Jane
I didn't know how to handle all these different feelings so I came in for a session with Dr. Basil. "What happens if you submit the tapes?" She asked, after I summed up everything that's happened.
I hesitated before whispering.
"I plead self-defense--"
She waits for me to finish my sentence and when I don't, "And Luke? What happens to him in this case?" She asked.
"He could be tried for assault and battery." I answered quietly.
"What's the count for assault?" She asked again.
"Um, 5 years least, depending on the judge...." I answered and she stared at me skeptically for a while, "What's wrong?"
"At the end of the day, all sides fall in your favor. not only do you walk out free, you win custody of your boys, and Luke gets what he deserves in between all of it."
"I-I don't think, Uhem...I don't think a therapist should be this... uhm, vogue, Luke is your client, it's unprofessional to talk like this, regardless of the situation."
"You're my client, Jane. I owe an obligation to you, not Luke. And, I believe you came in today because you preferred to hear the truth, unofficially."
I shook my head and scoffed in disbelief.
She sighs in frustration, staring at me.
"When are you going to leave Luke, Jane?" I gaze up at her, "Make me understand why you do this to yourself..."
"You don't get it...." I mutter, "I have thought of leaving Luke a thousand times, then I think again about what we have, and we have a lot...we've been through tough times and fought through every one of them together." I paused, recollecting on the hardest times in our lives. "James was born sick and 3 months earlier, the doctors were certain he wasn't going to make it, I was broken and Luke was by my side every step of the way, he was so good, so affectionate....and when I think of all that, and what we've made out of it, the mere thought of walking away is like tearing flesh."
"Jane being with him has given you more pain than Joy, you must know that....I worry for your kids."
"Luke would never hurt the boys." I clarified sharply.
"I don't doubt that, but they might be imitating their father, Joseph especially."
"We never fight around the boys."
"Doesn't mean they can't hear you from the room."
I squeezed my dress, "He's agreed to get help, for him and Joseph."
She snickered in disbelief, "Jane, Luke might be sick and twisted, but I strongly believe you are too...I think you enjoy this, you enjoy the pain--"
I shot my eyes to her shocked,
"Are you saying I enjoy being beaten to a pulp by my husband?" I was offended by statement.
"Research has proven that abused women become overtime immune to the pain, they get sulked in it, they feel like they can't exist without it, I think in your case it's the sex."
I scoffed in disbelief, her claim was ridiculous, making me immediately regret coming. "How's the sex?" She asked all of a sudden,
"I'm not here to discuss my sex life--"
"How's the sex, Jane?" She insisted,
I shook my head with a sigh of disbelief before muttering,
