Maybe Jareth had been right.
Perhaps, by burning Fables and removing Kas from the boneyard the valley had become, his mind was already more stable, more removed from the past and ready to step forward into a future where he could finally be happy.
God, I hope so.
As he left in the escort of Dr. Jones, Kentucky’s concussion expert, I headed toward the nurses’ station to use their phone.
I didn’t know if they’d called my mother or brother yet, but getting in touch with them was well overdue. A female doctor with graying blond hair and a kind smile stopped me in the middle of the lemon-painted corridor. “Ah, Ms. Ashford. I was just coming to visit you.”
“Oh?” My eyebrows rose. The whiff of smoke still swirled around me, even after a couple of showers. My clothes needed to be washed—even the spare set I had in my backpack reeked of smoke.
“Yes, do you mind?” She opened her arm, indicating I should return to the room I’d just walked out of.
Impatience filled me, but I nodded and backtracked. “Is everything okay?” Kas had only just left. Surely, he hadn’t hurt someone this quick without me by his side.
She stepped into our private room, closing the door. My hackles rose a little, but I forced myself to stay smiling as I sat down in one of the three chairs provided.
The doctor copied me, sitting down and brushing away a lock of silver-blond hair. With another kind smile, she said, “I’m Dr. Mary Channing. I typically deal with partners of domestic violence and help arrange safe houses for wives leaving abusive spouses.”
I tensed.
I’d been expecting a visit like this. I’d known Dr. Wright knew what the bruises on my neck meant. I just hadn’t expected it to come the second Kas was taken for an appointment—ensuring he wouldn’t be around, leaving me to spill the truth.
What did she expect? That I was some browbeaten woman in a Stockholm situation?
Give me some credit.
Staying calm, appreciating her role in helping women who needed support, I asked, “And you think I’m one of those?” Keeping my shoulders relaxed, I didn’t give in to my initial reaction to assure her, loudly and abruptly, that Kas was the abused one and I was the strong one in this scenario. She was only looking out for me. I was grateful women in awful situations had her.
Dr. Mary cleared her throat as she settled into the chair. “I hear your boyfriend...” She glanced at the paperwork in her hands. “Kassen Sands has had a tough upbringing.”
“It wasn’t exactly an upbringing.”
“No, it doesn’t sound like it was.” She gave me a guilty smile. “Wrong words to use. From the notes Dr. Wright mentioned, Kas was kidnapped and abused over the course of many years, correct?”
I nodded, not adding more to her details. I’d given up Kas’s truth a few days ago to ensure he received proper treatment. The urge to lie had been strong. To stick with my story that we’d met on the trail and fallen in love. But if I did that, then Kas wouldn’t have been tested for deficiencies or given what his body sorely needed. I’d take him being pissed off at me if it meant his depleted system was given what it needed to heal.
It was the right thing to do then...but now? Without him here, it felt like I shared things behind his back.
“Normally, children who have lived a life of abuse and sexual molestation can sometimes mimic what they’ve learned from their oppressors,” Dr. Mary said clinically. “With that in mind...has Kas ever hurt you? Are you safe with him? Have you ever felt or do you feel that you’re in danger from him?”
I chewed the inside of my cheek.
How did I answer that without blatantly lying or getting Kas into serious trouble? She gave me a few moments to think about my answer, her eyes shrewd and insightful. Before I could reply, she murmured, “You don’t have to fear he’ll get in trouble from me. I’m not interested in what he has or hasn’t done. I’m here for you. I want to help you.” Her eyes gleamed. “You can speak to me freely, Gemma. Everything we discuss is strictly confidential.”
I reclined and crossed my legs, deciding to tread the line between truth and lies. “He has hurt me in the past.”
She sat up stiffly. “Did he put your life in jeopardy?”
Flashbacks of Kas’s fingers on my throat came and went. There was no guarantee he wouldn’t do such things again. But...I fully believed Jareth had helped push Kas toward healing. The way he’d been able to touch himself in the games room. How he’d stayed with me when we had sex. How he fought against the blackouts and chose to remember instead of allowing his mind to wipe out his present and fill it with his past.