AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Right,” Chuck nodded. “You’re right. She didn’t do what she did last night for attention. She didn’t do it to be bratty. She did it because she’s hurting.”
“Exactly. You’ve got to establish the fact you’re on her side. And then... she needs to be regressed. Properly. A few light rules and punishments aren’t gonna cut it.”
“Regressed?”
“Mmhmm. Clearly, she’s unhappy right now. If you care about her, you need to take her back to a time when she was happy, and then you take it from there.”
Regression. It was a big, scary word, and Chuck didn’t know if he had what it takes.
“You mean like, making her wear kid’s clothes?”
“Partly. I’ll drop by some things for you that might help, actually. More than that, though. Philosophically speaking, it’s more to do with taking away some of her independence, breaking her down, so that she can build herself up again. Making her safe.”
His head was swirling.
“Breaking her down? Like breaking a horse?”
“Not exactly. But knowing her past, horses are gonna come into it.”
As soon as his brother said that, Chuck realized that he needed to know more. A lot more.
*
Oh great, I’m dead.
Millie’s head felt like molasses. Her throat felt like razor blades. Her heart rattled in her chest like a can caught in a cement mixer.
“Light,” she croaked to herself, “I don’t like you, light. You’re my enemy.”
As she breathed in, she tried, in vain, to remember something, anything, about what had happened last night.
Millie squinted again, trying to let in the least possible amount of light.
Note to self: next time I drink, go to sleep with sunglasses on.
It was so dang bright. Full spectrum sunlight. Not normal, soft, gray, English sunlight. No. This was — yuck — wide open space sunlight. Montana sunlight.
She groaned again and managed, somehow, to prise those eyes open a little more.
“Come on, Mill, you can do it.”
When she finally got them open though, she almost wished she hadn’t. Ugh. It was so… cute in here. So… homely.
She was in some kind of magical woodland cabin. Was she still dreaming? She looked up at a skylight above her and saw branches and leaves framing the sky. The window frame, of course, was wood. So were the walls, the floor, the bed. The mattress, though, was soft. Very soft.
Where the heck was she?
It took her a moment to remember which ranch she was currently at — Littlecreek. But… this wasn’t her room. This had to be…
Oh.
Oh no.
Oh, god no.
“Morning, little one.” She was stunned to hear Chuck’s voice, mostly because he didn’t sound furious. He sounded kind.
Millie shifted up on her elbows, and the world lurched forward. But somehow, she managed to not fall into the sky, and she found Chuck’s warm, beautiful eyes.
