Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 48097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 240(@200wpm)___ 192(@250wpm)___ 160(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 240(@200wpm)___ 192(@250wpm)___ 160(@300wpm)
“Mom, please. This isn’t like L.A. D and I have something more. I’m happy. It may not be normal, but it’s not like before.”
“Ms. Parker…”
“Mr. Dawson, I’m going to look past the fact that I’m picking my daughter up at your place. I’m going to pretend this entire situation with you and my daughter never occurred. I’m also going to leave you be here in Black Mountain, but I expect you to do the same. Leave Corrine alone, or you’ll not like what my next move will be.”
“I’m not leaving!” Corrine shouted. “I’m not going back there, and you can’t make me. I’m a legal adult, and we aren’t doing anything wrong.”
Candy’s eyes narrowed and her lips pursed together. “You are leaving. You may think just because you’re nineteen that I have no control. First of all, I control the purse strings, or have you forgotten? Secondly, unless you want to destroy this man’s career, you will do what I say. You may not have burned down his house, but if you refuse to go with me, I’ll burn down his entire life. I know for a fact the Black Mountain Academy board will not appreciate knowing their principal had sex—multiple times I’m sure—with a mentally unstable student who had just spent time in a psychiatric unit. If that doesn’t sound like taking advantage of a situation, I don’t know what does.” She looked at me and placed her hands on her hips. “Don’t push me. I’m not an enemy you want, Mr. Dawson.”
In defeat, Corrine grabbed her stuff and exited my house with tears streaming down her face. I didn’t say a word. She didn’t say a word. Her mother had spoken, and I had yet to figure out how to respond.
25
Corrine
“I didn’t think we’d be seeing you back here, Corrine,” Dr. Redmond said as he sat across from me with pen in hand and notebook on his lap.
“I didn’t exactly have a choice in the matter,” I said, hating that I was once again in this very familiar room about to have my brain dissected again.
“You chose to engage in the same behavior that brought you here in the first place. Correct? That was a choice you made,” he said.
“I suppose.” I didn’t want to say much. All he would do is write it down and use it against me later.
“Tell me about this…” he looked down at this notebook, “Drew Dawson. Your mother tells me that he was the principal at the school you were attending. She also told me that you snuck to that school without her knowing with the intention of stalking him.”
“That’s not true,” I snapped. “She knew I was going to Black Mountain Academy. She just doesn’t pay attention to the things I do. And no, I didn’t go there with the intentions of stalking him. It just happened… but it’s not like you think.”
Dr. Redmond continued, “She also said that she has spoken with Mr. Dawson, and he has agreed to not make issue of this situation.”
“Make issue?” I asked, not sure what he was saying. And had my mother been in conversation with D after I left?
“What you did is a crime. With your history, Mr. Dawson could have really made problems for you, but your mother got him to agree to forget this unfortunate situation. You should be grateful for that.”
Unfortunate situation?
“I may have started to revert to the old me at first,” I began. “And I didn’t start my relationship with Mr. D with honesty, but something changed as he started to care about me.”
“Did you feel that Mr. Harrison cared about you as well?”
“No. I wanted him to. I thought I could convince him to. And when he didn’t, I got mad… obviously.”
“But Mr. D—is that what you call him? You feel that he genuinely cares about you, in a romantic way?”
I didn’t want to tell Dr. Redmond exactly how intense our feelings were for each other, even in such a short time. For one, I didn’t think he’d believe me. And second, I didn’t want to get D in trouble if Dr. Redmond decided to report him or something.
“It became something different. Yes,” I said.
“Then why did he allow you to come here?” the doctor asked. “From what your mother said, he was happy to have you taken from Black Mountain and admitted into St. Mary’s.”
“That’s not true.” Although the feeling of wanting to check every door in the hospital began to take over.
Mr. D wouldn’t want this.
He wouldn’t have allowed me to go with my mother if he had a choice.
Would he have?
“Your mother also said that he is aware of your past.”
“Can we stop talking about what my mother said?” I snapped, feeling the urge to storm out of the office. “Ask me if you want the truth. My mother sees things her way and always has. I’m done talking about my mother.”