Read Online What He Believes by Hannah Ford - Free Book Online

then he…he tried to
kill me.”   It was strange saying the
words out loud, and a flash of panic flooded my body, along with a shot of
adrenaline.
    Jason nodded.   “But you were able to escape.”
    “Yes, my boy -- um,
my fiancé was able to get to me in time.”   I shook my head.   “Sorry, I
just got engaged yesterday.”   I held
up my ring, not to brag, but to show him that I was stable, that I was moving
on, that I had a support system.   “My mom is coming out here soon, too, “ I said.   “So I have plenty of support.”
    But Jason wasn’t
listening.   Instead, he was staring
at the marks on my wrist, the ones Noah had left there last night.   When I’d held up my hand to show him my
ring, my sleeve had slipped down.
    “What happened to
your wrist?” he asked nonchalantly.
    “Oh.” I quickly
pulled my sweater down.   “I’m … that
just… “   I wracked my brain, trying
to figure out how the hell I could explain.   It wasn’t like I could just claim to
have fallen down or something.   The
marks were obviously from being tied up.   So I did the only thing I could do.   I lied.   “It happened with
Professor Worthington.   He tied me.”
    Jason tapped
something on his iPad, making a note.   “They look pretty raw.”
    “Yeah, well, they
haven’t healed.”
    He looked up and
smiled at me.    “Tell me about
your fiancé.”
    “Noah.”
    “Yes.   How did you meet?”
    I squirmed in my
chair.   Why was he asking me all
these personal questions? “I was working on his case,” I said.   “He was one of Professor Worthington’s
clients, and I was assisting him.”
    “And you two began
a romantic relationship?”
    “I’m sorry,” I
said.   “But what do these questions
have to do with whether or not I’m allowed to come back to school?”
    “I’m trying to get
an idea of your mental state and what kind of support system you have in place.”
    “Noah is a great
support system.”
    “Have you had any
nightmares since the incident?”
    I swallowed.   I didn’t want to lie to him.   I didn’t.   But the questions he was asking me, all
of them felt like they were a loaded
gun, just one second away from going off in my face .  
    “No,” I lied.   “No nightmares.”
    “Any flashbacks?”
    “No.”   I shook my head.
    He leaned back in
his chair.   “Charlotte,” he
said.   “It would be completely
understandable and normal for someone who’d been through a trauma such as yours
to be having some after affects as they worked on processing what happened to
them.”
    “I know,” I said.   “But I’m doing well.   I really am.”
    He pursed his
lips, like he was going to say something else.   But then he nodded.   “Okay.”   He turned back to his iPad.   “Any depression?”
    “No.”
    “Suicidal
thoughts?”
    “No.”
    “Difficulty
concentrating?”
    “No.”
    “Do you feel as if
you’re ready to come back to school?”
    I could tell he
was running through a checklist now, one of those forms they probably made him
fill out for each person, just so they could have a record of it.   I felt the band that was around my chest
start to loosen a bit.   This really
was just a formality.  
    “I’m definitely
ready,” I said confidently.
    “Do you feel you
will be able to handle your course load effectively?”
    “Definitely.”
    Jason ran his eyes
back down the checklist, making sure he hadn’t missed anything.   Then he looked up at me.   “Is there anything else you want to talk
about today, Charlotte?   It doesn’t
have to be about what happened with Professor Worthington.   It could be about anything.   Your family, your relationship.”
    I almost laughed
at the idea of talking to a stranger about my relationship.
    “No.”   I shook my head and shrugged.   “Everything’s getting back on track.”’He studied me for a long moment, and I felt
something in the room subtly shift.   A strange feeling rose inside of me,