Dr. Haggerty’s face softens. I can’t handle pity right now, I really can’t. I wish he’d just look away.
He keeps talking for a few minutes longer, but I’m fully checked out now. I just try to offer “Mhmms” in what feels like the correct places. Eventually, he pats me on the shoulder and hands me a pamphlet.
I shuffle out of the exam room, through the lobby, and back out into the street.
I’m not sure why I’m feeling so glum. This isn’t anything I didn’t already know. But the sky is grayer than it was when I first walked in and it seems like all the color has been sucked out of the world.
My lips aren’t buzzing anymore, either. It was overstimulating to the max at first, but I almost miss it now that it’s gone.
When I step out on the street, I look up and down the road. To the left is h
