“She comes from a place of concern,” he said.
“Concern for herself. Concern for her career. Do you know that the media believes I’m in rehab right now… again? My mother would rather the world believes I’m a cocaine addict than a woman in the search for love.” I took a deep, calming breath. “Do I have some issues to work through? Yes. We talked about them the last time I was here. I know I have insecurities, abandonment issues, trust issues, and I struggle with OCD. I know this, and frankly, so does Mr. D. But I also plan to get continued help to cope with those things. But Mr. D said he would be there every step of the way to help me. To be with me.”
“And you believe he could be of help? Or do you think it could make things worse? What if he does reject you? What then?”
The doctor’s words were like a tsunami of ice-cold water engulfing me. I hated him. I hated this place. No one would understand. No one would get me… other than D.
But where was he?
Why did he let me go?
Was that the end?
“Knowing he’s not here,” the doctor continued, “does that make you want to lash out? Do you want to burn down his home like you did with Mr. Harrison?”
“No,” I said softly.
“What if he doesn’t want to be with you? What if he never wanted to be with you?”
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.
“Excuse me for interrupting,” he said. “I was hoping I could have some time alone to speak with Corrine.”
“Corrine? Is that okay with you,” Dr. Raymond asked with a raised eyebrow.
I nodded, not sure why I suddenly wanted to burst into tears.
Dr Raymond stood up and said, “I’m going to leave you two alone so you can talk then.” 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 nearly suffocating 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?”