Chapter Four
Chloe reached for Jade’s file and, rather than press the intercom, went to the waiting room to greet her friend. The purple marks of exhaustion beneath Jade’s eyes had faded to slight shadows, but the lingering bruises and scrapes were constant reminders of how much danger her friend had faced. They settled into the overstuffed chairs and Chloe handed her a mug of coffee.
“Thank you.”
This was her favorite appointment each week, but not always the easiest. “How are you today?”
“Better.” Jade took a sip of the coffee and grimaced.
“Is the coffee not okay?” Chloe thought it tasted fine.
“Nothing tastes right to me today. I think I’m getting a sinus infection or something. I feel all congested.”
“I wouldn’t doubt it. The last three weeks have been stressful. Your system’s probably crashing. Sometimes stress weakens immunities. Extra vitamins and rest might help. How’s everything else going?”
“Okay. Mia came over this weekend. I hadn’t seen her since it happened. I missed her.”
“I bet. How was the visit?”
“Quiet. We stayed in most of the weekend.”
“Have you heard anything back from the district attorney?”
“They told Jeremy I need to come in for another interview.”
“How do you feel about that?”
Rolling her eyes, Jade huffed. “I hate it, but I know it’s necessary.”
They sat quietly for a moment. Jade’s sessions of late held an overwhelming moroseness. Chloe knew it was circumstantial. It had only been three weeks, not nearly enough time to return to normal.
Although Chloe hadn’t been back to Jade and Jeremy’s home since the day after the incident, she imagined Jade was putting up a good front for others. Her office was a place Jade could let down those walls and drop the façade. It was a safe place, a place where it was okay to be a little broken.
“Have you thought any more about work?”
“Yeah. I’m bored out of my freaking mind, but I’m not ready to go back. I’m afraid they’ll judge me.”
It would definitely be a touchy situation since so many friends from work had also been friends with the now deceased. “Perhaps it would be better to wait until the investigation’s over. If anyone’s curious, it’ll be on public record and they can see for themselves that you were the victim.”
“I hate that word—victim. I wish I could change my name.”
“You just did, Mrs. Larson.”
Jade’s laugh was halfhearted. “I know, but everywhere I go this is going to follow me.”
“Are you afraid people will ask you about it?”
“Yes and no.”
“Remember, Jade, our past only has as much power as we allow it. If you deal with this, come to terms with it, no one can use it against you.” Some words were delivered like a memorized script, professional and comforting. But there was always that awareness that even Chloe was still partially controlled by her past and therefore a hypocrite in secret.
But this wasn’t about her. It was about Jade. Chloe tipped her head empathetically. “How is your family coping?”
“My parents are a mess.”
Jade’s parents were unaware of the initial attack, but with the recent news coverage, they were now aware of the situation. “How much did you tell them?”
“Enough, but not all. They know about the night of the party, but nothing about the months prior. Nathan and Trent are saying it will probably be a speedy investigation and are trying to work with the police to keep things relatively quiet.”
Chloe tried not to get hung up on the mention of Trenton. She was over him, or so she told herself. After replaying their brief time together to the point of analytical obsession and becoming a prisoner in her own head, she needed to verbally tell herself to stop.
He wasn’t interested. She didn’t know why admitting that bothered her so much when she herself had no interest in getting involved with anyone. She accepted it was simply a natural reaction to rejection, nothing specific to Trenton Cole.
She paused when she realized Jade had asked her something. Trying to recall her words, she drew a blank. Heat bloomed at the apples of her cheeks. “Jade, I’m so sorry. I spaced out there for a second. What were you saying?”
Jade laughed, a small but genuine sound. Chloe took the laughter as a good sign, a signal that her patient and friend was regaining her vitality and still able to find amusement in small things.
“I said we’re having a get together this weekend at Kat’s for Mia. Kind of a belated birthday party since we were away for her real birthday. We wanted you to come. Bring Dayton and Mattie. Ty’s nephews will be there. They’re a little older than your boys, but I’m sure between Mia, Davis, and the rest of them, they’d have a good time.”
Would Trenton be there? This isn’t about him!
She considered how blurred the boundaries were becoming between her and Jade. Could she maintain a professional demeanor if she became more involved in her personal life? “Jade, I think we have to have a talk about my position in your life.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m your therapist, but I also consider you a friend.”
“Of course you’re my friend—otherwise I’d never tell you half the stuff I tell you here.”
“Friends don’t charge a fee, Jade.”
She held up a hand. “I know what you’re getting at and I know this isn’t the way things work with your other clients, but for right now can you just be both? If it really becomes an issue I’ll start looking for a new therapist, but you were here for all the stuff that I went through and I need you to help me find closure. I don’t want to start over with a new therapist and I don’t want to lose you as my friend. I know I’m asking a lot, Chloe, but … please.”
She sighed, knowing there were rules in her profession. So long as Jade recognized she couldn’t always be both and eventually she’d have to find a new therapist if they continued to see each other outside of the office, she supposed she could keep a professional presence in her life for a time. And maybe Dayton would hit it off with one of the other boys at the party and pull out of this funk he’d been in.
“What time’s the party?”
Jade smiled. “Saturday around four. We’re ordering pizza and Kat said something about an ice cream sundae station.”
“Okay. Down the street from your old place, right?”
“Right. Big yellow colonial. You can’t miss it.”