The bald man continues. “You’re here because we received a complaint that you engaged in an inappropriate and intimate relationship with a patient under your care. Do you understand the complaint and its seriousness?”
“I do,” Raegan answers.
The door behind us opens and my head turns to see who the fuck would be interrupting whatever is about to happen. My jaw drops when I see the one person I never expected to see here, of all places.
“Do you know her?” Hayes whispers.
I turn back to him, eyes wide. “That’s my fucking mother.”
“Thank you for joining us, Mrs. Mitchell. Would you mind stepping up to the podium, please?”
What the literal double fuck is going on here?
“I’m so sorry I’m late. Traffic was a mess,” my mother tells the board.
“It’s okay, Mrs. Mitchell. It’s highly unusual for the person that made the complaint to join the hearing like this. Most people want to remain anonymous, but since you insisted, we all agreed to let you say your piece.”
I let my head fall back as my eyes squeeze closed.I’m in the fucking Twilight Zone. That’s the only reasonable explanation.How did my mother even know about Raegan and I?
“Do you want me to go now?” Mom murmurs into the mic and the man nods. “Okay, great. Well… it all started because I was worried about my daughter, you see. She came to her father and I with some pretty disturbing news and we had no choice but to engage in some tough love. Shortly after that, since she’s still on our insurance, I went into the claims and saw she was seeing thiswomanfor counseling services. I went to her office to try to speak with her about my daughter and that’s when I found out this horrific woman was preying on my Demetria.”
My legs move of their own accord, putting me on my feet so I can yell, “That is a goddamn lie and you fucking know it…mother.”
Hayes grabs my arm to pull me back into my seat. “Jesus, Demi. Get a hold of yourself. We’re not going to help her like this.”
“You see this? She was never like this before,” my mother fucking mother continues, every next word, more lies. “In fact, I think she’s the reason she came to us in the first place. She confused our daughter and made her forget who she is. Frankly, it’s disgusting.”
I bolt out of my seat and storm my way to the podiums. “Your honor or whatever we’re supposed to call you… my mother is certifiably insane… and a fucking liar. That thing she keeps referencing is when I came out as gay to my parents. She’s just too much of a fucking prude to say it. I told my parents I was gay and I ended up in therapybecauseof them. They disowned me and told me what a waste of space I was. Any child in their right mind would need therapy after that, don’t you agree?”
“Miss–” another person–a woman–on the panel starts.
“Demi is fine.” I answer, shooting my mother a venomous glare.
“Demi. Are you saying that you didn’t engage in a physical relationship with Dr Adler?”
Fuck fuck fucking fuck.
“She didn’t take advantage of me,” I respond, my words trailing off in defeat.
“That’s not what we asked.”
Raegan reaches for my hand and I give it. “I’ll take it from here,” she mouths. “Demetria approached me in public, after one of our sessions, and asked me to help her in a more physical way. She presented the idea to me and while I did stop seeing her as a patient from that moment forward, I did also engage in a physical relationship with her. We were together for about four months. I understand my part in this was unethical, to say the least, but I didn’t expect to fall in love with her either–not that it’s an excuse. I know what I did was wrong and I would like to prove this by relinquishing my license and ability to treat patients for the next two years or whatever length of time you see fit.”
My mouth falls open on a gasp as I turn to face her. “No.”
“Yes, Demetria. This is my choice.”
“You can’t seriously believe this nonsense,” mother spits. “She turned my daughter against the lord and made her think she’s gay.”
“Hold on a second, Mrs. Mitchell. Dr. Adler, are you seriously offering to voluntarily suspend your license? This is very unorthodox.”
“It’s the amount of time I should have gone no contact before I began a relationship with her. It seems like a fitting punishment. I know it doesn’t take away what I did and I won’t stop seeing her, so this is the best I can come up with.”
I look over my shoulder at Hayes to find him stoic and unaffected by this craziness. “Did you know?” I mouth.
When he doesn’t acknowledge me, I have my answer.
“Demetria,” Raegan calls, pulling my attention back to her. “I know you don’t love this for me, but I need you to know that I love you more than my license.Youare worth more to me. I can do anything with my life, as long as I have you and Hayes. I need to do this. For you. For me. For us.”
