Forbidden: A Standalone

by CD Reiss

  “You found her in a weakened state, and you took advantage of your position.” He spoke as if broadcasting the news. All facts. “She came here, confused and willing to hear whatever anyone said. She idealized you, then you found a way in. You used tricks like hypnosis. You manipulated her vulnerability. For what? What’s your game? Are you her therapist or her lover? Because you know as well as I do that you can’t be both.”

  And in those few words, I was on the defensive.

  “You need to let her go,” I said, turning the subject away from the lines I’d crossed.

  “You don’t have the tools to give her what she needs. You’re weak. If you loved her, you’d take care of her. You’d do what she needed you to do.” His voice was absent of jealousy or venom. He spoke as if we were two men with a common interest, and his was superior.

  “It doesn’t work like that. She needs to make her own life.”

  “You’re going to let Warren Chilton rape her again?”

  The “again” was loaded. It implied I’d let it happen the first time. I tamped down my desire to defend myself. I didn’t have to. I hadn’t done anything wrong. I hadn’t failed, even if I felt as though I had.

  “You thought I didn’t know who did it or where it happened,” he said. “She told me last night, before the ambulance came for her. She was raped under your care, and now I’m supposed to roll over and let you have her? You underestimate me.”

  “What do you think I should do? Arrange her release? What caseworker in their right mind would put her back in a police cruiser to go home after she was found on a twelve-story ledge, fucked up on a designer drug? Or I should find a way to get Chilton out so he can continue his psychotic spree in society?”

  “She is your priority. Not society.”

  “It’s all my responsibility. All of it. I don’t get to pick and choose.”

  He sprang up and stood over me. “That’s the problem.”

  I wouldn’t be cowed. I wouldn’t be intimidated. Not every decision I’d made had been perfect, but I’d be damned if I would be told I didn’t love her the right way.

  I stood. He was two inches taller, and I was over six feet.

  “The problem, Mister Bruce, is that you’ve done nothing but baby her. You’ve continued the damage her parents did. Your boundaries are constructs. They don’t give her the power to make the right decision. You don’t let her fail because you design failures that are irrelevant and you train her behavior to mold into your world, not the real world. You fucked this up. You fucked it all up. You took a woman who could have figured her life out, and you turned her into a pet who couldn’t wait to run away as soon as you left the gate open.”

  I thought he recognized the truth in what I was saying. Or maybe I needed to believe that. But he seemed to soften just a little, enough for me to continue.

  “You need to let her be,” I said.

  “So you can take her?”

  And there, in its full and splendid glory, was the reason therapists shouldn’t fall in love with their patients. It muddied the waters to thick paste. I lost my ability to advise both Fiona and her enabler. Neither could trust me.

  “You know what’s right. Just do it.” I opened the door. “Let me figure out what to do with Warren.”

  He stepped toward the doorway but stopped long enough to say, “I’ll figure out what to do with him. Here’s what you do. You understand that she’s mine. You understand that what you did was wrong, and you go back to your God and ask for forgiveness. You do not stand in the way of what she needs, now or ever, because I will expose you. I won’t have to lay a finger on you to destroy you.”

  And with that, he strode off as if taking care of Chilton was his responsibility.

  What a fucking mess.

  Frances made her way down the hall, passing him. She gave him the once-over, head to toe, then nodded, smiling, and turned her head as he walked by.

  “Chapman,” she said before I could close the door, “I want to talk to you.”

  She slipped in, and I shut the door behind her.

  “Who was that?” she asked, sinking into the seat Deacon had just vacated.

  “You want his number?”

  “Jealous? You’re cute too. I’m just used to you.”

  “He wants Fiona Drazen released to his care.”

  “And? Do you have a recommendation?”

  “A few days observation.”

  She held up her file. “By someone else, apparently.”

  “I wasn’t able to help her before—”

  “So you’re abdicating? That’s not like you. As a matter of fact—”

  “I haven’t gotten anywhere,” I said.

  “Are we still talking about her therapy?”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I’ve been doing this a long time. I’ve seen nearly a thousand kids come in and out of this facility, and I’ve managed dozens of doctors. I’ve seen how they stand with each other. How they talk. I’ve seen you and the Drazen girl in the same room, and what I see is that you’re too damned handsome for your own good—”

  “Frances, really?”

  “Tell me what’s going on.”

  “No.”

  “We could get in a lot of trouble,” she said.

  “You won’t.”

  “Besides the core ethical ickiness.”

  I crossed my legs. “Are you making an accusation?”

  “I’m prying directly into the place where your business intersects with mine.”

  “There is no such place.”

  “I sense you’re deflecting.” She crossed her legs to match mine and upped the ante by crossing her wrists over her knee.

  “You must have been amazing in session.”

  “I was. And you’re still deflecting.”

  “I came to you with a serious problem,” I said. “Fiona was raped by Warren Chilton on the grounds of this facility. What did you do? You took me off his case, and he’s still walking around like he owns the joint. Let’s address that core ethical ickiness.”

  “He denied it.”

