Page 16 of Hunt for You

And he did. When he sat back down, I did too. But I didn’t know what to say, or do. I twisted my hands together in my lap and my skin itched. I wanted torun.It was the most uncomfortable I’d felt in months.

And the fucker knew it, and didn’t talk to break the tension, he just stared at me, challenging me to flee.

I kept my arms folded and crossed my legs at the knee as well, pushing out my lower jaw to meet the challenge, because maybe I wasn’t going to run, but I wasn’t gonna talk first, either.

A minute later, Gerald sighed again, then picked up his glasses and cleaned them with an old-school cloth hankerchiefhe got out of his pocket, them put them on as he began to scribble some notes on the paper in front of him.

“Same time next week?” he asked quietly.

I nodded.

He stopped writing. “There’s something I want you to consider between now and then.”

“Okay,” I muttered.

He looked at me and I looked back, wary, but waiting.

“I understand you’re not ready to talk to your dad. But… I want you to consider whether there’s anyone else in your life who’s there because they care about you. Who isn’t Court-ordered, or medically advised. Who doesn’t get paid to talk to you.”

“Like you?” I asked sweetly.

He shot me a look and kept going. “I want you to look for someone who… just cares about you. Anyone at all. An older person who maybe knew you when you were younger and has at least an inkling of what you’ve been through. Someone you could talk to. Even if it’s not about dark stuff. But just about your day to day life… someone who cares about you, just because they care about you. Do you know the kind of person I mean?”

I did, and I nodded, though I hadn’t had that kind of person in my life since high school.

“Before you come see me next week, I’m asking you to do something for me. I’m asking you to seek a person out. Maybe have coffee. Maybe lunch. Maybe just go for a walk. I don’t know. I just… Bridget, I think you need someone to prove to you that you’re worth caring about. Someone who doesn’t have any external reason to care. They just know you, and like you. Can you give that some thought? Call it a different kind of risk.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

He met my eyes evenly. “I mean, you need to realize that you can be loved, my girl. And the only way you’re ever going tobelieve that is if you let someone show you they care when they don’t have any other reason to be there.”

I frowned harder. “Okay.”

Gerald rolled his eyes, but then he smiled a little. “Just… baby steps. If it’s not easy, maybe just think about who that person might be, and how you might get in touch with them. That’s all. Let’s say you don’t need to take any action yet. Just… identify a target,” he said dryly, using language I often used.

I shrugged. “Fine.”

Then he fixed me with another of those stern gazes. “Bridget, you like to put yourself in situations where your body and wellbeing are in danger. I’m asking you to put yourself in a situation where someone could hurt yourheart. Where you risk rejection. Where you might care, and they might let you down. That’s the kind of risk we’re looking for.”

“Whatever.”

“Avoiding these kinds of relationships is just one more form of self-destruction.”

I rolled my eyes then. “I’ve told you countless times, I’m not going to destroy myself.”I’m going to let Cain do it for me.

Gerald didn’t look impressed, but he also didn’t respond. “Just think about it. We’ll talk about it next week,” he said quietly.

“I will.”

But I don’t think he believed me.

6. That’s What She Said

SOUNDTRACK:Hell Repliedby Grey

~ CAIN ~

Her account was active when I logged in. My heartrate kicked up like I’d just snorted cocaine.