A low chuckle rose from the young man slouched in one of the chairs in the therapy session. Kenny who had been sharing about losing his job stopped talking and glared at the silent man. Lila, the group psychologist, raised a placating hand.

“Terry, please. Continue with your story, Kenny,” Lila said.

“So then the manager was like why are always late to your shift and I explained that my phone battery—Dude what the hell is your problem with me!” Kenny shouted. “You don’t talk for days then you giggle like a—“

Kenny jumped up from his chair and headed towards the giggling man. Bracing to be hit, the man shrank into his black hoodie. Lila raced to Kenny’s side.

“Hey, hey, look at me. Take a deep breathe. Control the anger; don’t let it control you. Fifteen minute break, guys,” Lila said.

Matt, her mentor and coworker, came into the session room. Lila signaled she was all right.

“Please follow Matt to the break room or catch some fresh air. Thank you guys. Terry can you stay here for a moment?” Lila asked.

She reached out reassuringly. The young man recoiled from her touch. . Lila took a measured step back.

The rest of the young adult group walked out. Matt glanced at Lila’s client and left the door open. Mostly white, mostly male, and all between the ages of 18 and 29, this outpatient group focused on grief and anger issues. A few of her patients had come directly from inpatient treatment and the rest like Terry had been mandated to seek therapy as part of their sentencing.

Lila pulled up a chair to sit closer but not too close to the young man. From his file she knew he was 25 but he looked cmismeanor15. Chipmunk cheeks with nary a whisker, soft pale skin, blonde almost white long eyelashes over grey blue eyes, her client seemed the embodiment of meek. His charge had been misdemeanor stalking with fines, therapy, no jail time.

From his intake, Lila knew Terry was socially isolated and had been bullied throughout school. Wondering if the recent death of his mother and his difficulty in reading social cues had influenced Terry’s poor decision making.

“Terry, I know group can be difficult,” Lila said. “Especially if you are struggling with social anxieties but we are here to help.”

Slowly the young man lifted his head revealing an unnaturally wide smile. Lila startled back making her chair squeak.

“It’s okay if you are not ready to talk.”

The young man grinned wider. His eyes watered. Spittle gathered in the corners of his mouth. His face was a right red painful grimace. Slowly Lila stood and backed away. She headed for the door.

“Call me Terrance.”

Lila turned at the hoarse word but her client was heads down looking at his phone. She stepped into the hallway to steady her breathing. Her phone vibrated a LinkedIn notification.

Matthew24_7: U and Kenny seem close. Do u sleep with all your patients?

Lila’s stomach dropped. In her work email inbox, dozens of photoshopped nude photos of someone else’s body with her head appeared. Each one was more disgusting than the one before. Lila gasped looking at her screen. Heading for the break room to confront Matthew, she gasped. Phone in hand, Lila bursted in the break room. One by one all of the phones in break room chimed. All eyes were on Lila.