Chapter 11
Wait, why had I made us vow to be truthful in this therapy session? I hadn’t thought through the consequences of that. The main one being, I had to be truthful.
“What do you think your parents did well in their relationship that you can take to yours, and what do you think they did poorly?” That was the question Dr. Franklin had asked. The one that had me frozen, trying to think of a creatively truthful answer that didn’t give away everything.
Elijah went first, like he often did when I stayed silent. “My parents talked about everything. Even if it was at loud volumes, they talked things through. And when they fought, they always let us see them make up too. That’s what they did well.”
“That’s important,” Dr. Franklin said. “Both healthy disagreements and productive makeups. What about on the flip side? What weakness did you learn from?”
He was thoughtful, like he had to rack his brain for that answer. Like they didn’t have any weaknesses at all. “Maybe that they never seemed to learn from their arguments. They had the same ones over and over again. Neither of them changed.”
“And in your relationship now,” Dr. Franklin asked, looking at me, “has he broken that cycle? Does he learn from past arguments, attempt to change?”
I didn’t mean to, but I let out a single laugh. “We seem to fight about the same thing.” These therapy sessions. The only thing we disagreed on because it was the only thing in our relationship.
“Seriously?” he said.
I tried to hold in my smile and gave him an innocent look. “Seriously.”
“You don’t agree?” Dr. Franklin asked him.
We were still looking at each other and his eyes narrowed a bit. “I guess I do,” he admitted.
“Recognition is the first step,” she said. “What about you, Sutton? Were your parents good at arguments? At making up? At changing?”
“No, my parents separated when I was thirteen.”
“They’re divorced then?” she asked.
“Mostly.”
She gave me lowered brows, but I barreled forward so I didn’t have to explain that.
“But they were good at supporting each other’s dreams.” I wanted to laugh at how well my mom had supported my dad leaving to play in a symphony across the world.
She supported him so well that she never made him come back.
“And the two of you?” She gestured between us. “Are you two good at supporting each other’s dreams?”
“She doesn’t care for my career,” Elijah said. “She thinks it’s just about people punching each other.”
I let out a huff of air. “I support your career.”
“This is the first I’m hearing this.” His teasing eyes told me this was in retaliation for my creative truth earlier.
“Why do you think she doesn’t support your career?” Dr. Franklin asked.
“Because she’s never even come to see the place. Never wanted to try boxing. Even for thirty minutes.”
He was such a punk.
“Is that true?” Dr. Franklin asked.
“Yes,” I said. “But I can support from afar.”
“What about you? Do you feel supported?” she asked me.
Maybe it was the conversation I’d had with Nate the day before or how hard it had been to help my mother out of the shower, but the word “No” came out of my mouth without much thought.
I quickly tried to backtrack. “I mean, he’s trying.
” Because that was true too. He was trying to learn things about me.
But not in order to support me. To win this stupid bet.
“Where do you feel undersupported?”
“Mainly with my mom,” I said, because I had a feeling Tara had told Elijah about her.
About why I was here, although I was now remembering that he had spouted off something about coming home with my tail between my legs to find myself.
“I’m taking care of her right now. She got in an accident.
” My voice caught on those words, and I tried to play it off with a cough.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Dr. Franklin said.
And it was more than obvious that this was the first time Elijah was hearing it because he gave me wide eyes but then softened them for our audience and took my hand in his.
Yanking it away might’ve given Dr. Franklin the clue she needed, but the gesture surprised me so much that I went still.
I let his thumb move slowly over my knuckles in a soothing pattern. I even held on.
“How did last week’s homework go? Did you do it?”
“On the days we saw each other,” I said, because that’s what we had already decided we were going to say.
She tilted her head slightly. “Do you not live together?”
“We don’t,” I said.
“She’s taking care of her mom right now,” he said, using my revelation against me as a way to solidify our couplehood.
I took my hand back, irritated. His arm went to the back of the couch behind me.
“Maybe that’s why you’re both feeling a bit unsupported right now, because you don’t see each other every day.”
