Part 1: Give Me the Meds
Dear Diary, speaking to Jarah’s psychiatrist didn’t turn out at all like I thought it would. Dr. Martin had the kind of eyes that make you want to talk to him. He was patient and knew just when to give an encouraging smile.
But he wanted to know too much.
“I thought I was here to talk about John,” I said, tugging at the cuffs of my sleeves, then smoothing my shirt out. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to our new names.
“This is about John, Ms. Shea.” He leaned forward in his chair, elbows on his knees. “When I talk to him, I get the distinct impression there’s more to the story. I’m only trying to figure out the missing pieces out so I can help him.”
My closed-mouth smile was stiff as I regarded him. “I don’t understand. I gave you his background information when you took him as a patient.”
Dr. Martin pursed his lips, then he smiled, shrugging. “Yeah, that information you gave me does not always match what he says in our sessions. Did you know he believes there’s an organization out to get him? Another time, he told me they already have his brother.”
I swallowed hard. “That’s really strange,” I finally said.
“Most of the time, he doesn’t respond to his name.”
“Oh?” I squeaked, picking at lint on my pants.
“Look, Mia, I need to know what’s really going on here or I can’t help him. My choices are to medicate him further because he’s paranoid, and delusional, or for you to provide some insight if you have any.”
Now he had my attention. Jarah already had a lot of medications to take. I couldn’t possibly allow Dr. Martin to add more for the wrong reasons. Yet, I couldn’t tell him the truth either. I’d explained to Jarah multiple times about our situation, but maybe when he was talking to Dr. Martin, he was confused. I knew full well how hard it was keeping secrets and telling lies. After a while, you forgot what was real and what wasn’t or who you’d told what.
Whatever the case, this wasn’t working out for Jarah, and that left an empty feeling in the pit of my stomach.
“Mia? Is there anything you can tell me that will help?”
Slowly, I shook my head, resisting the urge to bite my lip. “No, not really. From what you’ve told me, he sounds muddled. I guess you’d better write those prescriptions.”
Dr. Martin sighed, then tried one last thing. “Would you agree to admitting him? If I could spend more time with him inpatient, I’m sure I’d get a better understanding.”
My back stiffened and goose bumps crawled down my arms. “Inpatient? No, I don’t think so. He needs to be at home where he’s comfortable.”
“I’m afraid I must insist.”
Narrowing my eyes, I spoke in the firmest voice I could muster. “I’m afraid you can’t do that unless he’s a harm to himself or others. We both know he isn’t. I’ll fill your prescriptions and give him your meds.”
“Fine, but I’d like to see him twice a week from now on.”
“Very well.”
I waited for him to write out the scripts, then left his office. I didn’t hang around for the elevator because my nerves were too frayed. Instead, I hurried down the stairs, and when I finally got outside the building, I gulped in fresh air.
Standing near the bench Jarah and I had sat at recently, I brought my hand to my chest. My pulse was speeding out of control so I tried to sit. Only moments later, I stood again, my muscles twitching.
Looking down at the prescriptions in my hand, I knew Jarah, and I had come to the end of the road with this doctor. I hadn’t fooled him in the least, and I was certain he would look for any reason to admit Jarah into the psych unit. This couldn’t happen.
With shaking hands, I tore the prescriptions into little pieces, and dropped them into the trash. Then, I headed home to Jarah.
Part 2: Macaroni & Cheese
Jarah was hungry when I got home, so I instructed him on how to make macaroni and cheese. Whenever he had a job to do, he always gave it his all, and seemed to come out of his shell for a little while.
As I watched him grate the cheese, my mind wandered back to Dr. Martin, and what I would do about this mess. Finally, I found my voice.
“I don’t think you should continue seeing Dr. Martin.”
He paused for a second, then continued preparing our lunch. “Why?”
