God, his words stung.
“It would make me… sad,” I admitted.
“Not angry?”
I shook my head in defeat. “Not angry. I would have to accept it and eventually move on. But,” I looked into Dr. Raymond’s eyes, “I really feel like there is something there. I don’t think I was completely delusional in believing so. And the feelings inside of me aren’t crazy. It’s love. I feel love and not obsession.”
Dr. Redmond nodded and smiled.
A voice came from the door behind me. “Good, because I have the same feelings.”
I turned in surprise to see D standing in the doorway. He was in a suit, appeared all business, but there was a warm smile on his face and his eyes lit up as they connected with mine.
Dr. Raymond stood up and said, “I’m going to leave you two alone so you can talk.” He placed his palm on my shoulder. “Keep up the work on yourself, Corrine. You deserve peace, and you most certainly deserve love.” He then nodded at D and exited his office.
I sat in the chair, stunned and trying to make sense of what was going on. D was in L.A., at St. Mary’s, and standing before me. He had followed me here. Came for me… for me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked as my voice cracked.
He walked over to me and sat in the chair next to mine. “You didn’t think I would just let you be taken out of my house and not do anything about it, did you?”
“But my mother…”
“I don’t care about your mother,” he said with his jaw locking. “And frankly, I don’t believe you do as well.”
“But she made threats.”
He nodded. “She did. But one thing you may not know about me is that I don’t scare easy. I don’t allow anyone to hold anything over me, blackmail me, or threaten me. If she wants to go to war, then we will. But at the same time, I believe your mother isn’t going to care what you do now that she is busy with a movie.”
“I agree. As long as I stay out of her hair, she doesn’t care what I do. Out of sight, out of mind,” I said, hating that I spoke the truth, but it was.
“And we need to get you back to Black Mountain pronto because you have your senior year to finish and a diploma to earn.”
My eyes darted around the room, now truly realizing Dr. Redmond wasn’t the person calling the shots. “But I’m here. I can’t just leave.”
“Yes, you can. You signed yourself in, and you can sign yourself out. I also met with Dr. Redmond before you did, and we spoke. He has his concerns, which are valid. But I don’t really care what he or anyone thinks at this point. I only care what you feel. What is it that you want?”
“I want you,” I said with a smile and a rush of happiness taking over me.
“And I want you,” he said, reaching out for my hand and pulling me up into his arms.
After several moments, I broke away from the embrace, fearful that this was all too good to be true. “So, what does this mean? What happens now?”
“Go get your stuff, sign yourself out as the capable and sane adult that you are, and we head home. We close the door on this chapter and open a new one.”
“You don’t think I’m crazy?”
“It keeps you interesting,” he said with a mischievous grin.
“You don’t think I’m obsessive?”
“No more than me, and it’s a toss-up as to who is more at this point.”
It took me a moment to truly grasp what he was saying. To really listen to the words I was hearing.
He wanted me. He chose me. He fought for me. He didn’t want to be without me, and he didn’t want to leave me alone.
Leaning down and kissing me softly on the lips, he then said, “It’s my turn now.”
“Your turn?” I asked, confused.
“To stalk you.”The End