Craving Her Curves (11 page)

“Is she?” I asked.  Coach nodded.

“Someone as popular as Joey is, he’s always going to have more than his fair share of attention.  Some of that attention isn’t going to be healthy.  It’s something that has to be dealt with, not just by him, but by Amy as his manager, by me as his coach, by the team as his teammates and by any woman he chooses to bring into his life.  We all know the life, and we assume that most of us have a stalker or two that we need to be careful about.  You were blindsided with it and that wasn’t fair,” he said, stepping a little closer.

“He didn’t know that guy was going to kidnap me,” I said softly.

“No, he didn’t.  But he did know that he’d had a few letters and suspect encounters around his building.  He knew something was up and he should have warned you, even before that first date.  It takes a special kind of person to deal with this stuff.  It was your choice to make if you wanted to be that person for him or not,” he said, his face genuinely sympathetic.

“A special kind of person,” I repeated.  Coach gave me a gentle punch to the shoulder.

“You’re a strong girl, and I respect what you did.  You had to make a hard decision about what’s best for you, and no one here thinks less of you for it.  Even Joey, he’s just not the best at expressing that right now,” he said.  I glanced back out onto the field, where Joey and the others were running tackle drills and nodded.

“Right.  I decided based on what’s best for me.  And that’s okay,” I said.  Coach smiled.

“Trying to convince yourself?” he asked.  I grinned slightly and nodded.

“Yeah, but it’s not really working yet,” I said.  Coach laughed.

“Don’t worry.  It’ll sink in eventually.  You come back out here and see us, come to a home game and let us see your face, okay?  I wasn’t the only one concerned about you,” he said.  I sniffed, smiled and nodded.

“Thanks, Coach.”

“Anytime,” he replied.

“J
oey, are you sure that you’re okay with this?” I asked softly.  I wasn’t one hundred percent certain that I was okay with it, but the media had been hounding Joey mercilessly since they couldn’t get to me.  Jade had protected me well.  But, Amy had contacted us and requested that we attempt to lessen the media scrutiny on Joey, and we’d agreed to help.

“Only if you are.  I don’t want you to have to relive this at all, but Amy and Jade both said that this was the best way,” he said, his voice gentle on the phone.  I sighed.

“I’m not okay with either of us having to put our business out there like this,” I said softly.  I heard him sigh.

“Even after you break up with me, I’m still causing problems for you,” he said.  I closed my eyes and leaned back against the wall behind me.

“Joey, that’s not what I was trying to say,” I whispered.

“I know.  But it was there anyway.  Go do your interview; I’m at home watching,” he said, before ending the call.  I resisted the urge to take out my frustration on my phone and slipped it back into my purse.

“Charlotte, according to the media outlets around you, you were leaving Joey Parker’s apartment building when the suspect who police state they now have in custody attacked you, knocked you unconscious, and kidnapped you, correct?”  His name was Greg Hanson.  He was national news, one of the few I actually respected, so he was who we’d called to offer the interview to.

“Yeah, in a nutshell,” I said, laughing softly.  We were trying to keep it light, but there was only so much lightness you could have when talking about kidnapping.  Unless you had issues.

“Let’s start with the first burning question on everyone’s mind: why were you at Joey’s apartment building?” he asked.  I sighed.

“Joey had invited me over for dinner.  After the paparazzi disaster that was our first date, we’d decided on his place because he knew we wouldn’t have people trying to get pictures there,” I said. Greg nodded.

“So you had a great time at your dinner date, right?” he asked.  I smiled and nodded, remembering.

“Yes, we did,” I said softly.

––––––––

“T
hen what?” he asked.  I took a deep breath.

“When I got outside, I told Joey he didn’t need to walk me to my car and we parted ways.  I called one of my best friends to let her know how the night went, and as I reached the car doors, I felt a sharp pain in my head.  My legs gave out and, soon after, so did the rest of me.  By the time I woke up, I was already tied up and in the back seat of the man’s car,” I said.

“That had to be terrifying for you,” he said, concern on his face.  I nodded and glanced off-camera to where Izzy and Jacinta stood.  They’d come with me for moral support.

