In Your Dreams Read Online Free PDF

was
drama.”
    Sean winced at
the verbal slap. To Isabelle’s credit, she didn’t leap out of the bed and
launch herself at him. Oh, she wanted to. He actually felt her muscles tense to
spring, and he automatically whispered, “No. Don’t.”
    Her body relaxed
as she leaned back against the upright part of the flexible bed. Had she heard
him? No. Impossible. Ridiculous. She had probably reconsidered her violent
reaction on her own.
    “We’re done
here, Dr. Valentine.” Ice chilled each syllable.
    The doctor
locked his hands behind his head. “No, we’re not.”
    In response, she
grabbed the remote tied to her bedrail and flicked on the television, turning
up the volume to its highest level. Dialogue from a soap opera rattled around
the walls.
    With a heavy
sigh, the doctor rose from his chair, reached up, and turned off the
television. “Don’t make me restrain you, Isabelle.”
    “You’d like
that, wouldn’t you?” she snapped. “Tying up a woman. You get your rocks off
that way, Doc? Hey, this is L.A., where fetish is the norm. Believe me, I’ve
heard about worse kink. There was one guy I knew who had a thing for young
girls. I’m talking pre-teens. Know how he finally beat it? By beating them .”
She leaned forward, arms folded over the sheet covering her chest. “Know how I
know?”
    The doctor
didn’t even blink. Never spoke. He simply returned to his chair and waited.
    “Because he was
married to my mother. Hell, he probably still is. He used to sneak into my room
at night and stand over my bed when I slept. Once or twice I woke up. When he’d
notice my eyes were open, he’d drag me out of bed by my hair, make me stand
against the wall, pull down my pajama bottoms, and beat me with his belt. The
booze would surround me like fog. Especially since he’d get so hot and
bothered, he’d start panting and breathing heavy against my neck.” She
shivered. “After a couple of those episodes, I pretended to stay asleep every
time he came into my room. It was easier to lay in the dark and listen to what
he did to himself than to endure the pain of enforced participation. I tried to
tell my mom about what he was doing, but guess what? She chose to believe him
over me. Chose to stay with him. Big surprise, right?” Tears filled her eyes,
and she drew her knees against her chest, tightening into a ball. With her head
tucked inside her arms, she peered out at the psychologist.
    His expression
remained as blank as the television. No passion, no outrage on her behalf. On
the other side of the living, Sean the observer, growled. How could anyone hear
such a tale and not be moved by it? Unless, of course, the doctor—like the
mother—didn’t believe her.
    As if to confirm
Sean’s suspicions, Dr. Valentine shook his head and sighed. “You’re right,
Isabelle. We’re done here. I’ll come back later.”
    To Sean’s
surprise, though, after the door closed behind the doctor, Isabelle relaxed
against her pillow and smiled.
    Why did she tell
the truth if she didn’t want to be believed?
     
    ~~~~
     
    With the odious
Dr. Valentine gone, Isabelle wasted no time in grabbing the phone and dialing
the responsible party. She knew exactly who she had to thank for waking up in
this hell. After five rings, the answering machine clicked on. Listening to the
recorded spiel, she gripped the receiver with enough pressure to bleach her
knuckles.
    “I know you’re
there, Justin. Hell, it’s not like you go anywhere. Don’t think you can avoid
my call. Pick up the phone. Now .” The sound of fumbling on the other end
of the line didn’t mollify her frustration.
    “Belle, is that
you?” Justin asked with hesitation, then continued in a rush, “OhthankGod. You
don’t know how you scared me. The doctors wouldn’t let me stay when the
ambulance brought you in because I’m not family. I tried to tell them I’m the
closest thing you’ve got—”
    “Enough,
Justin.”  This was so not the time for him to play