Lore places a hand on mine. I squeeze it. Then she turns to the therapist and says, clear as day:
“It’s been a month and three days.”
My eyebrows shoot up.Didn’t know she was counting too.
“And?” Dr. Kendall asks.
Lore shrugs. “I miss it.”
Then the therapist looks at me. “Are you… holding out?”
I let out an offended noise. “God, no.”
She blinks. “Then…?”
I look at Lore becausethis one’s hers.
She takes a breath. “You know how when you’re raising little kids, you set rules? And if they break the rules, they get punished? Because if you don’t, you end up with an entitled asshole who never learns accountability?”
Dr. Kendall nods.
Lore points her thumb at me. “Well, he broke a rule. A pretty big one. So if I don’t hold him accountable, he’s liable to repeat it.”
My mouth drops open. “You put me in a time-out because of that?!”
“Well it wasn’t because you’re bad in bed,” Lore adds quickly.
Dr. Kendall raises an eyebrow.
Lore gestures toward me. “He’s really not.”
I ignore that part entirely. My ears are burning enough as it is.
“I know what I did,” I force out, meeting Dr. Kendall’s eyes even though it makes my skin crawl. “And I regret it. And I’m definitely not gonna repeat it.”
Lore shakes her head, unimpressed. “Doesn’t matter. You did the crime, you do the time.” She groans and rubs her face. “Even if it’s hard on all of us.”
My jaw drops. “So how long have I been sentenced?”
She shrugs like this is the most reasonable thing on earth. “Don’t know yet.”
Dr. Kendall nods slowly. “That’s definitely an… interesting approach. But you don’t seem very sure about it, Lorelie.”
So, it’s Lorelie now. I guess if she’s asking about the intimate parts of our life, she can use our first names.
Lore sighs, staring at the table in front of us. “I don’t know. I mean-” she glances at me and immediately looks away “I miss him. It’s not like I don’t trust him. It’s just…” She trails off.
“Just what?” I ask quietly.
Her teeth catch her lip. “I’m scared.”
My stomach drops. “Of what?”
She finally meets my eyes, hers are already wet. “I’m scared that something will happen, or I’ll do something wrong, and you’ll decide to punish me again with…” she gestures vaguely, embarrassed, “with that.”
My chest physically squeezes. “I didn’t punish you. You’re the one who sentenced me.”
Dr. Kendall lifts a hand, stopping us. “That’s a different point. Mr. Boise, you said you were angry when you drank. Were you… trying to punish her? Consciously or not?”