  “Welcome back to the nineteen-fifties.”

  “Please”—she waved as if there was nothing there—“give me a break.”

  “Tell me what Rob Chilton’s people said about Warren’s habits. And I mean habits. Fiona’s not the first or last. You know it. They know it. Is the Chilton Foundation putting a new wing on the place? Paying double?”

  “Enough.” She straightened her legs and leaned forward. “The matter is under investigation.” She stood. “Until the authorities come back with something to nail him, like actual evidence, there’s nothing I can do.”

  I stood and walked toward the door. “This has been such a fun little chat. Was there something you wanted?”

  “I enjoy the hell out of you, Chapman. I’d hate to see your career end over a little ickiness.”

  It was doomed to end over something. Old age. Exhaustion. Death. Might as well be love.

  CHAPTER 45.

  fiona

  “This is like déjà vu all over again,” I said.

  Frances smiled with an undertone of superiority then slid the papers across the table.

  “I bet this happens all the time, actually.”

  “Everyone’s different,” she said noncommittally. “Some people need to do this a couple of times. Sometimes we have to switch methods. Try new things.”

  I scribbled my name on familiar forms. “Such as?” I was just making conversation.

  “We’re putting you in a group session,” she said.

  “Okay.”

  Whatever. I could do a group. Not a big deal. I didn’t feel as if I needed to have Elliot in a room to myself. He and I could wait. We were solid.

  “We’ll do everything possible to keep you away from Warren Chilton.”

  My blood froze, and I stopped signing.

  “But you have to meet us halfway,” she said. “Stay where you belong. We closed off the holes
in the fence back there, but you guys are smart. I’m sure there are more little hideouts. Stay away from them. I’ve scheduled you for different mealtimes, but you’re to steer clear of each other in the halls and everywhere else.”

  “You’re making it my responsibility to stay away from my rapist?”

  “I’m asking you to participate in preventing it from happening again. You asked to be here. I’d be happy to transfer you to a different facility.”

  I had no recollection of asking to be at Westonwood. It must have seemed like the best option at the time, or the best way to get to Warren. My stoned self was far braver than my sober self. Time would tell if she was any smarter.

  The option to switch out did have its appeal. Starting clean and participating, as she said, could be very productive, yet it felt like running away. I had business to attend to here.

  “Is Jonathan still here? I don’t have to avoid him, do I?” I tried to sound non-threatening, but I’d somehow poked her, because she smiled again.

  “No. He’s been asking for you.”

  I dotted the last i on the last form and pushed it back to her. “Great. Thank you.”

  “The MD is going to look at you in an hour so we can review your medications.”

  “I’ll be ready,” I said.

  I left the office fully-charged, the exact opposite of angry. I didn’t forget Warren for a second, nor did I forget what my brother needed from me, but I felt as if I was in Westonwood for my own good, and I could make something of it.

  CHAPTER 46.

  fiona

  Westonwood hadn’t changed. I had. Through the lens of my time outside, most of which was spent without drugs or sex, Westonwood seemed more hopeful a place, sunnier, brighter. I walked the halls looking for Jonathan and talked to a few people I’d seen before, but I didn’t get a sense of where he could be during the free hour.

  It wasn’t until the lunch break was nearly over, and I was sitting on a bench by the basketball courts, that I saw him loping toward an errant ball. He saw me, scooped up the ball, and dribbled toward me. Had he gotten taller? He looked as if he’d crested six feet in his weeks at Westonwood, and though he was as graceful as ever, he treated his limbs like new attachments. I swelled with protective warmth.

  “I knew you’d be back,” he said, throwing himself into the seat next to me as if he were indestructible.

  “Nice, you had such faith in me.”

  “You didn’t look ready when you left.” He spun the ball on his finger, whipping it around until the black lines blurred.

  “How was your hangover the other day?”

  He popped the ball up and caught it. “How did you know?”

  “You called me. Presumably on Warren’s phone?”

  He neither confirmed nor denied any of it. He flicked the surface of the ball, making an echoey pinging sound. “What did I say?”

  “You asked for money.”

  He shook his head and spun the ball on his finger again. My brother was brilliant but an avoider of things that made him uncomfortable. Eventually, he’d probably avoid me altogether. Might as well get on with it.

  “You know who I saw last week?” I asked. “Mindy and Baby.”

  He kept spinning the ball. No reaction.

  “They asked about you.”

  “Say hi for me if you get out.”

  “Jon?”

  “Yeah.” He didn’t stop with the ball.

  I wanted to shove it down his throat. Instead I just clapped it between my palms and held it. “They had a lot to say about you.”

  He looked at me for the first time. “What’s that mean?”

  “I don’t know what your relationship with Rachel was, or if it involved you fucking other people. Or if you’re a cheat or what. I don’t know. But nothing you do is private.”

  “I’m not a cheat.”

  “Good. Hold on to that. I heard them talking about stuff I didn’t even want to envision.”

  He shrugged. It wasn’t a denial that he’d fucked half of Hollywood, but it wasn’t an admission. That was fine with me.