Swallowing hard, I picked at my nail polish. “Before I answer that, I want to tell you I’m sorry. It was wrong of me to put so much pressure on you… making you change your name, telling you to lie to people about your past. I see now, this isn’t working.”
He stopped working, but didn’t look at me. “Did I do something wrong?”
“No, no, of course not. It is me who is in the wrong, not you. Okay, pour that into the pan, and set it on a low heat.”
After he followed my instructions, he said, “Do I need a doctor? Am I seeing someone else?”
Frowning, I wondered the same thing. “You need a doctor, yes. I’m not sure who you will see, but until I get this straightened out, you’ll have a little break from it.”
“Sounds good to me. I hate going.”
He’d never said how he felt about seeing Dr. Martin, instead he always did what I said. If I told him we were going grocery shopping, he dutifully came along. It was like that with everything.
“You know,” I said as we brought the food to the table and began eating, “you can tell me how you feel about things. If there’s something you want to do, or don’t want to do, you can say so.”
He shrugged a little, then eyed me with a silly smirk. This made me smile, too.
“What?” I asked.
“Are you really going to eat two huge bowls?”
I laughed. “Hey, shut up. This is good, and I’m eating for two.”
As he ate, he kept his grin. That gave me hope.
Part 3: The Stranger
It was late afternoon, and Jarah was lying down, reading a book in his room. I was tired, but decided I should do some gardening. Once you skip weeding, it’s hard to catch back up.
As I came down the pebble path, I ran smack dab into someone I’d never seen.
He smirked when I gasped, but it wasn’t the playful smirk that Jarah sometimes had. Oh no, it was more like a sneer.
My instincts took over, and I backed up, then turned, heading for the front door of the house. He instantly followed, calling for me to wait.
Near the front door, I spun around to face him.
“Who are you? And, what are you doing here?”
His taunting sneer settled down until his mouth relaxed into an easier smile. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m just looking for work.”
“Work?”
He nodded. “Yeah, like handy work, fixing things.”
He didn’t look like the sort that would seek out employment as a handyman. The hair on the back of my neck was standing on end, and my hands trembled, as I stared at him. He was lying, I was sure of it.
“Why would you come here? This house isn’t exactly visible from the road.”
He shrugged a little too easily, never losing that smile. “I asked around the village, and someone said you’d moved in to this old place. Said you might need help.”
“Hm. Well, there’s nothing here needs doing.”
He made a point of resting his eyes on the crumbling stone walls. “You sure about that?”
I nodded, crossing my arms in front of me. “Quite. Anything that needs doing around here, I can take care of myself.”
He took a step forward, and I instantly took one back, my heel hitting the bottom step up to the front door.
“Or that kid who lives here can help, right?”
My pulse sped up, my stomach knotted into a pretzel, and i found myself looking around for anything I could use as a weapon if need be.
My voice shook, but I tried to keep it firm as I said, “Kindly, turn yourself around, and go back the way you came.”
He laughed a little which did nothing for my frayed nerves, or the suspicion growing in my heart.
“Sure, whatever you say.”
I stood my ground, watching as he turned, and sauntered back down the pebble path. When the trees finally swallowed him up, and I could no longer see him, I still stayed put to make sure he didn’t wander back.
This was bad. This day had gone to shit in a matter of a few hours. What I knew for sure was, our time had run out in the house by the sea. We needed to be somewhere we could blend in.
Facing the house, I drank in what I saw for as long as I dared. I would miss this place.
Part 4: Without a Sound
Glancing at my watch again, I saw it was one-thirty in the morning. The moon was high with just enough light to guide our way, but not so light that we wouldn’t be hidden if we stuck close to the forest.
I sighed as I made my way up the creaky stairs for the last time. I’d gotten used to the strange sounds of the house, and in a way, I would miss the comfort I drew from the familiarity.
Making my way to Jarah’s bed, I shook him awake as lightly as I could. Once his mind rose from the depths of sleep, his eyes widened. I put my finger to my lip to indicate silence and motioned for him to get dressed. Then, I hurried to the window over the balcony to peer into the darkness.
