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Laura snickered.
“I assume that, because your sister is here today, she already accepts you as you are?” When Laura nodded, Dr. Greene continued. “Does that make you feel better about reuniting with your parents?”
“Yes, but I’m still nervous.”
“It would shock me if you weren’t.” Dr. Greene crossed her legs at the ankles and leaned forward. “Remember, the goal here is not to convince anyone that you’re worthy of love and acceptance. That’s a fact. The goal is to be your authentic self and see how your parents react.”
Cassie felt tears forming in her eyes. She couldn’t look at Laura. “And if they reject me?”
“Then it’ll simply be another obstacle to overcome. It won’t be easy, and I can’t promise it’ll be painless, but it is possible.” She held up a finger. “And remember, expending energy on the unknown will not change the outcome, no matter how much you wish it would. For now, it’s important to put your best foot forward. After that, we can work through the outcome together.”
Cassie nodded and blinked away her tears. When she looked over at Laura, she saw her sister had started crying somewhere along the way.
“Have you still been having nightmares about your family?” Dr. Greene asked.
“Yeah. They’re getting a little better, though. I can control the car more now than I used to.”
“Oh, the dream where I’m a little girl?” Laura looked between Dr. Greene and Cassie. “The one tied to Sarah Lennox?”
Dr. Greene looked to Cassie. “Sarah Lennox?”
“Yeah, that’s something else I wanted to talk about. I brought up the dream while Laura and I were out to lunch with our friend Michael.” The memory still made Cassie blush. “Turns out, I don’t remember as much about that time as Laura does.”
“Oh?” Dr. Greene looked interested now. She adjusted her glasses to hide her excitement; but Cassie had known her long enough. “What sort of memories are missing?”
Cassie hesitated. How could she possibly talk about Sarah Lennox’s disappearance without crossing into forbidden territory? Which would be worse, saying I used to talk to ghosts, or I still talk to ghosts?
“I brought up the fact that Cassie used to talk about Sarah like she was still there, even after she’d disappeared.” Laura’s voice was measured, as if she were trying to avoid upsetting Cassie a second time. “It’s the reason we stopped talking to the Lennoxes.”
Cassie startled. “Wait. What? You never said that.”
Laura gave her a sad smile. “You did kind of run off on me.”
Cassie’s blush deepened. “Not my finest moment.”
“Why did you run away?” Dr. Greene asked.
“Embarrassment.” Cassie looked up at the ceiling. She wouldn’t lie about her feelings, but she didn’t have to look her therapist in the eye while she talked about them, either. “It scared me I didn’t remember something I should’ve.”
“It’s completely normal for people to remove difficult or traumatic memories. You know that,” Dr. Greene said.
“I do,” Cassie replied.
“But it still bothered you?” Dr. Greene asked.
“One of those easier-said-than-done moments.” Cassie turned to Laura. “Am I really the reason we stopped talking to them?”
“I wouldn’t say it was your fault.” Laura’s voice was gentle, but Cassie could read between the lines. “I think you just upset them during a tough time. Mom didn’t like how Mrs. Lennox talked to you. I think the falling out was between the parents more than anything. Then they moved away about a year later. There wasn’t any time for reconciliation.”
“What happened? What did I say?” Cassie asked.
“I only remember bits and pieces. After Sarah left, we went over to their house. I was excited because we didn’t get to go over that often, but I also knew Sarah was gone. Mom had tried to explain it to me. That she was missing, and her mom and dad didn’t know where she was. She told me not to talk about Sarah unless Mrs. Lennox talked about her first.”
“I’m guessing I didn’t get the same memo?”
Laura shrugged. “If you did, you ignored it. Mom took us over there to eat with Mr. and Mrs. Lennox, and Sarah’s sister, Jessica. I think that was her name. We had mom’s lasagna.”
“How do you remember that?” Cassie asked.
