Page 24 of Malice

“Your dad will love that.”

He will? This is a lot. “See you soon.”

“Love you, Aster.”

I fight back full-on sobbing at this point. I don’t remember the last time my mom said that to me. “Love you too, Mom.”

I end the call, wiping my eyes. I’m a multimillionaire, I have loving, accepting parents, and apparently I’m an uncle to two point five kids by my polyamorous sister. Hell of a timeline jump.

Chapter 10

Hudson

“Can you tell me more about that, Hudson?”

I’ve been sitting in silence for several minutes across from the grief and trauma therapist I finally decided to call. I lost too many days to hopelessness and paranoia and he was able to fit me in quickly. Now I’m supposed to expound my feelings of being watched.

“It’s hard to describe without sounding like I’ve lost the plot.”

Dr. George nods, tapping his pen on his notebook. “This is a safe place. You can tell me how you’re feeling without concern.”

After another moment, I blow out a breath. “It started pretty suddenly. Right after I got back from the hospital. It got worse after the investigator stopped by my house and told me I had a ghost.”

“Uh-huh. Did he say why he thought that?”

“No, but he did know Chester’s name.”

“Which was reported in the media,” Dr. George points out. “You were put under a great deal of stress, which can lead to the mind playing all sorts of tricks on you.”

“I know, but why would this random stranger come and tell me I’m being haunted if it was just in my head?”

Dr. George doesn’t answer right away, but when he does, the response annoys me. “When we’re in a wounded or vulnerable state, we’re more susceptible to attracting people who want to take advantage of that.”

“Iknowthat, Dr. George, but how could he target me? How could he know?”

“People like that can be very clever.”

I notice the hedging look on his face as he continues.

“Are you absolutely certain this person really visited you?”

I open my mouth to object to the question, then snap it shut. Did I hallucinate Aster’s presence? The call to his agency? All of it?

“If I did…” I pause as a shiver runs through me. “How would I have made up so many details?”

“The mind can do fascinating things to protect us. Perhaps your subconscious created Aster as a savior figure between you and Chester.”

“It seemed so real.”

“But you yourself said that there isn’t any damage to the house, and frankly it seems likely that any follow-up would come directly from law enforcement. Have you ever heard of a state agency doing investigations prior to this?”

“No.”

“I think where we’re at is recognizing that you’ve been under an extreme amount of mental and physical stress that has likely made you susceptible to delusions or hallucinations. It can all be explained if you stop and think about it. Of course your house feels unnerving at times given recent events. As far as Aster is concerned, just remember the mind is a powerful tool. If you can imagine your way into this, you can get yourself back out.”

“I understand.”

After leaving my appointment, I sit in my car for several minutes, staring straight ahead. A tangle of emotions andthoughts wars in my mind. I can get on board with imagining the strange events in the house, but how the fuck did I imagine a whole-ass person? Especially one who looks like Aster. I even called his job. All created in my head? If so, I’m losing my fucking mind.

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