therapist
weeks after the inciting incident, and fern still couldn’t get it out of her head. not in a bad way, either; it had become somewhat of a comfort, some place stimulating yet safe for her brain to return to on busy days or when she needed a little pick-me-up. it’d taken time for arlo to come out of his shell again, humiliation walking back some of the progress he’d made, but it seemed as though she’d successfully course corrected to get him back on track. they hadn't spoken of that session since, and it was as if it'd never happened at all. all that remained were the memories that still burned bright, conjured up by her psyche at the drop of a hat. while he was making slow and steady improvements, fern still felt like he had a mental block up, some wall preventing her advice from truly penetrating beneath the surface when it came to his self esteem specifically, which led her to start considering alternative methods. this wicked little idea she’d been marinating on, it came from a place of wanting to break through that barrier, that’s all. it had nothing to do with her own perverse desires or wish fulfillment, it was all about arlo. “and how have you been feeling physically?” she subtly redirected the subject of their conversation. “have you been getting any better at listening to your body? eating three meals, drinking water, getting good sleep, all that?” legs uncrossed and crossed again, subconsciously drawing his attention to her bare calves accentuated by a pair of heels that probably cost half his rent for the month.
