Collateral Damage (From the Damage) (19 page)

“This was never about me, or what I’ve been through,” she said, her voice trembling slightly. Just enough to give her away. “And I don’t know where
this idea that a counselor has to be emotionally cold came from. Is it unprofessional to cry when a patient is in pain? Is it wrong to want to help? To
care
?”

“These rules are here for a reason, Daphne. To keep you, and everyone in your life, safe. What would you have done if Kay’s dad had followed her to the park? Or to your home? People in our line of work have been killed trying to help an abused woman escape. That’s why your contact with these teenagers isn’t supposed to leave that meeting room. Now, you wanted to be on-call, so I agreed to let you have the work phone. Because I trusted you would know when to call in another counselor. But after this…” he sighed, looking over at her. “You’ve left me no choice.”

“No choice?” she repeated, filling with dread.

“Your actions have proven you to be a liability to this company,” he said, taking on the emotionally-separate tone he expected her to have. “I have to let you go.”

Just like that, the world dropped out from under her feet. Everything seemed to fade away, just out of reach, as she realized that her days of helping people, at least
these
people, were over.  “I know I made a mistake,” Daphne began, on the verge of pleading and begging. “But this…this job is everything to me.”

“Maybe there’s our problem.” He stood up and walked around the desk. “You can do the group meeting tonight. But after that, you should pack your things. I’ll send a severance—”

With a huff, Daphne stood to her feet and straightened out her blazer. Her temper getting the best of her, she mouthed off as she headed toward the door. “You may not see the rationality in what I did. And maybe Kay did run after she got to my house, but she was terrified and
you’re
missing the bigger picture.” Daphne pulled open the door, tossing one last look over her shoulder. “At least she knew she could call me. What do
your
patients do in a crisis? Call some automated system? And if they wait through the options, they can talk to a stranger who knows nothing about them. But because of the work Kay and I have been doing together, she knew she could come to me and now she’s getting the help she needs. Now, she’s finally away from her dad. If I lose my job over that…well, it’s a price worth paying.”

She walked out, letting the door swing shut behind her. Her heels clicking against the linoleum floors, she hurried down the hall to the staircase. Taking each flight in stride as she made her way the counseling room desperately, as if she couldn’t breathe until she was locked safely inside, surrounded by the pastel colors and the affirmation posters. Finally, she closed herself inside room 303, locking the door behind her. She pulled the shade on the window down, and at last she let out a slow, shaky breath as tears threatened to flood over her. No longer able to keep them at bay, she slid down the door frame, letting the tears flow free and wild as she cried.

Everything she’d worked so hard for, gone. It’d been her idea to start this program, geared especially toward teens, in the first place. She was the one who thought to schedule meetings before and after the weekends in case they needed extra support. She’d been the one to dedicate the time in this room, hours of notes on each person and their issues, their strengths and weaknesses. And she’d handpicked every poster, every small reading lamp and inspirational quote. Everything that gave this therapy room life was hers.

Now it was all being taken from her, handed over to someone who was probably just as stuffy as the man who’d kicked her out of her own life. She was so angry and yet, all she could do was cry. Angry, sad and bitter at the same time. But, most of all, she worried about her patients. Would Kelly, Alex, Gage,
Meagan, Ryder and Kendall learn to open up to the new counselor? And if they didn’t…what would happen to them?

***

In the office that branched off the meeting room, Daphne carefully boxed up the items on her desk. Mostly psychology magazines and framed quotes. Once her desk was packed up, she grabbed another box and moved to the bookshelf. Grabbing a stack, she packed them and reached for another. That’s when she heard a knock at the door.

She must’ve forgotten to unlock it after her breakdown, she realized. Quickly, she stepped out of her office and shut the door behind her. Crossing the room, she pulled open the door and found Alex waiting outside.

“Hey,” she said, stepping aside to let him in.

“Is this a bad time?” With one hand in his pocket, he took a cautious step inside. “I was hoping we could talk about something.”

“Of course we can talk,” Daphne said, shutting the door behind them. She motioned to the circle of chairs in the center of the room. “Want to have a seat?”

He nodded, pulling his hand out of his pocket as he sat down. He leaned his elbows on his knees, and laced his fingers together as best he could with one hand in a cast.

Daphne walked around a chair to take a seat.

L
ooking up at her, his eyes narrowed. “Have you been crying?”

She was a little startled, and wiped her cheek on reflex. “No, no. It’s just allergies. I haven’t dusted in awhile.” Giving him a small smile of encouragement, she waited to hear what he needed to say. “Is this about Kay?”

“Yeah. I feel horrible even thinking about this when she’s in the hospital right now, but…I just can’t seem to get it out of my head.”

“What is
it
?”

He chewed on his lip while he thought. “I found out that right before I asked Kay out, she kissed Zander and he rejected her.”

“I can see how that would bother you,” Daphne said. He stood up and began to pace. “I always suspected she had feelings for him. You know? But I didn’t find out about the kiss until just now. And now…it makes me wonder…”

“Wonder what?”

“What would’ve happened if Zander hadn’t rejected her. Would she have still went out with me?”

“But he did, and she chose to go out with you,” she pointed out. “And a lot’s happened since then. Kay’s not the same girl who kissed Zander that night, not anymore. This transformation that’s happening, Alex you were its catalyst. You were the one who helped Kay open up her eyes about her family.”

“And she still called Zander when she was in trouble. After weeks of not talking to him at all, she still called him instead of me.”

