Promise
Aviana
“PLEASE, STOP!!” I scream, jolting awake again.
Scarlet stands over me, her presence a sudden shock. “Hey, it’s okay. You were having a nightmare. I couldn’t wake you, so I called Cade.”
“He isn’t allowed here…” I start to protest, but not before she walks out of the bedroom as there is a knock on the cabin door.
“Scarlet… wait!” I call out.
A few moments later, Cade enters the room.
“Nightshade!” I blurt out before I can stop myself.
“Hey, Aviana. I heard you were having a nightmare. Sounds like it was a bad one, from what Scarlet said.” He walks over to my bed.
“Please, you aren’t allowed here. Please leave,” I plead, desperate for some space.
Nightshade. I heard a voice say it. Was that just a dream?
“Avi, you’re right. I’m not supposed to be here, but it seemed like an emergency. I’ll step outside if you agree to walk with me to my office.”
“Please don’t call me that. My name is Aviana,” I request, rubbing my face in frustration. “It’s late. Can we meet tomorrow after breakfast?”
“I’m sorry, Aviana. I’d really like to help tonight. You were clearly triggered, and you’re shaking like a leaf. Please, let me help.”
Looking to Scarlet, I see her nodding, silently agreeing with Cade. She reminds me so much of Mrs. Widlow, and after that nightmare, I really don’t want to be near her right now. I agree to go with him. “Fine. If you’ll step out, I need to get dressed. I’ll meet you outside in a few minutes.”
“Sounds good. I’ll be outside,” he says, walking out of the room.
Scarlet chimes in, “You’re doing the right thing. A little talk with Cade won’t hurt, and you’ll still be able to get some sleep before morning.”
“Thanks Scarlet,” I reply, my tone cold. Until I can work through this trauma, I wonder if one of the other girls would be willing to switch.
“Well, okay then. I’ll leave you to get dressed. I know you’re shaken up by your nightmare, so I’ll forgive your tone,” she says, her voice hurt.
After I throw on sweats and a sweater, I meet Cade outside the cabin. He’s facing away when I open the door and in the distance, I see an image of a figure in all black and I realize it was not a nightmare.
“Nightshade,” I whisper to myself, and a shiver runs through me.
Cade quickly turns around. “Sorry, Aviana, I didn’t hear you come out. Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“I’m fine. Can we just get this over with so I can go back to bed?” I ask, my frustration showing.
“Sure thing. Let’s walk, shall we?”
We walk in silence and I glance over my shoulder every few seconds trying to spot the mysterious figure. Once we’re in Cade’s office, he gestures to a chair across from his desk. “Please, have a seat.” As he takes off his jacket, I notice the dark navy blue shirt he’s wearing, which hugs his muscles perfectly. That is when I notice an hourglass tattoo on his forearm with a skull in one glass and a face in the other glass. The entire hourglass is surrounded in what look to be angel wings.
I suddenly feel a wave of warmth and a strange flutter in my chest. Come on, Aviana, get it together. He’s your therapist, I remind myself.
“Aviana?” He snaps me out of my thoughts .
“Sorry, did you say something?”
“Would you like a bottle of water?” he asks kindly.
“That would be nice, thank you.” I say, cringing at how polite I sound. What’s wrong with me? I’m acting like a teenage girl with a crush.
He hands me the bottle, and when his fingers brush mine, a jolt of electricity shoots through me. I pull my hand back quickly, scooting further into my chair.
“I’m sorry, Aviana. Did I scare you?”
“No, Dr. Brenner. I don’t know what came over me.”
“Remember, you can call me Cade.” he says so eagerly. “Do you want to talk about tonight?” he asks gently.
I glance down, avoiding his eyes. “What part of tonight?” I ask.
“You didn’t meet me back at the trail,” he says, his voice laced with something between concern and irritation.
“Nightshade,” I murmur, the name slipping from my lips before I can stop it.
“There are a lot of different plants on the trails,” he continues. “Nightshade is one of them—it’s beautiful but dangerous. Some kinds are even deadly.”
A shiver runs down my spine. “I have a rash,” I blurt out, gripping my arm as if that will make the heat beneath my skin disappear.
His expression sharpens. “What? Did you go off-trail without me? Did you touch something? Are you sure it wasn’t Nightshade?” He steps closer, his tone filled with genuine concern. “Do you want me to have the doctor check you out?”
“You are a doctor,” I say without thinking, then immediately regret it.
He exhales, shaking his head. “I mean a medical doctor, Avi.”
