I smile up at him lazily as I reach up and push his hair back from his face. “You’re the one who’s beautiful—inside and out.”
This time, it’s Tyke who blushes, leaning in and kissing me again. “How did I ever get so lucky as to find you?”
I toy with his hair. “I don’t think luck had anything to do with it. A string of bad choices brought us to rock bottom, and then finally getting our shit straight brought us to one another.”
He smiles. “Like fate?”
I bite my lip and think about how I’ve always laughed of the idea of fate being real, but in this instance, it seems very fitting. “Like fate,” I agree.
After we cuddle for a few more moments, we quickly work on cleaning ourselves up before we have to go face everyone at dinner. Tyke leaves the cottage first as soon as he’s sure no one is around, and then about fifteen minutes later, I make my way toward the main house.
“Hey, Frannie,” Kimmy calls from behind me, making me jump.
I rub the back of my neck. “Oh hey, Kimmy. I didn’t see you there.”
She laughs next to me. “No, I’m guessing your mind is elsewhere after having Tyke Douglas in your cottage.”
The blood instantly drains from my face and my heart pauses for a beat.
Oh shit!
Kimmy nudges me and laughs. “Girl, don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me. I won’t say a word to anyone.”
“Kimmy...I...” I scrub my hand across my forehead, completely lost for words.
“Relax, Frannie. If it were me in your position, I’d pounce on him, too. He’s so sexy.” She grins. “So tell me, is it just sex between you two, or what?”
I bite my lip. “I’m not sure. I don’t think so. When we’re together it feels right, and that scares me.”
Her brow furrows. “Why?”
I pull my lips into a tight line. “I’ve never been in a real relationship before, and I have no clue what in the hell I’m doing.”
She laughs. “First of all, you’ve got to be doing something right. I’ve seen the way he looks at you when he thinks no one is watching. He’s crazy about you. And secondly, just be yourself. The best relationships are the natural ones.”
I give her a small smile. “How’d you get so wise?”
She shrugs. “I’ve got five siblings, and I’m the oldest. They all come to me for advice.”
“If the design thing doesn’t work out, you should think about going into counseling,” I tell her.
When we make it to the main house, I tell Kimmy that I’ll see her later, needing space to freak out about the fact that our secret isn’t so secret anymore. I make my way into my office and sit at my desk before firing up my laptop. I quickly type my passwords in and log into my email, needing to focus on something else before I have a complete anxiety attack.
The first few are spam emails but then one catches my attention. The subject line reads: I have something you’ll want to see. It’s from an anonymous sender, which is even more puzzling.
I debate leaving it alone, worried that it’s one of those crazy virus emails with a link inside that will crash your computer, but then decide to at least open it.
Dr. Mead,
I have something you’ll want to see. Tell me if this is you and a certain rocker in this video. If you don’t want this to go viral, you’ll email me back asking for my demands.
Sincerely,
A Concerned Citizen
My eyes widen as I make it through the email and then I quickly reread the text before my eyes see the thumbnail of the attachment.
Oh—my—fucking—God.
No.
NO!
This cannot be happening to me.
I click play on the video as my heart races and turn down the volume on my computer. The shaky camera focuses on Tyke and I in the woods, catching the moment when I practically beg Tyke to fuck me.
The camera stays on us as he thrusts into me and I beg him to fuck me harder. I watch in horror as I writhe against the rock as I come, and then it shows where he shoots part of his load inside me and then pulls out.
The video stops and the breath I’ve been holding whooshes out of me. What in the hell am I going to do?
One thing is for sure, I’ll do whatever it takes to keep that video from going out to the world.
I square my shoulders and fire back a reply.
What do you want?
And now I wait.
“No Matter What” – Papa Roach
Frannie is unusually quiet at dinner. I try, subtly, to catch her eye when no one is looking to make sure she’s okay, but she won’t even look in my direction.
I lean back in my chair, perplexed about the entire situation. I thought we finally had things worked out—that we were going to give “us” a shot—why won’t she look at me?
“Since we’ve all had a long day, I think it would be nice to have an evening off. Group therapy is cancelled for this evening, but I highly encourage you to use the time for personal refection,” Dr. Shepherd informs the group after we finish dinner.
The room begins to buzz as everyone considers having time on their own. Most of them discuss getting a card game together in the recreation room. Another client asks me to join, but I politely refuse because the only thing on my mind is finding out what’s bothering Frannie.
The moment she gets up from the table, I follow her. “Dr. Mead? Can I have a moment of your time?”
I’m careful to address her properly in front of everyone as to not raise suspicions. No one pays much mind when she instructs me to follow her to her office.