He cast a wary look at Avery. “So you’re doing your friend a favor?”
“It’s a lovely house,” she said calmly. “And I suppose it’s time. It will be a good test of my maturity, won’t it?”
I recognized the moment when Mr. Jacobs realized he was trapped. He couldn’t protest without it coming off strange, even to the goofy blonde. I mean, it wasn’t like she was proposing to move to Alaska with a drunken lumberjack. Rooming with a female friend in your hometown? Not the stuff scandals were made of.
“It’s just the two of you?” he asked.
“I have a dog. She’s so sweet but very protective. Don’t worry, we’ll be safe.”
“There’s also an alarm,” Avery said, smiling. I’d say she was enjoying this, finally taking back a little of her power.
“Your mother will be upset,” he finally said. “It’s such short notice.”
I blinked at him, pretending confusion. “But I told you, my housemate only left on Thursday. There’s no way to plan an emergency, sir.”
“I suppose that’s true. Well...good luck in your new place.” By his icy look, that wasn’t at all what he wanted to say, but I wouldn’t budge.
“That’s so sweet! Should I help you with the rest of your clothes?” I acted like I was oblivious to the tension, and that seemed to reassure her dad.
Yeah, she’s a good girl, she’s keeping your shitty secret. Not.
In under half an hour, we had all of her things packed up—well, the stuff she intended to take—and her father had the maid help us carry the suitcases down. They filled up the backseat and the trunk with some judicious Tetris-style packing.
As I pulled away from that horrible house, Avery broke down, crying into her hands. “I can’t believe that worked. I can’t believe I’m free.”
“We’ll be all right,” I promised.
Not now, but one day we would be. Hope opened like the first blooms of spring. While leaves might be dying all around us, falling off the trees, winter never lasted forever.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
For the first month after Rob left, I stalked him online. I set up Google Alerts and I kept track of him long-distance. Nadia also sent updates because she knew I was still crazy in love with him, even if I was pretending otherwise. I drove his parents to the doctor a few times, and work was still fine because Davies didn’t know Rob was gone, and I saw no reason to inform him. Avery and I did pretty well together. Half the time, we hosted girls’ night at the house. She didn’t talk about her issues and I said nothing about Rob.
But in early December, I suggested the idea that had been chewing at me since she moved in. “You think we should see someone?”
“Like a psychic?” She was pretending not to get it.
“No, more like a therapist. I don’t want to medicate, but I need to get a handle on this, and I can’t live my whole life avoiding the things that freak me out.”
“And I clearly have some...feelings to process.”
I nodded. “We could talk to the same person, if it wouldn’t be weird, share rides, and then get dinner afterward. I don’t know about you, but it makes it seem less...drastic, if you’re in it with me.”
“That sounds like a good idea.”
After dinner, we got online and searched. Avery read over my shoulder while I eliminated people based on crappy websites. She added, “Nobody local. You know how word gets around in this town. There might be a confidentiality agreement but someone will see us go in the office, and my dad will mobilize.”
“Agreed. We can drive to Edison or Whitney.” I hesitated, unsure if I should ask this. “Have you thought about pressing charges?”
She didn’t ask who I meant. “Constantly. I even looked up the statute of limitations.”
“Shit. Has it been too long?”
Avery shook her head. “But the timing is awful, comically appalling. If the abuse happens when you’re a minor, there’s no limit to when you can file. But once you turn twenty-one, if you don’t report it in four years—”
“Then the bastard gets off scot-free. So if you wait for your trust fund like your dad wants, you also let the clock run out on prosecuting your uncle. You keep quiet and take the hush money or you blow the lid off and take your chances in court.”
A nod, as she pushed her food around her plate. “I weigh it constantly. I might be able to challenge my dad as executor of the trust, but if the criminal trial goes against me, it’s likely that any civil challenge won’t go well, either. I might end up dragged through the mud, lose my future financial security and come out with nothing.”
“While your uncle gets away with what he did.”
“That’s why I flipped out on your boss. They always seem to. I don’t have the power my dad does. You’re the only person I’ve ever told who believed me.”
I hesitated. “I can’t tell you what to do. You’re the one who will have to tell the story, over and over. But regardless, I think we both need some outside help.”
“How about this one?” She tapped the screen to bring up the website.
The design was nothing for me to complain about, simple and functional. I read the woman’s qualifications, along with her welcome message.
In our sessions, we’ll concentrate on you as a person, and I’ll help untangle the emotional knots so you can enjoy life again. Right now, that may seem impossible, but it’s not. Together, we’ll identify challenges, discover solutions and collaborate to make you feel whole. I have twenty years of clinical experience (background in psychoanalytic therapy), but I now prefer a more personal approach. Don’t fight this battle alone. Call my office to make an appointment today.
I glanced up at Avery. “What do you think?”
“That I’ll be scared, no matter who we call. She looks like she’d be easy to talk to.”
Clicking on the woman’s picture to enlarge it, I studied her face. She was in her late forties with glasses, long salt-and-pepper hair caught back in a careless braid. Then I nodded.
“Let’s do this.”
Two weeks later, we had our first appointments. Some people might think it was weird to do it back-to-back, but I needed the moral support. It was harder than I expected to walk into the office and dump my crazy on a stranger’s desk. But she was supportive, warm and kind.
“So, Lauren, before we get started, what are your goals? And what would you say is your biggest challenge right now?”