Eric
My father crossed his hands on the desk. “She needs therapy, Eric. You can’t postpone it anymore. You need to take her to the doctor.
“I can take care of her. She doesn’t need to talk to strangers about what happened to her. She needs to forget.”
“No, she needs to talk about everything she endured at the hands of those savages. Your mom also agrees. The other girls who were saved and remained here are being followed by the therapist, and they are showing improvement.” My father’s face was stern. “Have you talked to her about it?”
“I want to win her trust and prove that I’m not a threat. If I tell her that she has a problem and needs to go to a shrink, I’m afraid that she might think I believe there’s something wrong with her.”
“There’s something wrong with her. She doesn’t act like a normal person.”
My tone of voice rose up. “And how should a normal person act?”
My father kept his tone of voice low. “She doesn’t look men in the eyes. She’s always hiding in saggy clothes and covers her face with her hair. She’s often found sleeping inside the wardrobe of her bedroom instead of her bed as if she’s hiding.”
“I know.” I sighed, rubbing my temples. “But she’s been hurt, and the nightmares are constant.”
“Son, she needs professional help. We don’t know how to deal with this. Not on our own. You need to schedule an appointment with Dr. Kent, so she can evaluate Elizabeth’s condition and proceed with the proper treatment.”
“Beth isn’t crazy, she’s just hurt, and I’m sure I can cure her if …”
My father stopped my babbling with a wave of his hand. “She might need medicine. No one is saying that your mate has gone mad, but she will be better sooner if she talks with someone who can help her. Don’t you want her to get better?”
I leaned back in my chair, defeated. “I do.”
“Talk to her tonight. Take her to see the other survivors. There’s a support group she can join if she doesn’t want to start therapy right away.”
“I’ll talk with her tomorrow. I’ll invite her for dinner. We need to spend time alone.” I got up and looked at my dad. “Don’t look at me like that. The last thing Beth and I need are people feeling sorry for us. She’ll recover, and I won’t give up on her.”
“I hope you are right, Son. It would break my heart see you whither from a broken heart.”
***
Moments later, I knocked on the door before entering her bedroom. “Beth?” She was near the window, reading a book. “Aren’t you leaving your bedroom today?”
Beth looked up from the page. “Are we going somewhere today? Can’t I just stay here and read my book?”
I closed the door and headed her way. Sitting next to her, I rested my hands on my legs. “You’ve been reading for a few days, now. It’s time to leave the house and go for a walk with me. Would you like that?”
“Can we do that after I finish this chapter?”
The softness in her voice squeezed my heart. “You can. May I stay here while you finish?”
Sighing deeply, she bookmarked the book and closed it. “What did your father want with you? I sensed your arrival and went downstairs, but Rose told me that you were in the office with your dad. I didn’t want to interrupt, so I came back to my bedroom. Now you look serious as if you have an important thing to tell me.”
I smiled at her. “I’m not serious.”
“Does he want me to leave and believes I’ll never make you happy?”
The smile faded from my face. “Where did you get that idea from?”
“I see how people look at me. They feel sorry for my state, and they look at you as if you had the most terrible luck in the world. They pity us.” She rose up and turned her back on me. “I’m not cheerful like Jessica or fearless like Annabel.”
“You don’t need to be like them,” I assured.
She circled to face me. “How do you want me to be, then?”
“Like yourself.”
“I haven’t been feeling like myself for a long time.”
“Then be the best you can be.”
She clenched her teeth and folded her arms. “Maybe it’s best if I leave.”
My heart jumped inside my chest, and I got up. “Where?”
“Home.”
I placed my hands on her shoulders, and she looked away. “Where is home? Isn’t your home where I am? Am I not here with you?”
Squinting her eyes, she asked, “Would I break your heart even more if I left?”
“You haven’t broken my heart, yet. I’ve told you that I would wait for you to heal.”
She nibbled her lower lip. I gulped and squeezed her shoulders. “No one wants you to leave. I promise you that. Okay?”
She nodded.
“But there’s something we need to talk about.” Her eyes focused on my lips. Gaining courage, I addressed the matter at hand. “You need help to heal, Beth. Professional help.”
She snapped her eyes open and looked at me as if I had spoken a blasphemy. Pushing me back, she yelled, “What side are you on?”
I stepped back with the impact and focused on the unshed tears glowing in her eyes. “You keep having mood swings. You hide in your bedroom and sleep inside the closet. You need help. I can’t help you. I tried.”
The tears rolled down her cheeks. “Don’t you want to keep trying? Are you tired of me?”
“Of course not.” I moved forward and brushed my fingers against her cheek. “But there are things you aren’t comfortable telling me. Maybe you can heal faster if you talk with a therapist.”
She gripped my wrist and removed my hand from her face. “I’m trying to fight the depression that took over me. Reading makes me feel better. I can go places.”
“You can go places without reading, too. You are free now. Still, you act as if you are not.”
“I don’t know anyone or any place here. Where do you want me to go?” she asked with a gloomy expression that made my heart shrink. “I’m trying. I go out with your mom and your niece. I like them.”
“They like you too.”
“But I can’t pretend to be something that I’m not. I’m sorry for making you sad.”
“Beth, you don’t make me sad. But you need to step out of your comfort zone.”
“How?”
“Go out with me tomorrow, and we’ll speak about getting you help some other time. What do you say?”
“Out, like on a date?”
“Yes.”
“Just the two of us?”
I nodded. “Would you like that?”
It was her turn to nod and fill my heart with hope when her lips curled into a smile.