Page 43 of Harry

“I don’t know how I’ll ever get past it all,” Rory’s voice shook with her tears.

“One day at a time,” Jessica said.

She felt the caring from the three women, and she wondered if caring would be enough. Could she actually ever feel right again? Would life ever go back to what it was before? She knew the answer to that. She was out of the Marines, no longer a member of the military. She was on the civilian side of life, and everything would be different. She would need to work, but she didn’t know when she would be okay enough to return to doing anything without breaking down in the middle of it all.

Thoughts of Harry filtered in. He was a good man. A part of her wanted to run toward him because he was so wonderful, but she didn’t want to ruin him. She hated the pain and trouble she’d been through and didn’t want that to rub off on Harry. If she walked away, he could find someone else. Maybe that would be best. She didn’t need to inflict her destruction and ruin on these people. They didn’t deserve the horror that had attached itself to her life.

Chapter 36

Harry didn’t know what to do. He felt they’d made progress when she’d hung out with Ava, Jessica, and Ingrid, but now he hadn’t heard from her in a few days. She wouldn’t return his calls or texts. He worried that something had happened, but the tracking device he’d dropped in her purse was still at the hotel. He’d gone so far as to make friends with the front desk person at the hotel where she was staying to make sure he had someone who could inform him if anything happened.

Nothing bad had happened. Rory hadn’t come out of her room. It seemed that she was just sitting around the hotel room, hiding from everything and everyone.

“Hey, Harry, what’s up?” Andy asked as he entered the locker room.

Harry stood and grabbed his pants from his locker. “Hey.”

“You sound down,” Wild said. “I thought talking to Ava and the other women helped.”

Harry stood with his pants in his hand as he turned to face Wild. “She is hiding from me again. She won’t text or return calls.”

“Oh, she needs an intervention,” Peach said.

“What would you know about an intervention?” Bear asked.

“I’ve watched a few on YouTube,” Peach said. “You know, sometimes people need someone else to take charge. I bet you could do that.”

“How?” Harry asked.

“She needs counseling,” Jax said. “Jessica spent a lot of time getting help. I bet Rory isn’t going to her counseling sessions.”

Harry shrugged. “Probably not. I get why she is upset. She was a Marine, and then they starved her.”

“Do you know for a fact that they kept food from her?” Bear asked.

“She’s lost at least thirty pounds, maybe more,” Harry said. “She had muscles before they took her. She’s so small now.”

“That probably is affecting her too,” Andy said.

“Let me call Ava and see if she’d be willing to help out,” Wild said.

Peach pulled on his clothes and then moved to stand in front of Harry. “Buddy, you need to make her move in with you. Then you would know if she was going to therapy.”

Harry shook his head. “I can’t dictate her life.”

“You wouldn’t be dictating, just helping. She needs someone to pull her out of her funk.”

Peach was probably right. She needed help to free herself from the way her mind twisted everything. If he was there with her, drawing her out, making her feel like she had a normal life, maybe she would get better. He hated seeing her drown in worry, fear, and doubt. He wanted her to get better, to have a full life.

Wild came back into the locker room, his lips stretched wide in a smile. “Good news. Ava, Ingrid, and Jessica want to help. They want to make sure she goes to therapy and are willing to help her get there.”

“Wow, that’s great. So what do I do now?” Harry asked.

“Go get her. Tell her she’s moving into your place,” Peach said.

“What if it’s too much?” Harry asked.

“It won’t be,” Peach said.

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