Page 108 of Snow Creek

It was kind of a lie.

Actually, a big lie.

I didn’t think she could ever forget me or what I had told her.

She immediately gives me a warm look and wraps her arms around my shoulders.

“You are all grown up,” she remarks. “I’m so happy to see you.”

I pull back a little and look deep into her pale blue eyes.

I don’t blink. I just hold her sympathetic gaze.

“I’ve been playing some of the tapes.”

She lets out a sigh. “I knew you would someday,” she says, leading me inside the house.

Her living room is a mix of antiques and contemporary furnishings. I recognize the large crystal vase from her office; it’s on a table next to the sofa. The room is like she was when I was her patient: comfortable, smart, and warm.

“I’ve been following you,” she says.

I must appear a little surprised as she quickly amends her statement.

“Or rather your career. The internet. I’m not a stalker. At least not a real one. I’m happy for you, Rylee. I always had such faith in you.”

She did. I didn’t doubt.

“When did you listen to them?” she calls from the kitchen.

“Like I said, I haven’t listened to all of them.”

“That will take some time. There are hours and hours to go through. It will also take the right frame of mind.”

I swallow. “That’s right.”

“Tell me how I can help you, Rylee.”

I haven’t been called that name in such a long time that it almost makes me feel as though she’s addressing someone else.

“I’m not sure. Just some perspective, I guess. You’re the only one who really knows me. What happened. Why I did what I did.”

She gets us water and sets a glass on a coaster on the coffee table. Embarrassed, I move mine to one right away. I wipe the ring from the table’s gleaming glass surface. Looking down, I see my face. I am who I am. I will never be like anyone else.

I’m no longer really listening to Dr. Albright.

“I can only reiterate what I know to be true and what I told you all those years ago during therapy. You could make a choice to live a life that would keep you safe and still allow you to be the kind of person you were meant to be.”

“Sometimes I am. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be with someone, to really share myself. Be loved.”

“No one knows you? Is that it?”

“Sheriff knows. He fixed things for me so I could be in law enforcement. Nothing illegal, but certainly not completely ethical either. I owe him a lot.”

“Does he know everything?”

I shake my head. “No. No one does but you and me. Not even Hayden.”

She brightens a little at the mention of my brother.

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