The Strange Healing

by Malone, Misty

  “Unfortunately, no. I think it's their way of making sure you'll come back again. It is really good, though, isn't it?”

  She agreed, and Heath was able to slide them gently into easier, more casual conversation. They once again found themselves enjoying easy conversation.

  Eventually, Heath confessed, “As much as I'd like this evening to go on indefinitely, I suppose I should be getting you home.”

  “If we must,” she reluctantly agreed. He paid the bill and kept his hand gently in the small of her back as he guided her to his car. After opening her door and seeing to her comfort, he drove them to the motel where she was staying.

  He turned the key off and placed his hand on her arm, keeping her in the car. “Sweetheart, thank you for tonight. I've been looking forward to it all day, and it seems I enjoyed it even more than I anticipated.”

  He adored the blush on her face as she said, “Thank you, Heath. I really had a good time tonight, too.”

  He took one of her hands in his and said, “I just want to remind you what I said earlier. I hope you sleep well tonight, but if you have any problems, I really do want you to call me. Can I program my number into your phone so I know you have it?” When she looked surprised, he reminded her, “I plan on protecting you, remember? That includes making sure you have my number and can call me quickly and easily if you want to, for any reason.” Before she could object, he said, “I'm not saying any more about it now, other than to remind you to please feel free to call me anytime for any reason at all, okay?”

  Heath saw unshed tears in her eyes as she whispered, “Thank you. I don't really deserve anyone doing stuff like this for me, but I want you to know how much I appreciate it. Not only you, but everything Heather and Phil have done for me, as well.”

  He kept his voice gentle as he said, “You do deserve it, and I don't like hearing you say things like that, but we'll talk about that another time. I need to ask you one more time, are you sure you want to stay here, and not with Phil and Heather?”

  “I'm sorry, Heath, but yes, I'm sure. I'm afraid the longer I put it off the harder it's going to be.”

  Smiling, hoping to encourage her, he said, “Okay, then let's get you safely inside your room.” Once she opened the door to her room, he went inside, wanting to check for himself that everything seemed safe. Once he was assured, he pulled her into his arms and met her eyes with his. He slowly bent down to gently touch his lips with hers. She closed her eyes and leaned into him, as he deepened the kiss. He was thrilled to feel her arms tentatively wrap around him.

  After a more passionate kiss than he had intended, he reluctantly pulled himself away. “Keep your phone by your bed and feel free to call if you need me, Sweetheart. I'll call you tomorrow morning. Now, lock the door when I leave, and sleep well, Honey.”

  “Thank you. Good night, Heath.”

  He leaned in for one more quick kiss, then left. He waited in the hall until he heard her lock the door, then went back home, hoping she was all right tonight.

  Chapter 4

  “I'll be fine, I'll be fine, I'll be fine.” Sara frowned, as her mantra wasn't calming her nerves as she'd hoped. Being alone in her motel room, she was unable to hide from the terrible memories that kept haunting her. Maybe Heath was right, and she should talk to him. There was no doubt in her mind that he would be a good listener, and she might feel a lot better if she did talk to him. But she really liked Heath, and what if after hearing what an awful person she was he avoided her? She didn't know what to do.

  Maybe she should just move again, and not get too close to anyone. That would probably be safer, but she hadn't had a close friend in a long time, and she just wasn't sure she could give up that chance. She knew if she and Heather spent much time together they'd have that closeness that was so hard to find. That would be wonderful.

  And then there was Heath. When she was talking to Heather this morning she realized just how much she'd come to care for him. She'd never been able to trust anyone enough to actually care about them deeply this quickly, until now. Now she felt like she and Heather had been good friends for years, and she felt somehow drawn to Heath. She had feelings for him she'd never had for a man before. And she liked those feelings and wanted to explore them further. She'd gotten tears in her eyes this evening when he told her he cared for her and planned to be protective. How could she possibly walk out on something that sounded so nice?

