Page 30 of Bloom: Part 1

“It can’t be my disorder. I’ve never felt this way about anyone else.”

“All the more reason to not engage. Bloom, if anything happens between you and this man, I need you to tell me right away.”

Sulking, I sat back with my arms folded. If he said one more time that what I felt for Logan was my disorder, I would stab him with his expensive-looking gold-plated pen.

But if you do that, Logan will never be yours.

Damn. Would I forever be constrained by my feelings for him and not do anything to jeopardize my shot with him? I didn’t want to mess up.

“Okay.” Yeah, not likely. I could do anything else Dr. Simms wanted me to do. Except leave Logan alone. I was already close to drugging him and tattooing my name on his chest. Right over his heart. I would have done it too if I hadn’t thought aboutthe consequences. Like him being mad at me and being more forceful about me staying away from him.

And they thought I didn’t understand consequences.

“Good. Before you go, I want to hear about your night terrors. How have you been sleeping recently?”

“My nights are restless.” I gladly moved on to a different topic. “I haven’t had the night terrors exactly, just regular nightmares and—”

He raised an eyebrow. “Go on.”

“I usually wake up soaked in sweat. But last night—” I hung my head and twisted my fingers. “Last night I wet the bed.”

Dr. Simms scribbled into his book. He finally looked up with a small smile. “Wetting the bed is a common symptom of extreme stress or trauma. Nothing to be ashamed of.”

“But I haven’t done that in a long time.”

“Is there something new that’s causing stress in your life?”

Did Logan count? He took up all my thoughts these days, but if I explained that to Dr. Simms, he would only double down on me not getting emotionally attached to anyone. He was a few months too late.

“Not that I can think of.”

He narrowed his eyes as if he wanted to call me out for lying. “I see. Well, this is it for our session today. If the night terrors begin before our next session, I want you to call me, and we’ll set up a meeting.”

“What if you’re too busy?”

He smiled. “I’ll always make time for you. You’re a special patient, Bloom. If you want to talk about anything, don’t hesitate to call me. Especially if you feel the urge to pursue that relationship you told me about.”

“Okay.”

Before I could walk out the door, Dr. Simms stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. My spine stiffened at the unwanted touch. He must have sensed it because he dropped his hand.

“Remember, Bloom, progress is a marathon, not a sprint. I was worried about you when you—”

A doctor approached, flanked by two youthful-looking guys dressed in scrubs who were hanging on to every word Logan said. I smiled, but he nodded at the psychiatrist and continued without acknowledging me.

My breathing quickened as I fought against the urge to run after him and force him to acknowledge me. He didn’t seem to miss me at all.

“Bloom, did you hear a word I said?” Dr. Simms asked.

“I’ll be at my next appointment.”

“No, I said relationships are too complicated for you at this time.”

Yeah, yeah, I’d heard it all before. I was too easily obsessed to have a healthy relationship. It was better to learn to cope first before kindling any romantic attachments. Yada yada yada. I was sick and tired of hearing it, so I walked away from Dr. Simms, even though he was still talking.

I should have gotten a better look at those two guys with Logan. Who were they? Did they want my man too? If they knew what was best for them, they would stay away.

What was I thinking? I couldn’t wait until I was “better” before chasing Logan. With my terrible luck, he would find someone else and forget all about me.

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