Page 56 of Hiding for the Holidays
She sighs and shakes her head. “He was just placating me.”
“What did he do?” I can feel my anger boiling beneath my skin, but I try to remain calm. I need to hear it all. I need to know the reason when I’m kicking his ass. And if his crimes are bad enough… I know people who could get rid of him for good.
“He punched me… in the face. Then he threatened to get me committed.”
“Committed?” Leo asks in confusion.
“Yeah, I…”
“Sweetheart,” Grant says, taking her glass of water and setting it on the table beside me before grabbing her hand. “You can tell us anything; we won’t look at you differently.”
She licks her lips then tells us, “After losing my parents within a year of each other, I was a bit of a mess. I went to a mental health facility to try to get myself some help. I was only there for a week.”
“Did it? Help?” Leo asks.
“Sort of. The place was actually really scary, and I knew I didn’t want to be there any longer than necessary, so I forced myself to get my emotions under control so I could leave.”
“And then you met Scott, who took advantage of your weakened state of mind,” Grant says, fitting the pieces together.
I see a flash of guilt cross her face, and I frown, trying to read between the lines of what she just told us.
“Rosalie?” She glances up at me. “Where did you meet Scott?”
“I—” she cuts herself off, glancing at the other two before looking back at me, her shoulders dropping in defeat. “He was the psychiatrist at the facility I was being treated at.”
“That motherfucker!” Leo exclaims, and I feel my nostrils flare as I try to contain my anger for the man.
“Jesus Christ,” Grant whispers, falling back against the back of the couch and pushing his free hand through his hair.
“You’re all mad,” Rosalie whispers, her eyes bouncing between us.
“Come here, baby,” I say, reaching forward and lifting her up. I take her place on the couch between the other two and sit her in my lap sideways. I hold her head against my chest and I tell her, “We’re livid at him. He had an extreme position of power over you and took complete advantage of that. And he definitely broke the rules. I’m sure there is a policy in place at the facility that says the staff can’t date the patients.”
“We didn’t start dating until he released me.”
“That fucker took complete advantage of you. He released you before you were ready just so he could keep you under his control in the real world, knowing you’d need him.”
She’s quiet for a few minutes, seeming to take in everything I’ve said. “So what he did was wrong?”
“What state was this in?” Grant asks, and we both turn to look at him on his phone.
“Colorado,” she tells him.
His lips press together, and he turns to look at her. “What he did was illegal. It’s considered sexual misconduct or possibly even sexual assault. At the very least, they should have fired him and revoked his license.”
“Is that why he’s following me? Does he think I’m going to the cops or something?”
“Has he been following you this whole time?” I ask with concern.
“Well, I’m not sure, exactly.”
“Before today, had you seen him since you ran?” I ask.
She nods as a look of pain and fear crosses her face.
“Tell me? Please?” I whisper the last word, and she rests her head against my chest as she answers.
“About two weeks after I ran, he found me at a bus terminal. He dragged me through the parking lot, but when I saw hiscar, I freaked out. I couldn’t go back with him. And he…” I wrap my arms around her tighter, hoping it will help ground her in the present here with me, with us. “He beat me. The bruises you saw on my neck and side, they were from that night.”
