Page 52 of The Scars of Us

The Massachusetts Treatment Center was a division of the Bridgewater Correctional Complex for sexually dangerous persons. Kaleb had been diagnosed with a combination of different mental disorders, including schizophrenia and narcissism, before he was committed for his long-term sexual abuse of me.

Kamden stood to shake the doctor’s hand before introducing Nori and me.

The doctor spoke, his tone authoritative and clinical. “So, you’re here concerning your brother’s release?”

Kamden replied, “Yes, we wanted to see if there was an appeal process—we want to prevent it.”

Dr. Owens looked perplexed as he responded, “I’m sorry, but his release is determined by his doctors and other hospital personnel.”

Kamden’s jaw ticked. “You don’t take into account his victim’s testimony?”

“We do—we review his whole file, including the progress he’s made since being here. You do realize that it’s been eight years since he was committed? People change.” His tone was defensive and condescending.Asshole.

Kamden started to speak again, but I interrupted as fury took hold of me. My chair toppled over behind me as I angrily stood. “Doyourealize what he did to me? What I had to go through for all those years?” Hot, angry tears began to stream down my face as my voice increased in volume. “Do you know what the aftermath is following something that traumatizing? Do you know what I’ve had to deal with for the past eight years? How afraid I am of other people? All because of him!” I screamed as my tears blurred my vision.

Kamden wrapped his arm around me, trying to comfort me as he pulled me into him. I clutched his shirt as I glared at the doctor.

His eyes softened some as he addressed me, “I’m sorry for what happened to you, but I can assure you that Kaleb is much different than he used to be. We wouldn’t be considering his release otherwise. The treatment and therapy have done wonders for him, and his current medication has proven to be successful in controlling his behaviors.”

I didn’t respond—Dr. Owens would never understand. He had looked at everything logically, only taking into account what his research had dictated, not my feelings or opinions. Kamden, however, was a different story. He wasn’t having any of the doctor’s bullshit.

His grip on me tightened as he seethed, “Monsters like that don’t change. They just find a way to adapt to their surroundings, to fool everyone into believing they’re something that they’re not.” His voice cracked, and he took a deep breath to calm himself down. “Kaleb had me fooled for our entire lives. I… I never knew what he’d been doing to our own sister for all those years, and we lived under the same roof.”

As I slumped into Kamden’s seat, tears slid down my face. I began to zone out, the heated discussion between Kamden and Dr. Owens sounding garbled and distant. All of this talk about Kaleb and the fact that he was somewhere in the building started clawing at me. I clutched my head as images of him and memories of all the times he had violated me played in my head like a deranged slideshow made specifically to torment me.I need to get away from him, need to get out of here.

Shooting out of the chair, I bolted for the door, ignoring everyone’s calls as I ran. All I could think about was getting out of there, of getting as far away from Kaleb as possible, especially since his release seemed more eminent based on what Dr. Owens had said. My legs pumped harder as I headed for the exit doors, and I almost collapsed in relief once I passed through them. Bracing my hands on my knees, I sucked in heavy breaths of air as I tried to compose myself.

Nori came through the doors shortly after I did. She wrapped her arms around me and held me until Kamden exited about ten minutes later. His hardened eyes and tight frown told me that the meeting didn’t end as we had hoped.

The whole ride home was silent. Kamden tensely clutched the steering wheel with a white-knuckled grip as he drove. Nori held my hand the entire way, stabilizing my frenetic emotions, keeping me from coming completely unglued.

Once we got home, I headed straight for my room and shut the door. I could hear footsteps in the hallway directly outside, but no one knocked or entered.

Nori’s muffled voice sounded through the door. “I’m worried about her, Kam.”

“You think I’m not?” He sounded frustrated, and I could practically see him running his hand over his buzzed head.

“Well, what are we going to do?”

“I don’t know,” he sighed.

“Maybe you should call Ryker—have him come see her.”

“No,” Kamden raised his voice angrily. “He is not a part of this. He doesn’t need to be involved.”

Shutting my eyes, I blocked out the rest of their conversation. I wanted to see Ryker, but things were different now. Kaleb was going to be released, and then he would hurt Ryker because of me. My heart clenched, my stomach turning at the thought of Kaleb causing any kind of harm to Ryker.

I had to protect him. I couldn’t let Kaleb hurt him. I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to him. Even if Kaleb wasn’t involved, my unstable emotions would destroy both of us eventually, and I didn’t want that for Ryker. He deserved a normal woman free of issues that could love him completely, that could give him more than I ever would be able to.

Tears surfaced as I thought about what I had to do.Don’t be selfish. Do what’s best for him. He’ll hate you, but at least he’ll be safe.I knew I never should’ve gotten involved with him. I just prayed that it wasn’t too late to save him.

Kaiya had been avoiding me for weeks, including missing class. I’d called and texted her several times with no response, so I was done. At least I was trying to tell myself that, but who was I kidding? I couldn’t get her off of my mind, no matter how hard I’d tried.

I didn’t understand what had happened—the last time I saw her, everything was fine. Well, except for that small argument, but I fixed that—at least, I thought I had. I could never tell exactly what she was thinking, so there was no way for me to know why she had started avoiding me.

Occasionally, I’d seen Kamden in the gym, but he avoided me like I had some contagious disease. I was getting fed up with him, almost reaching the point where I didn’t mind causing a scene to get information about Kaiya.

I stalked toward him in the weight room as he executed leg presses. Hovering next to the machine, I looked down at him. “We need to talk.”

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