  She decided to take a hot shower and go to bed. Hopefully she'd be able to get some sleep and could think about it all tomorrow. She'd just take the day to think it all through and make some kind of decision.

  She crawled into bed, but she tossed and turned, unable to get to sleep. At 2:00 she was still awake, and decided to read a while. She drifted off to sleep again around four o'clock, but was again haunted by dreams of past events. Finally, at six o'clock she had a recurring nightmare, where two men were chasing her down an alleyway that was lined with older women scowling at her, but refusing to help.

  Knowing it was no use to even try to go back to sleep after that, she got up and dressed. She was shaking badly as she pondered what to do. She considered calling Heath, but she didn't want to wake him up just because she had a bad dream. He needed sleep so he could work. Besides, she had to find some way of coping with these problems. Looking around her motel room, everything she looked at reminded her of the nightmare she'd just had, and she had this sudden urgency to get away from it.

  She didn't know where to go, but knew she had to get out of that motel room, so she grabbed her purse and her phone and fled. Outside she saw signs that pointed to the beach, and considered a walk there. But just that quickly she had a flashback of the other day, and two men trying to kidnap her. No, she wouldn't be going to the beach alone again for a while. Instead, she turned toward town and just started walking. It was still early and not many people were stirring yet, but it didn't matter. She just roamed aimlessly, trying to find a quiet place where she felt safe so she could simply sit and think. She had to make some kind of decision today.

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  Heath carried his breakfast from the stove to his table to eat, and checked his watch. It was 7:15. He wanted to call and check on Sara, but was afraid he'd wake her. He was worried about her, plain and simple. He'd been concerned when he dropped her off last night, and woke up twice during the night thinking about her. He was now positive there was something she was keeping from him, and it worried him. He was pretty sure it had something to do with the two men he and Phil chased away at the beach, but that's all he knew. As a psychiatrist he knew it was important to get her to share her thoughts and fears, but he also knew he couldn't make her talk.

  At 7:45 he couldn't wait any longer, and called Sara. It rang and rang, until it finally went to voice mail. Hoping she was in the shower and couldn't hear it, he left a quick message, wishing her a good morning, and asking her to call him.

  By eleven o'clock he'd called and left four messages, and was worried enough to call Heather. “Have you by any chance heard from Sara today?”

  “No. Why? Should I have?”

  “No, not necessarily. I just wondered.”

  “No, but I know you wouldn't have called me at work unless there was a real good reason. What's wrong, Heath? What's going on?”

  Heath quickly explained, “Nothing specific. I'm just concerned. I know something's troubling her, but she hasn't shared it yet, and she's not answering her phone. I told her last night that I'd call her this morning, but I haven't been able to get ahold of her. I was hoping maybe you'd spoken with her.”

  Now Heather was concerned, as well. “No, I haven't heard from her, but why don't you call Phil?” I've got to go in a minute or two here, but Phil's on patrol today. He could keep an eye out for her.”

  “Thanks for the suggestion, Heather.” Heath hung up, and called Phil. He quickly explained the situation, and asked Phil to let him know if he happened to see her anywhere.

  As the day went on, Heath
became more and more concerned. Sara still wasn't answering her phone, and Phil called to let him know she didn't appear to be in her motel room, but her car was in the parking lot. That meant she must have walked somewhere.

  His last patient left at 3:30, and Heath left shortly thereafter. His first stop was Sara's motel. Her car was still there, but there was no answer at her room. He talked to the manager, explaining that he was concerned that she hadn't answered her phone, and the manager agreed to check to be sure she wasn't in her room hurt. Everything looked fine, but Sara obviously wasn't there. Heath thanked the manager profusely for his help, relieved to know at least she wasn't in there hurt.

  But if she wasn't in her room, where was she? He considered the beach, but after the other day he doubted she would go there alone. He did a quick check there, however, to rule it out. Then he simply started walking. He went inside any coffee shops, hoping to find her there, and just kept walking, looking for her. He kept calling every ten minutes, as well.

