"Good." Her tone shifted. "There's one more thread here. You mentioned a name earlier, Damien. Nathan."
Damien swallowed. "The audit information—he's called out the discrepancies."
"Tell me more," Dr. Raines said.
"He's been hovering. Watching Emma. He touched her hands." The words came quick, his face turning red. "He's been like this for years, and I can't get rid of him. He's a pig. Every time I see him I want to put him through a wall."
Dr. Raines tilted her head. "Put him through a wall," she repeated, her tone neutral but precise. "That's aggressive language, Damien. Can you tell me more about that impulse?"
The temperature in the room shifted.
"It's just an expression," he said. Too quickly. Too flat.
"Is it?"
Silence stretched. Damien's jaw worked once. Twice. His gaze dropped to the rug.
"I'm not—" He stopped. Started again. "I don't want to talk about that."
Dr. Raines gave him a small smile.
"That's okay," she said gently. "Not everything has to be unpacked in one session. We've covered a lot of ground today. Some doors can stay closed until you're ready to open them."
"Thank you," he said, voice tight.
I studied his profile—the tension bracketing his mouth, the way his shoulders had climbed back toward his ears.
We'd just spent an hour cracking ourselves open. But this—whatever this was—he couldn't touch.
"It's okay," I said, squeezing his hand.
The clock on Dr. Raines's wall ticked softly. Outside, muffled traffic hummed past.
She watched us with that quiet, knowing gaze.
"Let's table that thread for now," she said. "But Damien—when you're ready, I'd like to explore it. Anger that intense usually has roots. Understanding them can help you manage the branches."
He nodded, not quite meeting her eyes. "Okay."
Dr. Raines glanced at the clock. "We're almost out of time. What are your next steps?"
"We talk to Jennifer," I said. "I keep my promise. Tell her what happened with the audit."
"And I own my part," Damien said. "I won't hide behind Emma."
He turned to me. "And I won't keep information from you again. I can still take the brunt without leaving you in the dark."
"Good." She smiled, untangling her feet from beneath her.
"One last thing," Dr. Raines said as we rose. "You're not going to leave here perfect communicators. You'll make mistakes. You'll get scared and fall back into old patterns. The work isn't about never slipping. It's about seeing when you have, naming it, and choosing differently—sooner each time."
She looked between us.
"For a first session, you both did something remarkable. Youshowed up. You told the truth. That's how relationships like yours survive."
"Thank you," I said.
Damien echoed it beside me.