That, or we’re strangers, I wanted to say. That could have something to do with it. Why haven’t you figured this out yet?
“Did you feel like the eye contact assignment brought you closer together?” she asked.
“Much,” Elijah said. He started pulling on the ends of my hair, and a shiver went through me. “I’ve never felt closer to her.”
“And you, Sutton?”
“He’s not hard to stare at,” I said, because that was the truth.
Dr. Franklin gave a little chuckle like she completely agreed. “Okay, homework for this week,” she said. “I want some show of support. Sutton, one boxing session. Eli, some help with Mom this week.”
“Oh, no, that’s unnecessary,” I said, tension spreading across my shoulders.
“Which part?” she asked.
All of it, I wanted to scream. But most importantly, “The Mom part. She’s very particular about who helps her.” She didn’t even want my help.
“Do you and Sutton’s mom not get along?” This question was directed at Elijah, and I turned to him with raised eyebrows to see how he was going to creatively truth his way out of this one.
“I’m unaware of any problems,” he said.
I nodded slowly. That was good. So good that Dr. Franklin turned to me. “Are there any problems between Eli and your mom?”
“Nope,” I said, because that was true. “None.”
She clapped her hands together once like that was the end of the discussion. “Okay then. I can’t wait to hear the report next week.”
There wasn’t going to be a next week here.
I’d told Tara I’d give her one more session and that was it.
I’d hoped Dr. Franklin would figure it out this time.
She was supposed to have figured this out.
She was supposed to realize we didn’t belong in an engaged couples’ program.
But unfortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case.
The thought of Elijah and Michael winning this bet irritated me. I didn’t want to let them win. But there was no way Elijah would become more involved in my life because of this. There was no way he was going to help me with my mom.
Dr. Franklin stood and walked us out.
“Yeah, I know,” I said in the parking lot, heading toward my car, because I could feel the held-in gloat radiating off Elijah. “She didn’t figure it out.”
“I even told the truth today.”
“Maybe with your mouth, but not with your body,” I said.
A half smile came onto his face. “Excuse me?”
“Holding my hand, leaning against me, pulling the ends of my hair. Your mouth was truthful but your body was lying.”
“You’re saying I shouldn’t touch you?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.” I reached my car, then turned to him. “Oh, and I’m done. Tell Michael he won.”
“Wait, what? You’re giving up? Just like that?”
“I’m accepting the truth.” Tara would be disappointed, but I could see the writing on the wall. This particular activity wasn’t going to help her. I’d try to think of another way to help her convince Michael to go.
Elijah narrowed his eyes and tilted his head like he was trying to figure something out. Figure me out. “Does this have to do with the homework assignment this week?” he asked.
I flinched. “No, not at all.” I opened the car door.
“Sutton, wait.”
I sighed, pausing. “What?”
“I thought you said no lying.”
I pointed to the building. “No lying to her.”
“So you are lying to me then. You don’t want to do the homework? Do you have something against boxing?”
I blew air out of my mouth. “Boxing? This has nothing to do with boxing.”
“You’ll box?”
“I’ll box.”
“Okay, I’ll have Tara send you the address.” He turned and headed to his car.
“No, wait, I didn’t mean—”
“See you soon!”
I grunted and climbed into my car, pulling the door shut.
I sat there without starting the engine for several minutes.
Elijah drove away and I looked over at Dr. Franklin’s office.
I was so tempted to march back inside and clue her in.
Wouldn’t it be better for everyone if I did?
Elijah and I could stop talking altogether.
Tara and Michael would work on their relationship before their wedding.
Really, it seemed like the right thing to do.
Would Dr. Franklin play along though? Pretend that I didn’t tell her?
Because if she didn’t, that would ruin everything.
I wasn’t sure how she would react. She could be angry that we lied to her.
And ethically, she probably wasn’t allowed to then lie to Elijah about what she knew and didn’t know.
Yeah, telling her wasn’t an option. But being done with this whole sham was.