My fingers were trembling as they rested on the window sill. It was all I could do to remain calm, but I had to for Jarah. When we moved here, we made up an emergency exit plan. So, he knew, once I woke him, exactly what was happening. It wouldn’t do to put anymore stress on him, so I had to keep my cool despite the butterflies in my roiling stomach.
When I returned to him, I reminded him with my finger to be silent, and he followed me down the stairs, and into the darkness.
Notes:
Today’s chapter was originally pretty long, so I lopped it in half. You’re welcome. LOL 😀 I hope you enjoyed it, and that your weekend goes splendidly.
Thank you for reading, liking, lurking, and commenting,
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Well, that is scary! But with the psychiatrist wanting to know too much, and now the strange guy hanging around the house, I’m afraid that was the only option for them.
Thank you, Jowita. Yeah, it was all just a little too strange. They had no other choice.
Dr Martin sounds like a good psychiatrist but because of the secret and the run , he couldn’t care of Jarah as he should do.
And this unknown man is very strange , probably a hand of Otto or an eye for Bram to see where they are.
Yes, I agree with you about everything you said. I think the psychiatrist’s hands are tied because he doesn’t know some important things about Jarah.
And, the strange man might be a spy for The Inheritance.
This man knew where Kara and Jarah is living, so somebody in the village is a pawn for the Inheritance. Maybe the person who sold the house is or everybody. The psychiatric got keep the secrets about the patients, so I don’t think he is linked to . But Prudence is may required , Kara was right to let him with questions.
Yes, I think you are right. I also think you’re right about the psychiatrist as he just wants to know more about his patient. It did put Kara on edge, but she would have been okay if the stranger hadn’t appeared later on.
This stranger wasted everything.
Yes, true.
That guy at the end was so creepy! It’s going to be for the best that they move, but it will be so much harder to do that after the baby is born. I hope they find somewhere they can really settle down.
Thank you, Heather. I can’t wait for you to find out where they go. 😀
Oh my goodness, the menace coming from the stranger really set me on age. Kara’s instincts were right. She needed to get out there, fast.
Thank you, Carys. 🙂 Yeah, so true. I think the doctor’s intrusive questions, and then this guy showing up, made Kara feel like she didn’t have much of a choice.
Whoa, Kara is right that things got bad pretty fast! That doctor, and then that creepy dude… I think she made the the right decision to get out of there asap! I hope this is not a plot of the Inheritance to just get them out of there or something… I’m at the edge of my seat! :O
Thank you so much. 🙂 Yeah, I agree. I think she did the only thing she could do under the circumstances. I’m DYING to show you where they are now!
Great one! I was biting my nails at the end. Can’t wait to find out what’ll happen next.
Thank you, Jina. 🙂 I can’t wait for you to see the next chapter!
Yes! I love that Kara made an escape plan but holy bananas, I feel like my heart is in my throat! I want them to get away safely. I’m so sad they have to start all over again 🙁
Thank you so much. Man, me, too. It’s a bummer they have to move along so soon. Let’s hope Kara is able to pick a place where the past doesn’t catch up.
OHHHHHHHH .. eeeek!
Thank you, Lisa. Right? lol
Things did not go well in this chapter, that’s for sure… I understand the doctor wanted to help, but he got too nosy. They need to stay safe and unrecognized. That visitor was very suspicious, I wonder who sent him… Hopefully they get away safe!
Thank you, Raymond. I think it’s normal that the doctor would follow up on things Jarah told him, especially, if it looks like Jarah is delusional. And, the stranger came the same day, which Kara is probably wondering now if that’s a coincidence or not. Either way, hopefully, they land safe and sound wherever they are.
I have a bad feeling a out both tbe doctor and that visitor. Somehow, I don’t think the questions and the visit happened in the same day by coincidence.