“It was,” I replied.

“The police stated that it was your friend’s quick thinking that led to them finding you so quickly,” Greg stated. I nodded and smiled.

“That’s what I was told.  That if she hadn’t quickly figured out that something was wrong, they might not have even known I was gone.  It helps that one of Joey’s neighbors called the police after finding the man digging in Joey’s trash,” I said.

“Tell us this: How are you holding up after all of this?” he asked.  I smiled.

“Pretty well, actually.  I’ve got a bit more apprehension about walking alone at night, and I’m a bit more careful to park under street lamps now, but I’m holding it together,” I said.

“And Joey?” he asked.  I paused.  I knew what he was asking.  But that was none of his business so I was going to act like I didn’t.

“He’s doing well, too.  He was very apologetic about the whole thing, but it wasn’t his fault.  It’s just part of being a celebrity, I guess.  I spoke to him just a little while ago, actually,” I said.

“Did he come see you in the hospital?” he asked.  I felt an emotional pang in my chest and swallowed it.

“He did,” I said.  Then I stopped.

“How are the two of you doing now?” he asked.  I shot him a look.

“We’re fine,” I said.  I wasn’t saying anything else about it either.

“Just fine?  What about more dates?  Being out at games together and things like that?” he asked.  He was smiling until he met my gaze, which apparently said ‘I will murder you’, because he stopped smiling and cleared his throat.

“That’s between Joey and I, don’t you think, Greg?” I asked, holding his eyes with my unwavering, unblinking glare.

“Right.  Of course,” he said nervously.

“I’ve decided to take this harrowing experience and try helping people with it instead of letting it eat me alive.  I want to be out there, encouraging people with trauma and PTSD to seek help.  To let them know that going to talk to someone doesn’t come with some sort of crazy stigma attached to it,” I said.

“You have PTSD?”  Greg asked.  I shook my head.

“Thankfully, no.  But my doctor sent me to a psychiatrist to be sure after I was released.  Sometimes, things like that have a delay on them.  He wanted me to go to counseling for a month, to make sure that I was actually coping and it wasn’t simply that it hadn’t hit me yet,” I said.

“Interesting...” Greg interjected.

“It really helped me, if nothing else, to know that my increased anxiety after dark was normal, and not something that should make me worry about my mental state.  I want to encourage people to go and talk to someone, even if they aren’t sure that they have some sort of trauma.  Go for your piece of mind, if nothing else.  You don’t have to suffer alone,” I said.

“You’ve stated that you’re going to write about your therapy, as well?” Greg said.  I nodded.

“I am.  I think it will be great closure for me, a way for me to move on from it.  As well as encouraging others to take the steps needed to ensure their mental health.  I spoke to my psychiatrist about it as well, and she agreed that it sounded like a great idea.  She’ll also be one of the doctors that I write about.  I don’t want to just tell people to go and leave them to it.  I plan on giving folks a few options of doctors, as well.  I’ll do the leg work for people, if they’ll go get the help they need.  No one should have to go through life alone,” I said.  Greg smiled and nodded.

“I love how you are turning this around and using it to help other people.  You haven’t let the media crucify you or Joey, or even the man who took you.  You have controlled this the entire way and kept it positive and inspiring.  A lot of the media’s personnel could learn a lot from you,” he said with a smile.  I laughed.

“Thank you for that, Greg.  I really appreciate that,” I said.

“Anytime,” he said.

I
t had been a month since that horrible ordeal.  Since I’d been kidnapped, since I’d broken up with Joey.  I was in Janice’s office again, but this time for my last meeting with her before she submitted her report back to the hospital doctors.

“Things are still going well as far as anxiety and such?” Janice asked.  I nodded.

“It’s actually gotten better.  Well, I mean, the shot of adrenaline isn’t quite so potent,” I said with a grin.  Janice smiled and nodded.

“Excellent, I am so glad to hear that,” she said. I smiled and nodded.

“Thanks.  This has really been helping, even though we seem to spend most of our time talking about work,” I said.  She laughed.

