Page 92 of On a Fault Line

She shakes her head, as if trying to get all the fog to fade so she can understand what got her to sitting on my lap in my SUV.

Confusion mars her features, wrinkles forming on her forehead. “I saw something…”

Penny hasn’t had a major setback like this in a while, and now she is confirming my suspicion. “I think so too.”

I’m hesitant to pry for details, and don’t have to make that decision because I see Mitch walking down the sidewalk toward us.

Penny slithers back onto her seat, and I instantly feel the void.

I want her in my arms.

I want to listen to her breathing and feel the warmth of her soft skin.

I also want to continue on with the rest of our one hundred days without drawing any conspicuous attention to us.

Enough information will get relayed back to Graham. The last thing we need is to deal with that fallout.

Going to Penny’s side of the vehicle, Mitch opens the door.

“Hi, Penny. It’s Dr. Saber…Mitch. How are you doing?”

A sob breaks out of her throat. “I need help.”

He gives her a hug while she cries into his shoulder.

They share a special bond, and I bite back the jealousy trying to claw its way to the surface.

Releasing the hold, Mitch examines Penny by shining a light in her eyes and asking her a series of questions involving the year, the president, and her birthday.

“Have you been attending your local sessions here in Portland?”

“Yes. I saw Margo. But I’m not doing it regularly.”

My head jerks over to them. I thought she was going consistently.

Dammit. I should have pushed her in that direction or at the very least paid closer attention to her schedule.

So much has happened since she got released from the facility.

With Penny now spending all of her free time with me, I should have realized she wasn’t following through on her end of the deal that was the stipulation to being released in the first place.

“Well, we need to change that,” Mitch states. “There’s a reason the therapists were diligent about making sure you understood the importance of the protocol once you got released. If you neglect the essential components of recovery—and, Penny, you will probably always be in some stage of recovery—then your equilibrium will be off-balance. This is why holistic medicine is being studied more now. We finally realized that fixing things from only one point of view doesn’t actually fix anything. We aren’t looking for a Band-Aid approach for this. Instead we are looking for fluid healing through multiple channels.”

“Okay,” Penny agrees. “You’re right. I’m going to take my therapy regimen more seriously.”

“Great. You seem like you are back to a good state, so I’m going to go. Be sure to let me know if you need my assistance in any way.”

“Thanks, Dr. Saber,” Penny says, looking a little shy now that the excitement has worn off.

Mitch closes the door gently.

“Leave it to me to cause all the drama.”

“Penny…” My tone is of warning. I don’t want her to ever think like that.

“Maybe I can go back to the photoshoot and continue shooting. I’m certain Gino got nothing out of today that is worth salvaging.”

Turning to her, I snap on her seat belt and tuck the fleece blanket around her legs. “There’s nothing I am concerned with right now, other than taking care of you.” My fingers tilt her chin up so I am looking into her eyes. “There is not one thing you should feel ashamed of or shy about.”

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