I clear my throat, forcing myself to regain control. “Aviana, please. And no, it’s not itchy or anything. Just... irritated, I guess. I’ll be fine.”
His gaze lingers on me, skeptical. “If it gets worse, promise me you’ll see someone. ”
I nod, my face heating under his watchful eyes. “I promise.”
“Now, Aviana, do you want to talk about your nightmare?”
“I had to brush my hair by myself,” I whisper, the tears already threatening to fall. “She wouldn’t brush my hair after that night.”
“Who wouldn’t brush your hair?” he asks as he sits at his desk, his pen tapping against his notepad.
“Mrs. Widlow. She blamed me for what happened. She called me a whore and said I was disgusting. She never brushed my hair again, never sang to me. After that night, I just wanted the pain to stop, and she never came back to tell me things were okay.” The tears start to fall.
“What happened?” he asks softly.
I explain everything about that night with Mr. Widlow, my voice breaking with embarrassment. Dr. Brenner has moved from his desk and is kneeling in front of me, holding my hands gently.
“Aviana, look at me,” he says softly.
I let my tears fall as I look at him.
“What Mr. Widlow did was wrong. You were just a child, and you can’t blame yourself.”
“I screamed. I screamed like my mom told me to. No one came. Instead, Mrs. Widlow blamed me. She said I enticed him. That I was a whore,” I sob, feeling the weight of the memories crashing over me.
“You did the right thing by screaming. Think about it—if you hadn’t, who knows what else he could have done that night?” he says, his voice soft but firm.
“She slapped a bologna sandwich on my plate and told me if I wasn’t a virgin, he wouldn’t pay attention to me. That he liked them tight and perfect,” I whisper.
“That’s disgusting,” he says angrily, his hands squeezing mine a bit more firmly. “She should have been protecting you, not telling you that. You were just a child, Aviana. A child! She failed you as much as Mr. Widlow did. ”
His hands feel strong as they hold mine, a steady anchor amidst the storm of emotions crashing through me. The warmth of his touch stirs something inside me, a familiar ache that I’m desperate to ignore. For a moment, it’s as if the rest of the world fades away, and all I can feel is him—his grip, his presence. There’s something comforting about the way he holds me, something that pulls me in, like a thread tugging at my heart.
But I can’t. I shouldn’t. His touch… it reminds me of a love lost, of a time when I was foolish enough to believe someone would protect me. But that was before he hurt me. Before everything changed.
I shake my head, trying to clear the thoughts threatening to consume me. My heart races, but not from the same fear I used to know. No, this is something different, something dangerous. And I can’t afford to let myself fall into it again. Not after everything he’s done.
I pull my hand from his, taking a step back, forcing my mind to stay focused. “I can’t… I won’t go back to that,” I whisper, though the words feel like they’re suffocating me.
“Stop thinking like that,” I blurt out, my voice trembling with frustration, only realizing afterward that I had spoken aloud.
“I’m your therapist, and—” he starts and I cut him off.
“No, I’m sorry. All of this is just…” I trail off, pulling my hands from his.
“Do you always apologize for everything?” he asks, his voice gentle but probing.
“I don’t think about it. It just happens.”
“Let’s work on that,” he says quietly.
He stands and walks back to his desk, writing some notes before tucking them away in a file cabinet. Then, he turns to me. “Ready to head back to the cabin?”
“Yes, actually I am quite tired but wide awake, if that makes any sense” I say.
Cade pauses for a moment, his gaze softening as he looks at me. “I get it,” he says with a small smile, his tone warm and understanding. “Sometimes the mind stays awake even when the body’s ready to rest.” He stands up a bit straighter, his eyes meeting mine. “Come on, let’s get you back.”
We walked back to my cabin in silence. When we reach the door, we stand face to face.
Clearing my throat, I say, “Thank you, Cade. I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me tonight.”
“It was nothing, Aviana. It’s my job, and I’m here to help. Don’t hesitate to come to me whenever you need to. Even if you just want to sit in my office in silence, that’s fine. It’s whatever makes you comfortable.”
“Thank you again,” I say, turning to grab the doorknob.
He reaches out and gently touches my hand, stopping me in my tracks.
“Aviana, look at me.” I turn slowly, meeting his gaze.
“No one, I repeat, no one will ever touch you like that again. You’re safe now, I promise.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Cade.”
“Goodnight, Avi.” he says softly and turns to walk away.
“Goodnight, Cade,” I reply, and with that, I open the door, step inside, and lock it behind me.