I couldn’t stop crying as Dwyer led me back outside and toward the car. Not because I was traumatized, but because I’d been betrayed. All this time, despite my distrust of Alex, a part of me had remained steadfastly attached to him, hoping and wishing that I was wrong. It was the part of me that had fallen in love with him; that wildly irrational part of me that wanted to believe him against all odds. Wanted to believe he was exactly who he said he was, and that he loved me back and would never hurt or kill me.
All that hope had just been extinguished.
Dwyer and West misread my tears, and one of them stopped and patted me on the back. “I know how hard this is. There’ll be plenty of trauma counselling available for you once you’re home safe. But you should remember that—you’re finally safe.”
I nodded through the floods of tears and let them help me into the back of the car. Dwyer held up his phone and muttered a few words into it, and then he nodded at West before looking over his shoulder at me. “Ready to go?”
I nodded. “Yes.” I wasn’t, not really, but what else could I say or do?
“How are you feeling, Celeste?” Agent West asked, craning his neck to look at me as Dwyer started the car. “You survived. You should feel proud.”
I stared bleakly out the window as we headed down the driveway. “Yeah. I feel great,” I replied. “Just great….”