Belittle you.

Make you think your time, goals, and dreams are not as important as theirs.

Make you question your reality.

She closed it again. Put it back in her bag and covered it in all her belongings.

The room was small. Nausea bubbled in her stomach.

For a minute, Cora almost picked up the phone to make an appointment with Doctor Massey alone.

Instead, she picked up her bag and headed for Frazer’s office. They had to make sure everything was ready for the training week. They had to discuss Jack, whom Cora would be seeing again after their first meeting.

And, if she was honest, Cora wanted to be somewhere she felt good.

Maybe all of this was her punishment.

What would Doctor Massey say anyway?

Cora had cheated.

* * *

“Great, Jack. Everything looks good.”

His cheeks were bright red, and Frazer turned around to let him get dressed. At five and half months along, he was showing now.

“How’s the morning sickness?” She asked when they sat down across from each other at the desk.

“The same.”

“Did the ginger help?”

He shrugged. “It was okay.”

“Good. And dry toast in the morning?”

This time he managed a grin as dry as the recommended toast. “It’s been fine—it’s all I can afford anyway.”

Frazer chuckled. “Well, you have a meeting with Cora after this, don’t you?” At his nod, she continued, “That’s good. She’ll be helping you sort out whatever Centrelink schemes you can qualify for. And she’ll also help with finding a way to get you out of that shelter.”

With his hands buried in the ends of his hoody, he said, “Sounds good.”

There were marks on his arms, ones she had eyed but not mentioned. They’d talked about it before, and he had sworn he’d discuss it with the psychologist Cora had set up. The sight of them made her clench her fists, angry at a world that made someone that unhappy with themselves. “Are you ready to talk about options?”

Jack shrugged again and sighed. It was such a typical teenager motion that Frazer had to bite back a chuckle. “I guess.”

“Okay, well. As we talked about, you can keep the baby or give it up for adoption.”

He swallowed so heavily, Frazer could see his throat bob. “They’re both so final.”

When he caught her eye, she was trapped in a well of blue. “They are.” Frazer leant on the desk, keeping eye contact. “They are. You have three and a half months to make up your mind. Cora will listen whenever you want to talk. And when I see you for your appointments, I’m happy to talk to you about it as much as you need.”