Total pages in book: 151
Estimated words: 139803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 699(@200wpm)___ 559(@250wpm)___ 466(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 139803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 699(@200wpm)___ 559(@250wpm)___ 466(@300wpm)
Dr. Gresham nodded. “Maybe you two should try sitting down tonight and talking about it,” he suggested. I swallowed thickly, terrified that if I brought it up while we were so close to the anniversary of my miscarriage, Julian would reveal how he truly felt about it—reveal how much he hated me for not being able to take care of our first baby.
“I’m scared to,” I quietly confessed. “What if he really hates me for what happened?”
Dr. Gresham released a small sigh, but there was understanding in his eyes. “Meghan, Julian does not hate you. I don’t think there’s a single—even tiny—part of Julian that could hate you. That man is irrevocably in love with you. Just give the talk with him a try. You may cry a lot,” he warned me, “but it will help you in the long run.”
“Do you think he might be hurting, too?” I quietly asked Dr. Gresham.
He gave me a small smile. “I know he’s bothered by this, Meghan,” he informed me. My soul cried for Julian, for everything he’d lost when I had miscarried. “Maybe not as upset as you are, but he is bothered by it—bothered by how it’s going to affect you. You need to talk to him.”
“And how do you know that?” I asked him.
“His therapist and I do collab together, Meghan,” he reminded me. I blew out a soft sigh. I had honestly forgotten about that. “He knew that you were going to hit a low, and he’s trying to figure out how to prevent it.”
“I’ve already hit it,” I hoarsely admitted, my eyes welling with tears. They had known, or at least Julian had known. He knew it was coming up, and yet, despite the pain and heartache I knew he must be feeling, he was still more concerned about me and how I would cope with it.
“Not yet, you haven’t,” Dr. Gresham informed me. “And I have faith that you won’t. But you need to let Julian and Axel help you, okay? They can help you stay together while you feel like you’re falling apart, Meghan. Remember that. Just because you’re getting better each day—getting stronger—doesn’t mean that you still don’t need someone to lean on. Even the strongest of us do.”
“They don’t,” I quietly said as I sniffled.
“Trust me, they do,” he told me. “Axel and Julian lean on you, even though you never feel it. They draw from the strength that they see coming from you. How do you think Axel is coping with everything surrounding his sister? He’s coping because of you, Meghan, even though you don’t realize it. And Julian? He’s admitted to his therapist that he just has to see you smile at him, and he feels better.”
Tears ran down my cheeks. “I never knew I was strong enough to help someone,” I whispered, though I knew Dr. Gresham would still be able to hear me.
Dr. Gresham smiled at me as he nodded. “You’re a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for, Meghan. And you need to remember that.” He looked at the time on his computer. “It’s time for me to log off. I have an appointment right after yours, or I would stay on, but if you need a session before our next one in two days, have Axel or Julian call me, and I’ll work you in, okay?”
I nodded. “Thank you, Dr. Gresham.”
He gave me a warm smile. “You’re very welcome, Meghan.”
I logged off the laptop and closed it. When I looked up at Axel who was already staring at me, I burst into tears.
“Oh, sweet girl,” he whispered. He got off his stool and came to wrap me up in his arms. “It’s going to be okay.” He ran his hand over my hair. “It’s all going to be okay.”
“Are you busy?” I asked him, my voice sounding strangled to my own ears. “I just want to lie down.”
Without a word, he lifted me up into his arms and carried me down the hall to our room—the room all three of us now shared.
He gently laid me on the bed and then laid down next to me, pulling me into his arms. “Let it out, sweet girl. It’s okay to cry.”
So, I did. I cried until I passed out, my eyes too swollen and my brain too tired to stay awake any longer.
* * *
✶ ✶ ✶
* * *
Julian
* * *
The house was eerily quiet when I walked in. Axel’s laptop and textbook were sitting on the bar in the kitchen, and the laptop I assumed Meghan had used to do her therapy session with Dr. Gresham was still lying on the dining room table, which really wasn’t like her. She always put her laptop back in her nightstand drawer once she was done using it. She was kind of OCD like that.