  “It’s not easy being whatever it is we are,” I said. “And we hang out in our own circles so we don’t have to explain ourselves. Like why we never fly commercial or why we don't… whatever… cook a meal because why should we? But look at Margie. She’s almost normal. I think she’s got it right. She’s, like, in the world, you know?”

  “Yeah, well, old money fucks old money. Sometimes it fucks new money. There’s a reason for that shit.”

  Rachel hadn’t had much in the way of money, and in his adolescent mind, staying away from the likes of her equaled staying away from middle-class girls.

  “Warren fucks Baby. How about that for a reason to stay away from them?”

  He twisted his face until he looked as if he was wearing a blender.

  “I know,” I said. “It’s fucking gross. She told me as much. I have no idea how consensual it is, but she flipped it off. And they have a younger brother, so I don’t even want to know.”

  “I’m going to be sick.”

  “You did fuck her, didn’t you?”

  He put the ball on his knees and put his forehead to it. “I thought we had problems.”

  “We do. But I think you should avoid him. I don’t want that brand of crazy rubbing off.”

  “I can’t believe you’d even suggest that shit.”

  “He’s fucking crazy. No more booze. Don’t take anything from him. When you called me… I know rohypnol when I hear it.”

  “Man”—he leaned back—“I don’t even remember any of that. Woke up in a padded room.”

  “Did anything hurt?”

  He looked at me with those emerald-green eyes, the sounds of inmates playing basketball behind him. I should have paused before asking or maybe couched the question.

  “Such as?” he asked.

  “Anything unexpected.”

  “My arms from trying to get out of the straps.”

  We stared at each other for a second. Then two.

  “Why?” he asked softly.

  “Because Warren made that call, I was able to get someone here to put you in solitary. You’re welcome. Stay away from him.”

  “What did he do to you?”

  He’d find out soon enough when he got out and the news was the news. But all was silent in Westonwood, and I had to continue to protect Jonathan the same way I protected Deacon. But I couldn’t say nothing.

  The bell rang. It was time to get to our business.

  “It doesn’t matter.” I stood. “He’s not an appropriate friend. That’s all.”

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  I snapped the ball away. “I’ll leave that to Margie.”

  I threw it at a hoop, missed by a mile, and took off for the main building.

  CHAPTER 47.

  elliot

  I watched her talk to her brother on the side of the basketball courts and felt the connection between us. The rope had heft and drag, as if it was as real as the nose on my face. I was done denying it.

  So what to do about my work?

  Frances had been very clear about her suspicions. Her conversation had almost been a warning salvo that I had to make choices, and they’d have consequences.

  How long could I tread water and do both at the same time? The rules were clear. A therapist could see a patient two years after the therapy ended. I had no chance of waiting that long. And with Fiona’s public persona, I had even less chance of keeping it a secret for two years.

  The bell rang. My session would be here in seconds. A young woman with profound feelings of isolation was going to sit across from me, and she needed my full attention. On the basketball court, Fiona took a shot at the hoop and missed before she trotted into the building I watched from.

  “I’m sorry I’m asking for something again,” I said softly to no one and the only one who mattered. “I love my work. I don’t want to lose it. I’m not trying to be transactional. I need some he
lp figuring this out.”

  No answer. At least not in the form of the clouds parting and a bearded guy telling me to get my shit together, deal with the consequences, and trust him.

  “I trust you,” I said, and I meant it.

  I took a breath and let the worry go so I could do the job I loved.

  CHAPTER 48.

  fiona

  I put my Westonwood blues back on. The doctor had run through his examination quickly, focusing on the blood work and sparing me another pelvic. He was bald but for a few strands on top of his head, and his hands were bulbous and creased. He asked for a rundown of what he’d find, and I gave him the list without apology. I wasn’t defiant or brazen. I wasn’t contrite either. I didn’t owe him an apology. I owed him a list of the drugs I’d taken in the past week. When I told him what I remembered of Jack’s description of the tar, he looked at me over the top of his glasses.

  “Ricin?”

  I shrugged. “It was loud. It was ricinus something. He might as well have been speaking another language.”

  “He was.” The doc made a note and left the nurse to finish.

  She took blood, my temperature, checked my reflexes. The arm band squeezed so tight to get my pressure, I thought blood would never circulate through to my fingers again. The doctor had come back to listen to my heartbeat and left me to get dressed.

  I thought I’d gotten through to Jonathan. Nothing like grossing someone out to make a point. I’d have to remember that. Of course, Warren still had one over on my brother, and he would try to make my brother pay for it.

  I didn’t know what to do about that.

  The nurse directed me to the doc’s office. It was richly painted in greens and cranberries, like a year-round Christmas theme. I threw myself into the upholstered chair, leaving the wooden one in front of his desk empty.

  “All right, well…” He cleared his throat. “Most of this will take some time to get back, but we did a quick run on a couple of things. You’ve been sexually active?”

  “Yes.” Duh.

  He looked at me over his glasses. “You’re pregnant.”