  Finally, he sat down on a bench in a small park. He tried to think back on everything she'd said the last couple days, hoping for a clue as to where she might be. While he was sifting through everything they'd talked about, he remembered she'd said they were going to the year-round Christmas shop because she loved Christmas. That shop wasn't real close by, but if she'd been walking and thinking, she may have wandered further than she intended, and if she was upset she may have headed for something calming, something she liked.

  With no other better ideas, he headed toward the Christmas shop, searching for her the whole way. As he neared the store he heard a commotion in the alley beside the store, and went to check it out. There he found two young men, late teens, maybe twenty, talking to a third person. He didn't know what was going on, but the men didn't appear to be aggressive, so he asked, “Is everything okay here?”

  One of the young men answered, “I don't know. We found this lady walking around, but she didn't seem right. We asked if she was okay, but I think we scared her. She ran down this alley, but we were worried about her, so we followed to make sure she's all right. I don't know what's going on. It's like she's a zombie or something. We don't know what to do.”

  Heath went to them, saying, “Let me try to talk to her. When they moved aside, his heart about jumped out of his chest. The lady they were concerned about was Sara, and he was immediately concerned, as well. She had a far away stare in her eyes.

  He went to her slowly, asking, “Sara, are you okay?” She didn't answer, but she didn't run, either, so that was a start. He reached out to take her hand, but she pulled back quickly, like she was afraid of him. She looked like she was in shock. He tried again to talk to her. He knew that often a certain word or phrase or name would help bring someone back to the present. “Sweetheart, it's me, Heath. Heather and I have been looking for you today. We thought maybe you'd like to go shopping at the Christmas shop again, and then we could go back to the seafood restaurant and get some crab-stuffed flounder for dinner.”

  He watched her reaction closely, and thought he saw a momentary hint of recognition, so he kept talking. “Phil and Heather are back at their condo waiting for us. They're out by the pool.” She looked at him when he said that, so he forged ahead on that theme. He reached for her hand slowly as he asked, “Remember the other night when we walked around the pool while we talked? I really enjoyed that night.” She was still looking at him, so he continued. He gently took her hand as he said, “We held hands as we walked clear around the pool. I told you about Heather and me growing up, and I was fascinated when you told me you do the illustrations for children's books.”

  She was watching and listening to what he was saying, although he wasn't sure if she was actually hearing him. He forged ahead anyway. “Let's take another walk, Sweetheart, and talk some more.” He was holding her hand now, and gently steered her back toward the sidewalk. He continued to talk to her, reminding her of things they'd done and talked about, as they neared the sidewalk.

  The young men had been watching in awe, and one quietly asked, “Is she okay? Should I call 9-1-1? Does she need a doctor?”

  She momentarily stared off into space again, so Heath took the opportunity while she wasn't listening to him to calmly and quietly respond, “Thank you two for your help. You did exactly the right thing. I'm a doctor, and I'll take care of her now.”

  The two looked relieved as they said, “Sure, no problem. I'm glad you're here.” They left, leaving Heath and Sara. They ran out of the alley, and their running seemed to trigger something in Sara, who tensed and tried to pull away.

  Heath gently held her hand, pulling her a bit closer to him, and quietly assured her, “It's okay, Sara. Those two just wanted to make sure you're okay. Since you are, they're going home for dinner now.” She looked at him and seemed to calm a bit. He continued, “How about you; are you ready to go get some dinner, too?” He waited a few moments, and asked, “Would you rather we go back to the restaurant we ate at last night and have more stuffed flounder, or would you like to go back to my condo and I'll make us some dinner?”

  She looked like she was starting to hear what he was saying, so he continued. “We can call and see if Phil and Heather want to have dinner with us if you'd like.” He headed them slowly back in the direction of her motel so he could get his car, while he kept talking softly, mentioning everything he could think of that might jar her back to him. He could tell he was making a little progress, so he persisted in what he was doing.

