Page 80 of Free to Breathe
I’m pretty confident she never expected me to use the connections I have to do it though.
I knew she wouldn’t be angry. Far from it. But I knew it would add to the burden she’s carrying.
And that’s the last thing I want to do.
So, when my phone lights up with a text in the middle of watchingChoppedwith the messageWe should talk. Tomorrow. I take a quick moment to reply,Fine.
Corinna’s cussing out the chefs while lying on my chest, and she asks curiously, “What’s that about?”
I tell her without remorse, “It’s work.”
“Okay.”
I’m not lying. Analysts in Hudson are digging deep to find out the information I need to know to close out the past so Corinna and I can move on to our future as soon as her surgery is done.
And by then, I’ll know what that future looks like.
39
Corinna
Twenty days before surgery
“Corinna Freeman.”
Standing, I grab my coffee and bag before following a casually dressed woman down a long hall in Greenwich Hospital. The appointment I’ve been dreading is here.
The psychologist.
I don’t need someone to poke in my brain other than with a scalpel. I don’t need them to tell me I’m hanging on to emotional scars from my teenage years. Shocker, I have mommy and daddy issues. Might come from them trying to sell me. I escaped, they died. I call that a win all the way around.
Why the hell am I here again?
As I follow the woman down the hall, I find one good thing about this appointment. They don’t take your height, weight, or blood pressure ahead of time. I snicker quietly.
“Right in here,” she says before she steps back to let me precede her. I’m surprised to find myself in a richly colored room with oversized armchairs and lots of throw pillows.
Hearing the door click shut behind me, I wander over to one of the pillows and murmur, “I think I saw this on sale at HomeGoods.”
I spin around when the woman who escorted me in chuckles. “You have a good eye. I couldn’t pass it up. There’s something about the fringe I just fell for.”
My jaw drops. “You’re the shrink?”
“Alice Cleary.” The woman who escorted me into the room holds out her hand, and I automatically take it. “If you’re surprised now, I have a feeling we’re going to have fun over the next few hours.”
“I think I’m going to need chocolate,” I mutter.
Cheerfully walking over to her desk, she pulls open a drawer. “Dive in.” I gape at the assortment of candy bars littering the inside of her drawer. Spying a bar of Godiva, I snag it. “Let’s get comfortable and talk about how today’s session is going to work. By the way, do you like music?”
Unwrapping the unexpected treat, I nod. “I do.”
Soft music begins to play in the background. “Excellent. Let’s get started.”
* * *
Two hours later,I want to bring Alice home with me. “Gee, Corinna. There’s nothing on your mind at all,” Alice drawls as she makes notes on a legal pad. “Critical information was kept from you for over ten years, something that influenced the course of your life. Your boyfriend, the man you’re falling in love with, may have a half brother with someone who’s made your life a living hell. Oh, and you’re having brain surgery in less than three weeks.” Pausing, she looks at me, half-amused and half-astounded. “Got anything else stored up in there?”
I think about it. I really do. And then I just hand it over.
