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Back Confess to Me Save as PDF
Chapters (87)
  1. Cover
  2. Also by Sharon Doering
  3. Title Page
  4. Dedication
  5. Prologue
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
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  20. 15
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  40. 35
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  42. 37
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  45. 40
  46. 41
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  50. 45
  51. 46
  52. 47
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  78. 73
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  80. 75
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  82. 77
  83. 78
  84. 79
  85. Author’s Note
  86. Acknowledgements
  87. About the Author

Desiree studied my face, her fairy-blue eyes gentle and welcoming. She laughed and dropped my wrist. It fell limp into my lap. She sipped her beer. Set it down and wiped her mouth with her wrist.

“When’s your arraignment?” I said.

“Couple days from now, but don’t worry about me. I’ve got friends in low and high places.”

I figured. I considered pressing her about her attempted break-in—what had she been looking for and had she done it again? She’s not going to tell you shit.

“You’re gonna visit him, right?” she said. “The asshole head doctor?” She swung her head over her shoulder, gave me the sexiest smile.

“I was on my way there when you texted.”

She sighed, and her smile changed. Less seductive, more whatcha gonna do? “Alright, sister. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“I was able to unearth one of my patients’ repressed memories using hypnotherapy and medication. What they did to her was horrific. When she was a little girl, they had drugged her, placed three electrodes on her forehead, one in her vagina. They would tell her things they wanted her to believe, and if she didn’t agree with their beliefs, they would shock her until they got compliance.”

Doctor Clifford Paulson, PhD Psychology
Transcripts from the Sixth Annual Conference on
Adult Manifestations of Childhood Trauma

THE RADISSON PLAZA HOTEL, CINCINNATI, OHIO

46

46

An hour later when Emily and I walked through the door, Moldy Mildred smelled of orange chicken. White paper bags were strewn across the counter, wrinkled and spotted with grease. Trevor and Sawyer were sitting at the table, eating and laughing.

My strange day—my tense visit with Holly, my bizarre conversation with Father Greg, and meeting Desiree at the bar—fell away. Home, even if it was here in Hunther, felt warm and friendly.

It was a good family dinner. We didn’t need the crutch of background music or TV, we had Trevor. He was the oil to our rusty gears. When he was present, the kids breathed easier and their eyes sparkled. They wanted to please him with their good spirit, their best joke.

Trevor asked good questions. How many kids vape during class, Sawyer? Do kids throw food in the lunchroom, Emily?

Trevor always had a story. Today it was a huge hawk that landed on the roof of the car beside him when he’d stopped at an intersection. Then, did you know that the bathroom in the Jewell grocery store is on the mysterious, not-talked-about upper level?

“Can you read my fortune, Sawyer?” Emily said.

Sawyer peered over her shoulder. “Your generosity will be rewarded,” he said. “Oh, Emily, that’s a good one.”

She smiled at Sawyer. She liked his affection, couldn’t care less for the fortune.

I was lucky, so lucky, to have these people.