Page 8 of Grave Sins (Graveyard of Hearts Collection #2)

Maisy

Archer walks around the truck to lift me out and set me on my feet. “Your truck isn’t short people friendly,” I laugh.

“Well, I will happily put you in and take you out,” he says with a chuckle as we walk toward the building. “Remember, you absolutely do not have to tell anyone anything. Okay?”

“Okay,” I say with a sigh. Archer takes my hand into his and squeezes it. When we get to the door, he opens it and has me step in first.

“Nice of you to show up,” a woman says teasingly. The receptionist desk is to the left, but this woman is standing at another door that leads into what looks like a hallway.

“I’m not even late, Ada,” Archer laughs. Ada looks at me and smiles. “I am Ada Pavlov. I am one of the psychiatrists here.”

“I’m Maisy Jacobs,” I say, my voice hardly getting above a whisper. I’m shutting down fast, and the moment I realize it, I can feel the panic.

“Come on back, guys. Everyone is talking right now,” Ada says. We follow her through the door and down the hall. We get to a large room where there is a circle of chairs with five women in them.

“Whoa! Archer brought a girl?” A woman turns and says.

“Trisha, be nice,” Ada scolds.

“Did you kidnap her?” another asks with a smile. I can’t tell if they are joking or not, but it pisses me off.

“I’m not really in a state of mind to play nice. Are you sure you want me here?” I ask, loud enough that everyone turns and looks at me. “Because I’m not going to stand here and listen to the backhanded jokes.”

“We didn’t mean…” Trisha starts to say.

“And this is why I tell you all not to make jokes around people you don’t know. Situational awareness is important,” Ada says. “Archer might know you are joking, but to her, it looks like you two are being a bitch to him.”

“You can’t call us bitches,” the other girl laughs.

“Melody, you are a bitch though,” Trisha laughs.

“I’m sorry if I offended you,” Trisha says to me. “Archer is a good guy. I just like teasing him.”

“Annoying but harmless,” Archer says to me with a smile. “Ada, can we talk to you after?”

“Oh no. You don’t get to walk up in here with a woman and make me wait until after to explain,” Ada laughs. “Everyone, just discuss how your week has been for triggers. We will be back.”

“I didn’t mean now,” Archer says when we follow Ada over to a door on the opposite side of the room. When we go in, it’s an office space. Ada goes to sit in the armchair while Archer has us sit on the loveseat.

“First,” Ada says. “I need to know I have your permission to speak freely with her here.”

“You can,” Archer says.

“Spit it out. Last week, you were struggling to hold a conversation with most people outside of your family and me,” she says.

“You can explain,” I say quietly when he looks over at me. He rests his hand on my thigh, and I lay my hand over top of his.

“So, last night when I was leaving the gym, I heard screaming. It sounded like someone was getting hurt, so I tried to find the source of it. I ended up running into two men standing over top of her. I ran down there to her. Long story short, her father sold her to a trafficker who was going to… I don’t know…

rent her out? He was going to sell her virginity, but it was staged so that she was raped, allowing her buyer to keep her and the money he bought her for.

I offered to help but explained what I did to Kendra.

I didn’t want it to be a situation where she found out after, so I had Kendra come by the house. Andre ended up coming too.”

“Uh oh,” Ada says. “Andre doesn’t get involved in things unless it’s bad.”

“It is bad. She was sold to Harrison DeMarco, apparently. Andre said that there weren’t many options. He will want his money, and he will either get it or her.”

“So what is the plan?” Ada asks, sitting back.

“Well… We will need to set up a meeting with Harrison, and we will tell him that we are married. Andre said we’d have to prove it… publicly… but as long as Harrison believed it, I’d be able to pay him and leave.”

“And if he doesn’t let you leave with her?” Ada asks.

“I’m not leaving without her,” Archer says simply. “But… We did have a conversation about where the lines were and what we were into. That led to us having sex.”

“Well, not fully,” I add.

“Did you get triggered?” Ada asks Archer.

“No, she did,” Archer says, and Ada looks at me.

“I assume this is the part where I talk?” I ask.

“If you want to,” she says with a smile.

