Page 112 of Unbreakable
“And how are you two doing with all this?” Jasmine’s voice was soothing but professional.
Jeanine sat back, crossing one leg over the other and folding her arms across her chest.
“It’s my fault,” I started, seeing that J wasn’t going to talk. “I encouraged him to go down the slope in a way that wasn’t safe, and he got hurt.”
Jasmine hummed and nodded. “So, Dylan, would you say you’re feeling responsible for Greyson getting hurt?”
I swallowed a lump in my throat, my next speech a little garbled. “That about sums it up.”
“What else does that stir up for you?”
I clicked and unclicked the pen in my hand multiple times. “That I’m a bad dad.”
“What about you, Jeanine? Dylan’s feeling like the accident is his fault and that reflects on him as a father. How do you feel?”
“I wish my husband would act more like a father and less like a friend.”
Jasmine shot me the quickest side-eye, seemingly assessing me anew with Jeanine’s perspective.
“Alright. Now we’re getting somewhere,” Jasmine said. “It’s normal for things like this to bring up a lot of other emotions. Sometimes these cracks expose bigger problems in the relationship.”
“Aren’t we here for Grey?” I asked. I wasn’t ready to unpack every problem Jeanine and I’d been cycling through with a stranger we’d never see again.
“You are, but I’m here for the whole family unit,” Jasmine said. “My goal is to bring all of you out of this stronger and wiser. Because in the end, that helps Greyson too. Seeing your child sick or hurt is a big stressor on a family.”
Jeanine scoffed and Jasmine smiled, a patient kind of look. “Jeanine, what did that bring up for you?”
J picked at her nails. “I’m just really mad at Dylan.”
“I don’t know what I can do other than be sorry, Jeannie,” I argued, trying to get her to talk directly to me.
“Jeanine has a right to her feelings,” Jasmine said. “Jeanine, Dylan seems like he wants to be with you and comfort you. If I had to guess, I’d say you need each other.”
“Yes,” I agreed, bobbing my head.
“Jeanine, do you want Dylan’s affection right now, or is that not what you need?”
She folded in on herself, looking at her knees. “I don’t know.” Little gasps leaked from her as she let go, fully crying. I knelt in front of her and pulled her close. Her head landed on myshoulder, and I kissed her cheek. “I hate seeing him like this, Dylan. I’m scared.”
“I know, baby. Me too.”
Jasmine made some notes on her paper, then said, “I’ll give you two a moment,” and left to talk to the kids.
“What if it’s really bad, Dyl?” she sobbed.
“I don’t know. I wish I knew. All we can do is wait.”
She nodded.
“I love you, Jeannie. We’ll get through this.”
She sobered and sat back, smearing her nose on the back of her finger. I reached to grab her a tissue from the table next to her and handed it to her. “What if Grey doesn’t? What if it’s MRSA and he goes septic or something?”
I wasn’t even sure what that meant, but it sounded pretty bad. “Let’s just go one step at a time, okay? They’ll check it again here soon.”
She sniffed and pressed the heels of her hands to her cheeks. “Okay. Yeah.”
“He’s a healthy boy. We’ve got that on our side.”
