17. Chapter 17
seventeen
Light In The Cave - I See Stars
Kendra didn’t hide her shock when Jackie arrived in her office on time for her session. “Well, this is a surprise,” she said as Jackie closed the door behind her.
Jackie took a breath before turning away from the door. She shrugged as she walked toward the chairs. She was well aware of how she’d been acting the last few weeks. She’d journaled about it earlier that morning in preparation for the appointment.
“You’re looking better than when we saw each other last week. Still tired, but you’ve gotten some colour back.” Kendra stood from her desk and joined Jackie at the chairs. “What led to this change? Was there a break in the case? Are you getting closer to finding Talia?”
“Um, yes and no,” she answered, fiddling with her journal. “I’ve been sleeping better since last week, though, so that’s made a big difference. Eating actual food instead of just meal replacements, too.”
“That’s great. Care to elaborate why it’s been better?”
Jackie smiled to herself, remembering Valentine’s night.
“Um, well, Dimitri made a really big showing on Valentine’s Day.
I actually totally forgot about it. I wasn’t really paying attention to the date.
Anyway, it was our first Valentine’s Day, and he made it so special despite everything going on.
He used it as an excuse to force me to take a break, and I had the best night of sleep I’ve had in ages—since even before Talia was taken. ”
“Wow. Smart guy, figuring out how to make you take a break.” Jackie chuckled, nodding her agreement.
“Was there anything in particular that he did to help you sleep? Do I want to know?” she joked.
Jackie laughed, raising an eyebrow to suggest maybe she didn’t.
She wasn’t going to tell Kendra about the sex, though it certainly had helped.
She opened her mouth to answer, but hesitated. She wouldn’t bring up the sex, but realizing what she was about to say made her pause. “He drugged me,” she admitted.
Kendra’s brows dipped into a scowl. “I take back my smart guy comment.”
Jackie laughed again, feeling lighter at the sound of it. She was feeling so much better. Dimitri’s plan to make Valentine’s Day a reset had been far more effective than either of them had anticipated.
She described the night to Kendra, explaining her favourite meal and cake.
She glossed over the sex, providing just enough details to suggest to Kendra one of the reasons her body had been ready to settle into rest. “Anyway, he offered me some candy, and only told me after I’d taken it that he’d given me a CBD and melatonin gummy.
Everything else, plus that gummy, absolutely knocked me out, and I had the best sleep.
I felt so much better when I woke up the next morning, and I’ve been able to focus better on the work that we need to do to get Talia back. ”
“Have you been taking the gummies regularly? I’d suggest being careful about it because you don’t want it to affect your ability to sleep without it,” Kendra cautioned.
“I know,” Jackie conceded. “I used to smoke a lot to get to sleep, but obviously that hadn’t been helping as much lately. This did, though, and I’ve only taken it in the last week, if for whatever reason my mind gets the best of me and I can’t sleep.”
“Okay, good.” Kendra nodded, making a note.
Jackie eyed the pen, still annoyed every time she did that.
She felt like a science experiment every time Kendra took her notes.
And even though she trusted the therapist, she still didn’t like the idea of physical notes about her existing somewhere.
“Tell me about Talia’s case. One night can’t have made this much of a difference over the last week. You must have made a break there, too.”
“Um, well, the break actually came just earlier today, but as I said, I woke up on the fifteenth feeling refreshed and refocused, so it just made sense to keep it up. I guess I hadn’t realized how much I was hurting myself by focusing solely on Talia’s abduction.
” Kendra nodded, taking another note. “Anyway, it’s not a huge break, but we have a direction to follow, and that feels huge. ”
“I understand.” Kendra nodded, looking enthusiastic. “Sometimes a direction is all we need.”
“Yeah, that’s how it feels right now.” She smiled, a weight lifted off her chest as she thought about it.
Kendra smiled, seeing that weight lift. “Alright, you brought your journal. Let’s see what you’ve written down.”