Page 60 of Always Mine

“You should see someone, too.”

“There’s a counselor at Pathways I can talk to. Gemma Kendrick. She’s great with the kids. And some teachers have seen her.”

“Good idea.”

Annie sighed. “Looks like we both have plans.”

“Not the important one.”

She waited, then said, “About us. For the record, I miss you like crazy.”

“Oh, God, I miss you too.”

“I’m still afraid.”

“Denzi’s dead.”

“Not that. I’m not sure I can survive another breakup with you. You either, Diego.”

“We could take it slow.”

“That might help.”

With that, he reached over and took her hand. They finished the walk with their fingers linked.

Chapter 9

Buoyed by her talk with Diego, Annie phoned Gemma Kendrick for an appointment as soon as she got back home. She drove over that day. “Hey, nice to see you,” Gemma said, smiling warmly. Annie couldn’t help but admire her sophisticated summer suit in deep mauve with beige heels on her feet. “I was hoping you would come in some time.”

“You always look so nice, Gemma.”

A shadow passed through the counselor’s eyes. “Ah…thank you.”

Annie offered, “I always dress up when I’m feeling bad.”

“I prefer these clothes. And this isn’t about me, but we could have lunch some time and talk as friends. Now, where would you like to start?”

“I’m having some trouble with being kidnapped.”

Perfect brows arched. “Of course you are. I know what happened. You poor thing. Tell me more.”

“I dream I’m back in that basement. The stink, the darkness. I thought I was going to die there.”

“I can’t imagine it. Dreams? Flashbacks?”

“Both. I had a flashback coming over here. I had to pull over. Denzi was still alive and cutting me.”

“Show me your arms.”

Annie took off her light outer shirt. “Shallow. Good. Will it scar?”

“The docs don’t think so.”

“That’s good, too, though the internal scarring won’t heal for a long time.”

“What do I do, Gemma?”

“The common treatment for PTSD is talking about it. Once you bring those memories out in the open, they can’t hurt you as much. Eventually, hopefully, they’ll go away. Who do you share things with?”

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