“Everything… before… was fine. I didn’t struggle with that, but then…

I don’t know. It’s like my brain finally caught up, and the gravity of being raped by them hit me.

Archer wasn’t doing anything wrong. It felt great and everything.

Just the weight of him on me sent me spiraling,” I say.

“I freaked the fuck out and yelled at him to stop. He did, and then held me while I cried myself into a coma.”

“I’m sorry you struggled with it. What specifically happened before you told him to stop?” Ada asks.

“He like… pushed my knees to my chest. It reminded me of when one of the men who raped me did that. The first guy filmed, and the second guy intentionally made me come so they could get a video. I assume to give it to Harrison as proof,” I say.

“I think if we were in a different position, I could have been okay.”

“Well, you mentioned that the weight of him sent you spiraling. You could very well try with you being on top. This will keep you from feeling weighed down,” she suggests. “How do you feel about marrying Archer?”

“I think he might be a bit insane for wanting to help me,” I say, and Archer chuckles. “I think he and I have a lot in common. I obviously just met him, but of all the possible outcomes, I think being married to him will make me the happiest.”

“What do you think about his history of raping Kendra?” she asks bluntly.

“I mean… It’s pretty fucked up. There is no denying that.

No one should ever hurt anyone like that…

But when someone is abused so severely, like he was, people try to cope.

I self-harm or have sex. Some people drink.

Some people hurt others. Might not be healthy, but I think it’s normal in the sense that there are probably many good people who have done bad things.

If Kendra is allowing herself and her babies to be around him, then she must not see him as a threat.

If you, as a therapist, let him in here with a group of women who survived rape, you must not think he is a threat, either. None of them seems to be bothered.”

“Don’t interrogate her,” Archer tells Ada.

“I find it interesting how protective you two are of each other,” she remarks.

“I am not interrogating her. You are telling me because you want my support. If I am going to give my support, I want to know that, even despite not knowing one another, she can be a positive influence on your life. You have endured far too much as it is, and you need to find peace in your life so you can heal. She needs to find peace to heal, also, but I don’t like supporting codependency. ”

“I’m not offended, if that means anything,” I say with a shrug. I don’t think she would want you with someone who can’t trust you, and she wouldn’t want me with someone I can’t trust.”

“Archer, you have attachment issues. It’s why you’ve pushed everyone away,” Ada says. “What happens if in a year she gets into a wreck and dies? Where will that leave you?”

“Uh… Sad?” Archer says. “Look, while it may be true that I can live without her, I don’t want to.

She feels safe and comfortable, and I’m sure I could find that anywhere if I let myself look for it, but I feel safe with her without looking.

I’m not going to ignore that, and I don’t need your blessing.

I wanted your support because I do enjoy being here and talking to you, but I am not going to sit here and have my life nitpicked.

You told me you wanted me to take the initiative to guide myself through life with my heart, not my fears.

That is what I am doing. Life feels brighter with her, and I’m tired of living in the dark.

She deserves happiness, and I’m going to give her that, whether you approve of it or not. ”

Ada just smiles at him, and I realize she was intentionally making him think she didn’t approve to see if he’d defend us or go with what she was saying. “I’m proud of you, Archer,” Ada says. “You’ve come a long way in the last year.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Archer grumbles. “I told Kendra that I was still having nightmares and what they were about.”

“Oh? Did she scold you?”

“She did. I wanted to tell her about the basement, but…”

“Honestly, you don’t have to tell her that. If you feel like it’s information worth her having, go for it. I don’t think rehashing that time will do anything but reopen wounds for both of you,” she says.

“Jeff gave me the option to leave,” Archer tells me. “All I had to do was help get Kendra into the basement.”

“Didn’t she end up in there anyway?” I ask.

“Yeah… I don’t really know why. I got to the point where I was so numb that I wasn’t really reacting to anything, so I think he got bored,” he tells me.

“Well, I personally wouldn’t want to know,” I say. “You’re both safe now, and there is nothing anyone can do to go back and change anything.”

“Yeah. I just feel bad lying to her," Archer says.

“Arch, no one is required to explain their trauma. That was something your uncle did to control you. He knew you’d never want to hurt Kendra again, so he used it to remind you of what you did. Either way was a win because he’d either have you submissive or her in his basement,” I say.