Thank you, Violincat. I can certainly understand why you would have a bad feeling about both of them. Especially since this all came up on the same day. Coincidence? Good question. ❤
That’s all?!! How could you do that to us? Well, I had wondered about this secluded place. Sometimes a big city is easier to get lost in. Too many people. What is she taking with her? Is she just going back? What/ What? What?! Good job!
Thank you, Jo. Yes, I’m so sorry to have cut it short. ❤❤ I think you are making the point that Kara has only just realized. And, your questions are on point. I can’t wait till you see where they end up.
Oh boy! This is not good, Sam, not good at all! Those doctors can be so nosy, and this one is no different. Yeah, he seemed like he wanted to help, but telling him too much wouldn’t be a good thing. Then, some jerk comes around sniffing. They definitely need to get away, and I sure hope they can without getting caught. This isn’t good for either of them. You have a troubled teen who needs debility, and Kara is pregnant. The stress isn’t good for her, either. Something needs to give, and it needs to happen quickly or disaster could happen.
Thank you, Sharon. LOL You’re right about this being not good. I think they had no choice but to hightail it out of there. I’m glad you brought up that the stress of this isn’t good for Kara as she’s pregnant. I can’t wait till you see where they end up.
It just seems like one thing after another is happening. I really do hope the stress doesn’t endanger the baby. Pregnancies, especially early on, can be fragile. Oh, and I meant stability, not debility. LOLOL! Stupid dictation.
LOL You know what? I didn’t even read that as debility. haha I guess I know what you mean. 😀 And, I totally agree. Hopefully, everything will be all right.
This is exciting! Since you lopped the chapter in two, can we have the second half today? Two bowls of mac and cheese?
Thank you, CT. I’m glad you’re enjoying this. ❤ lol A second bowl of mac and cheese sounds good, but I have more work to do on the second half. 🙂
They could go to St.Cyr. It’s a good place to hide from everyone 🙂
Thank you, Mia. ❤ That’s an awesome suggestion! 🙂
Man. I’m so afraid they aren’t going to get far. He knows he scared her so if he was with the Inheritance, they will be watching for them to run. And now I have to wait a week! Dang it!
Thank you, Audrey. The fear is real, and your points are good. So sorry about having to wait a week. ❤
Dr. Martin is cute. 😀 I wonder if Jarrah is really muddled, or if he thought it was ok to tell the truth in the safety/confidence of a counselor’s office.
Oh good! They’re moving! I didn’t like that house at all. Too big, too creepy, too high maintenance, and too far out!
Thank you, Jess. I thought Dr. Martin was cute, too. 😀 😀 That’s a good question about Jarah’s mind. He’s been in counseling all his life, so he may presume the rules are the same as anywhere else.
hahaha I love that you said that about the house. But, if they’re going to blend in, they shouldn’t buy the creepiest house in the village, I agree.
Oh man, that turned bad very quickly… It’s sad that they have to leave already. 🙁 Seems like poor Kara’s life will never get any easier. I can’t wait to learn what’s going to happen!
Great chapter as always, dear. <3
Thank you, Louise. ❤ I think it’s sad they have to leave already, too. Especially since I remodeled this house. haha Kara’s life will get easier, but I won’t promise when since she’s already going through much more than I ever planned. lol
Oh man! Now It’s gonna bother me until next Saturday! I hope nothing happens to Kara and the baby!
Thank you, Hillary. I hope nothing happens to them, too. I’m so sorry you have to wait till next Saturday. 🙁
OH MY GOSH!! I hope they get away safely! Where will they go that they can ever be safe with the resources of the inheritance? And how will this affect Jarah’s mental status?
Thank you, Bee. Kara is trying to make this as easy on Jarah as she can, but I’m sure he’s going to have difficulty with this. Let’s hope they land safely, wherever they go.
I’m excited to find out next week!
Me, too! I can’t wait to turn it over to you. 😀
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!