“Those conversations about work really told me a lot about how you were coping with what happened, so don’t think that this last month has been pointless.  However, unless you choose to continue coming, there’s no need.  Not for PTSD anyway; you’re not suffering from that, thankfully,” she said.  I grinned.

“That’s good to know.  That was the last thing I need in my life right now,” I said.  She laughed.

“I’m glad that you aren’t honestly.  Any sort of media job is difficult and stressful without the added pressure of dealing with trauma,” she said.  I sighed and nodded.

“I wonder how those people who report from war zones and such do it.  I mean, you’ve got to be a very strong person to be able to see the types of things you see over there and still be able to sleep at night,” I said.  Janice smiled.

“That’s very true, but from what I’ve learned about you these past few weeks, I think it’s something that you could handle,” she said.  I smiled at her.

“Thank you.  Really, that means a lot.  I’m not sure I agree with you, but I appreciate the fact that you have that kind of faith in me,” I said.  Janice and I laughed together.

“I’m curious; how have other media outlets handled you in regards to all of this?  It was on the news that the man who took you was actually after Joey, and I was afraid that might mean that you’re being harassed,” she asked.  I sat back and sighed.

“Not locally, no.  Apparently, most of the media outlets in Dallas respect me enough to back off and let me deal with this my own way.  National news outlets, however, have been calling.  Thankfully, most of the calls have gone to my boss, and she’s told them to go to hell,” I laughed.

“That’s good to hear.  Have you thought about what you’re going to do?  If you’re going to do anything media-related with your story, or just keep it to yourself?” she asked.  I paused for a moment.  I had thought about it, actually.  And my thoughts had been very careful.

“I’ve thought about it a lot, even more so over the past week.  I think I’d like to report it myself.  It could be therapeutic,” I said.  Janice nodded.

“I completely agree,” she said gently.

“But, not all at once.  Bit by bit, as I’m ready.  When the time comes for the after effects portion of the story, I’d like to write about you as well,” I said hesitantly.  Janice paused and regarded me thoughtfully.

“Why me?” she asked.  I grinned.

“I want to come out and tell people who are suffering from PTSD that it’s okay to talk to someone, to get help dealing with this.  I want to be able to say look, I may not have suffered from the condition, but I did talk to someone.  And she’s trustworthy and very awesome.  It might give you a boost in business, but more importantly, maybe it will give someone who’s been suffering alone the push they need to get help,” I said.  Janice grinned.

“That is an excellent reason, Charlotte.  I will do everything I can to help with this cause.  Of course, you know I can’t talk about any patients or anything like that, but I can speak in general terms,” she said. 

I smiled and nodded, “I know.  Anything that I want revealed to the public that we talked about, I will discuss myself.  I wouldn’t want to put you in that position. And you not talking about patients reinforces that you are, in fact, trustworthy.” Janice laughed.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this excited about anything in here,” she said. 

I giggled, “I’ve thought about this a lot, so I am really excited to get started.”

Janice smiled and stood. “Then I am excited for you.  Call me when you need me. I can’t wait to see where this goes,” she said.

A
week later, I sighed absently, responding to emails on autopilot as I sat at my desk alone.  I hadn’t been able to go a day without thinking about him.  My chest didn’t hurt anymore, though, which was...good?  It was actually more that the pain had faded into a constant, dull ache that never went away, no matter what I was doing.

My work hadn’t suffered.  I still loved what I did, I still went out with Jacinta and Isobel, and we still reported on what was happening and gave people the exposure that they deserved.  It was just that now, I did it with Joey’s face always right there, just waiting to bubble to the surface and distract me from what I was doing.  I needed something else that was a bigger distraction than he was to me, to take my mind off of him, and the last time I’d seen him.  His face when I’d told him that I couldn’t see him anymore.... I glanced up as I heard Jade calling for everyone to meet in the conference room in five minutes.  I hoped it was something good.

“Do you know what’s going on?” Isobel asked as we met up on our way down the hall.  I shook my head.

“Nope, she hasn’t said anything to me about what’s going on,” I said.  Izzy slipped her arm through mine.

“I hope it’s something exciting; we need something around here to shake things up,” she said.  I laughed.