  They were about two blocks from her motel when two high-school age boys ran across the street, toward them. She reflexively cringed, and turned into Heath's shoulder, grabbing his shirt. He immediately put his arms around her. “What's wrong, Sweetheart? You're okay.” He kept assuring her softly, and kept his arms tightly around her. The boys ran past them, and Heath felt Sara relax.

  He gave her a few moments to collect herself, but before he had a chance to say anything to her, she looked up at him with a confused look on her face. “Heath?” She started to panic, looking around them. “Where are we? What happened?”

  Heath knew instantly that his Sara was back, but confused and scared. He kept his arms around her as he quietly explained, “It's okay, Sara. You're going to be okay now. Let's go to my condo and we'll talk. I'll explain everything to you. Can you trust me for just a few minutes while we go back to my car? I promise I'll tell you everything.”

  She nodded her head, obviously still confused, but Heath was glad to see that she seemed to trust him. That would be very helpful this evening when they talked. He kept his arm tightly around her shoulder while he led them back to his car. When they got to her motel she tensed again. “Heath, this is my motel. I don't want to go back in there right now. Please.”

  She had her face buried in his shoulder again and was holding onto him tightly. He quickly assured her, “We're not going in there, Honey. My car's right here, we'll go to my condo so we can talk, okay?”

  She nodded her head, but kept her face buried in his shirt. He kept his arms around her, rubbing her back and letting her decide when she was ready to look up. He gradually felt her relax, and when she looked up at him and let go of his shirt he calmly asked, “Are you ready to go to my condo?” She again nodded, and he led her over and helped her into his car.

  He quickly got in the driver's seat and asked, “Are you going to be okay for a few minutes, Honey, while I drive us to my condo, or do you want to talk a minute first?”

  She considered his question a few moments, and said, “I'm just really confused. I don't know what happened, or why.”

  He smiled and patted her hand. “I think I may have an idea what happened, Honey, and I'll give you my theory and we'll talk about it, but I'd rather do that at my condo so we won't be interrupted and I don't have to concentrate on driving, if you're okay waiting a few more minutes.”

  “Yeah, I'm okay now. I'd rather wait until then, I think, too.”

  “Okay, good. It's only a few minutes f
rom here.” He kept his hand over hers as he drove home. He helped her out of his car and into his condo.

  “Let's get some water or iced tea and go in and sit down in the living room,” he suggested.

  “Some iced tea sounds great.”

  Five minutes later they had their iced tea and were sitting on the couch. Sara took a drink, set her glass on the table, and looked at Heath. “Okay, I think I'm ready. What happened?”

  He set his tea down and took her hand in his. He kissed it gently, and asked, “When you said you're ready, what are you ready for?” When she didn't answer him right away, he said, “Because Sara, I think we need to talk. I think this has a lot to do with what was bothering you last night. I know you said you weren't ready to talk about it yet and I didn't push you, but Honey, I think now you need to talk about it. I think you realize that now, too. When you said you're ready now, is that what you meant? Are you ready to talk to me now?”

  Heath watched Sara squirm in her seat and he offered, “Like I said, I'm a pretty good listener. I promise I won't judge you, and what you say will stay between us if that's what you want.”

  She sighed and looked at him so pitifully, he said, “Honey, I really just want to help you. How about if I tell you the parts I'm guessing on, and you tell me if I'm right, and fill in the blanks for me?”

  She looked at him with a question in her eyes. “What do you mean parts you're guessing at?”

  “Well, I think this goes back to the bad experience you had at the beach the other day. From the look on your face at the time, I'm guessing you've had a traumatic experience in the past that got pushed to the front of your memory when this happened.” Watching her reaction, he was pretty sure he'd guessed correctly. He rubbed her hand with his thumb as he asked, “Am I close?”

  He saw fear in her eyes, and reached over to gently pull her into his arms. She readily allowed the closeness, snuggling into his shoulder again. He held her there a while, until he felt her relax a bit. “Sweetheart, can you tell me about it, please?”