AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And to think, we’ve only just begun…
CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO
SKYLER
“You seem…different today,” Dr. Maddock says softly, tapping her pen on her notepad.
Seated directly across from her in a matching armchair, I shrug, wringing my hands together in my lap. I notice my knees have started to bob again, and I press them together, holding them still.
“I don’t mean it in a bad way. You just seem…distracted.” She eyes me curiously, a small smile playing at her lips. “Is there somewhere else you’d rather be right now?”
I blink at her.Is she serious?
She doesn’t say anything, clearly waiting for a response. I’ve lost track of how many sessions we’ve had now—hell, if it wasn’t for the activity calendar in our rooms, I’d forget what day it is—but I know her well enough at this point to read her body language, decipher the nuances in her tone.
Things most people don’t have to second guess, but I’ve always struggled with.
I’m pretty sure that’s why Nolan fascinated me from the start—why I felt drawn to him, aside from the obvious.
He doesn’t bullshit. He cuts right to the chase. What you see is what you get, and fuck, if that isn’t a breath of fresh air.
I don’t have to beonwith him.
Of course, this isn’t something I realized right away. Only something I’ve come to understand in the two weeks since I started opening up in therapy.
Ironically enough, it was the Monday after Nolan and I started things, that my reservations about her—about this whole thing—just sort of…fell away.
It helped that Dr. Maddock didn’t berate me for what went down in group that previous Friday. If anything, she seemed to understand. Hell, she evenpraisedme for doing what I needed to do to get out of an unsafe situation. She said Kevin understood too, he was just worried. But I wasn’t in trouble, like I thought I’d be.
No, neither of them have a clue that I sought out Nolan and spent the rest of the day in his bungalow, overloading my senses in a far more pleasurable way.
And then Saturday too.
And Sunday…
But I’m not about to tell anyone that.
Not that relations here or whatever are forbidden. It seems like a lot of people pair off while here. Actually, I even mentioned that to Nolan, and he just gave me that arched look he does, and reminded me it’s not a prison. We’re all adults.
The powers that be can frown upon it, but they can’t stop it.
“Well,” I finally say, returning to the conversation, “I can’t exactly say there’s nothing else I wouldn’t rather be doing.”
Nolan’s naked body flashes across my mind’s eye, and I feel myself flush.
Dr. Maddock arches a brow behind her readers.
I hunch between my shoulders, unsure what to say.
She hums, but doesn’t press. “Well, we have about ten minutes left. Let’s try to make the best of it, yeah?”
Wincing, I nod, knowing I need this. Want this.
So with that, I return to what we were talking about before I zoned out: Adam.
Canaan Academy.
Pastors Gabriel, Marcus, and Salvador.
