AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You did.”
JJ squints at her. “What does that mean? I don’t remember a thing.”
“It started off well. You were relaxed.” Holly smiles. “Totally absorbed in your playlist.”
JJ bites her lip. “And then?”
“You started to get agitated. You told me you couldn’t breathe. You became quite… frantic. You had a panic attack. That’s when I sedated you with the midazolam.”
“Which is why I don’t remember it?”
Holly nods. She crosses and uncrosses her legs, feeling unsure how to transition into the conversation she wants to have. “Listen, JJ, before the anxiety set in, you were telling me that you spoke to Elaine.”
JJ’s back straightens and her eyes narrow. “I did?”
“You said that you spoke to her after the group had already visited with her. The day she overdosed.”
JJ flicks her wrist backhanded as if trying to clear imaginary crumbs. “I was drugged. I didn’t know what I was saying.”
“You didn’t talk to Elaine again?”
JJ rises from her seat. “I really am late.”
“You kept telling me that you should have told her something.”
JJ grabs her bag. “I have to go.”
“It sounded to me as though you were blaming yourself. As if you should’ve warned her about something?”
JJ’s head spins toward Holly. “You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about!”
“I’m just trying to put the pieces—”
“This is not appropriate!” JJ snaps. “You drugging me! