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“Just what?”
“Simon told me about your encounter outside of the bathroom at Four Kinds.”
“What encounter?”
“Oh, come on, Ava.” My voice raised. “Enough with the fucking lies already.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. But I do know that I don’t think he likes me. He kept glaring at me from across the restaurant that night.”
“Who’s Kate?”
“What?” Her eyes widened.
“Simon told me that he responded to a call at some apartment building two years ago. When he arrived, you were there, and your ex-boyfriend was almost beaten to death on the floor by you. You told him your name was Kate.”
She brought her hands up and covered her face.
“So, it’s true?” I asked.
“You need to leave, Grayson.”
“I’m not going anywhere until I get the truth, Ava. You have done nothing but lie to me since the night I met you in the bar. If there’s one thing I don’t tolerate, it’s liars. I’ve been lied to enough in my life. Now tell me the fucking truth!” I shouted.
* * *
Ava
I could feel Kate wanting to come out as I stared into his angry eyes, but I stopped her. Walking over to the refrigerator, I pulled out a bottle of beer, twisted off the cap, and handed it to him.
“If you want to know the truth, then you’re going to need this.” I went over to the couch, and he followed. “I never once lied to you, Grayson.”
“Yeah, sure.” He breathed out a laugh. “If you think I’m going to sit here while you spew more lies, you’re crazy.” He stood up from the couch, set his beer on the coffee table, and began to walk away.
“Freya and Kate are a part of me.”
He stopped dead in his tracks and slowly turned around.
“What?” His eyes narrowed.
“I have a condition called dissociative identity disorder. Being a doctor, I’m sure you’ve heard of it.”
“I’ve heard of it.” He walked over to the couch and sat down next to me.
“When you approached me that day at the medical center, and I told you that we’d never met, I wasn’t lying. You were with Freya that night. She fronted and brought you back here. When I woke up the next morning, I had no memory of what happened. My only memory was you bumping into me and me spilling my drink all over my dress. After that, I couldn’t remember a thing. As for Simon, I never saw him outside the bathroom at Four Kinds. Kate must have come forth and talked to him because I had no idea she’d done what she did. I remember waking up one day a couple of years ago, and I had lost a chunk of time. I had a few bruises on my face and arms but had no idea where they came from. Then I looked at my journal, and Kate had written down that Gary was bad news, and he was never going to hurt us again. She left out the part of beating him up. I never saw or heard from him again.”
“You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, I’m serious. You can talk to Charlotte about my condition.” I got up from the couch, picked up the picture of Charles and I, and handed it to him. “This is Dr. Charles Lenox. He was like a father to me and a dear friend. He was also my psychiatrist. I’d been seeing him for ten years. He was the only one who believed and diagnosed me. A few months ago, he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and was rapidly deteriorating. He reached out to Charlotte and asked her to take me on as a patient. He just recently passed away.”
“I’m so sorry, Ava. I had no idea. Is that whose funeral Charlotte had to go to?”
“Yes. We went together. I know this is a lot to take in, and I wouldn’t blame you if you walked out that door and never looked back. But I do want to tell you that I don’t want you to feel sorry for me because I’m a survivor, not a victim. Once I was diagnosed, I finally understood why I had all the issues I had growing up. I finally got to meet my alters, and over the past ten years, we’ve worked hard together as a system.”
“How many alters are there?” he asked.
“There’s Freya, Kate, Luna, Ophelia, and Seraphina.”
“Simon told me that at the restaurant that night, he felt like he was talking to two different people. He said that your voice and demeanor were completely different as Kate.”