“Because she wanted to hide. I think she knew if she talked to you, you would convince her to come forward. And I’m not saying that you don’t have a right to be upset about this, because you do and it’s normal and of course it would hurt your feelings that she didn’t come to you. You care about her, and I think that once Kay’s in a more stable place, this—the whole Zander thing—is definitely something the two of you should talk about.” Daphne didn’t want to say what came to mind next, at risk of crossing professional boundaries. But then, she had nothing left to lose right now anyway. “But I think you’re really good for Kay and she needs you right now. Her dad’s in jail, she’s really angry with her mom and wants
nothing to do with her. Right now, Kay doesn’t even know where she’s going once she gets out of the hospital. Things are looking pretty dark for her. She needs someone to stand by her side.”

***

Kendall

***

Jordan led Kendall into the police station and motioned for her to take a seat. When she did, he headed over to talk to an officer.

Ever since Seth was arrested, she’d felt guilty. She knew he deserved it, that he’d had this coming for a long time, but she hated that she’d had to be the one to betray him. And she hated that even now, knowing what she knew about him, she still cared. She just couldn’t stop.

Finally, Jordan and the officer headed over to her. “They said you could see him for five minutes. Officer Burrows is going to take you back there.”

Kendall followed the officer through a metal door and down a hallway. They passed a couple doors, offices and a break room, and finally came to another hallway. There was a desk at the end and a couple barred cell doors to the right.

“Right there.” Officer Burrows pointed to the first cell.

Taking a breath to brace herself, she walked up to the door, looking through the bars. Seth was sitting on the bed, his knees pulled up to his chest, staring at the wall across from him.

The cell was tiny and dark, much like the one they’d been kept in as kids. At least now, Seth’s cell had a window. But still, it was heartbreaking. “Hey,” she said, her voice coming out in an unsure and cautious whisper.

He didn’t even flinch. “It was you, wasn’t it? You gave Meagan the DVD.”

“Yes.”

“So when you came to see me the other day, it wasn’t to get answers about your past, was it?”

She shook her head, feeling a little ashamed. “No. I was distracting you so Kelly could sneak in and get the video. I told her where to find it.”

Still, he just stared at the wall, not moving, not speaking.

“I had to, Seth. She deserves justice.”

“Justice.” Seth chuckled softly, shaking his head. “There’s no such thing.”

“There can be,” Kendall said. “For some people.”

“And what makes Meagan so damn special?” he snapped. “She already has everything she ever wanted. And she still won’t stop until she puts me in jail.”

“Like you wouldn’t stop?” Kendall asked. “Until she saw you as an equal?”

He cut his gaze to meet hers, striking fear into her heart. “Why are you here? Did you come to gloat? To revel in your victory?

“This isn’t a victory for me, Seth. I don’t like seeing you like this.” She sighed, shaking her head. Wrapping her fingers around one of the cold metal bars that separated them, she lowered her voice so no one else could hear her. “You saved my life. Now, I’m just trying to return the favor.”

“By landing me in jail?”

“By making you face the person you’ve become.”

He laughed at her, quietly. Like she was so mislead, so naïve to have hope.

She waited for him to say something, but he just lowered his forehead to his knees and stayed silent. In the tiny, dark room, he seemed so small, so young and weak. 

Turning, she walked away, keeping her head held high. She knew she’d done the right thing.

***

“I can’t imagine how relieved you must’ve felt when you saw Seth arrested,” Daphne said once Meagan had finished the story.

Meagan, smiling from ear-to-ear, nodded. “My lawyer says I have a solid case. Even though they can’t put legal terms on most of what he did, they’ve charged him with stalking and sexual assault. Right now, they’re trying to prove he caused the car accident. So, the battle’s just starting.”

“I’m so proud of you,” Daphne said. “You’ve been really brave.”

“I’m proud of you, too,” Ryder said, speaking up. Instead of his usual place next to Meagan, he sat across the room near Alex, in Kay’s empty seat. “It’s about time the past caught up with him.”

Meagan’s smile didn’t fade, but something in her eyes changed. A hint of forgiveness brewing, maybe?

“Ironically enough,” Ryder said, clearing his throat in a segue that felt forced. “The past’s been catching up to me a lot lately.”

Daphne turned her attention to him in surprise. “You haven’t talked a lot about your past before the shooting happened.”

He nodded, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. Keeping his gaze on the carpet, unable to make eye contact with anyone. “That’s because I’m not proud of what I did. Who I used to be. I was really selfish. I mean, I’m sure we all do things without thinking of how they’ll affect people, right?”

Glancing up, just barely, he saw their faces react, finding the situations in their lives that helped them relate.

Alex thought of Kelly and the way he’d pressured her
, and how he’d talked Kay into that overnight trip that changed her life.

Kendall remembered the way Seth had looked behind bars, in that tiny cell.

Kelly wondered how Kendall’s mother had felt after leaving her daughter abandoned at that playground.

Meagan wondered if Ryder was finally going to confess everything.

But Ryder knew none of this, so consumed in his own pain and guilt. He turned his attention back to the carpet, studying the colorful patterned circles. “I was just this lowlife drug dealer who didn’t give a shit about anybody, or anything. I never had anything to lose.”

Until he met Meagan, he thought, wanting so badly to look at her. But he couldn’t or he might break down completely. Instead, he stood up, full of nervous energy. Raking a hand through his hair, he paced a small line down the center of the large area rug. “Some stuff’s happened lately that makes me think of the people on the other end of the deal. Like you.” Gage sat up in surprise when Ryder turned to face him. His eyes, always untrusting and watchful, locked on the nervous, pacing boy in anticipation.

“I’ve wanted to tell you this for so long. I’m just a coward, because I know that if I were in your shoes, I would want to kill me.”

His eyes narrowed, but his voice sounded light and detached as he said, “Well, I never liked you, but—”