“She’s right,” Ada says. “I’ve always thought that Jeff always had plans of getting her down there, but that he wanted to break you back down to who you were when you raped her.”

“I don’t even know who that person is,” Archer admits. “I couldn’t imagine myself doing that to someone, but I did.”

“Drugs will turn the sweetest of people into monsters,” Ada says. “So when are you two getting married?”

“So…” I say, and they both look at me. “I was up for a while this morning and was trapped in your arms. When Kendra and everyone got there, she helped me escape to go pee. We ended up talking for a while.”

“Oh God,” Archer says.

“She told me everything that happened in the basement while she was there. She also told me what you did when she was fifteen. She told me about your dad and how much he loved you. She said she had something for you but promised Martin she wouldn’t give it to you until you were ready…

Andre can officiate weddings, so he was going to marry us today when we go over there, and then she’s going to give you something,” I tell him.

“I’m only telling you this because while it is a sweet surprise, you might not like being blindsided in front of everyone. ”

“What is it?” Ada asks me.

“It’s a letter from his dad. It’s dated the day Kendra found him. It’s still sealed and everything. The crime scene was finally released at his house a few months ago, I guess, and they found it,” I say.

“What are you thinking?”

“Uh… That I’m going to blubber like a little bitch in front of everyone,” Archer laughs.

“Don’t read it in front of them then,” I say. “We can go off alone, and you can read it.”

“Yeah, I could just let Kendra read it after,” he says.

“So… Get married, and then read the letter from your dad,” Ada says. “Do you want to skip the interrogation from the ladies?”

“Yeah. I don’t want Maisy to have to sit there and listen to them when she was just assaulted,” he says.

“Yeah, it’s fresh. Maisy, would you be willing to sit down one-on-one with me?” Ada asks me.

“Yeah,” I say. “I am an open book that never shuts the fuck up.”

“Well, that’s not bad,” she laughs. “Sounds like you have spent a lot of time having to keep it all in.”

“Uh… Yeah. Not to say I was very good at it. I spent a lot of time in isolation.”

“As a punishment?” she asks.

“Yeah. When my brother and I would get in trouble, we’d get locked in our room,” I explain. “I spent a lot of time at a boarding school, though, so it was just holidays and breaks I had to deal with them.”

“So you are seeking a connection to fill what your parents lacked,” Ada says.

“It’s easier and quicker to say I have daddy issues,” I laugh. “Oh, you know what?”

“Hmm?” Archer asks.

“I don’t know how old you are… Dang… We really don’t know each other at all,” I laugh.

“I’m thirty-one,” he says with a smile. “My birthday is March 19th.”

“I’m twenty-six. My birthday is November 12th,” I say. “Favorite color?”

“The same blue as your eyes,” he says sweetly.

“Damnit. Fine. I’ll take my panties off,” I say with a dramatic huff. Archer laughs and grins down at me. I can’t help but get lost in his eyes.

“Yours?” Archer asks with a smirk, probably knowing I lost myself for a moment.

“Uh… Green,” I say. “A bright, happy green.”

“Favorite food?” he asks.

“The fries from Bojangles,” I say. “You? What is your favorite thing to eat?”

“Depends. Are you still taking your panties off?” Archer asks with a playful smile, making my face heat up. I cover my cheeks.

“Okay, I’m just going to ignore that last part,” Ada laughs. “I love that you two are connecting so well. I’d like to do individual therapy and sessions with you two together. Come in an hour early before the group, and we can do it then.”

“That works,” Archer says. “Then we are going to go. I am craving my favorite food now.”

“This sexually awakened version of you is interesting to meet,” Ada says. “You two keep talking and getting to know one another. If you find disagreements, don’t let that bother you. No two people are going to connect on absolutely everything.”

“Thank you, Ada,” I say.

“You are very welcome, Maisy. Thank you for speaking with me today. Our session we can do before Archer’s, so you don’t have to come up here three times a week.”

When we get out of her office, she explains that we have obligations to tend to, but we will be back in a week. Before any of them can say anything, Archer grabs my hand and pulls me out of the building. He helps me into the truck before we start driving hand in hand.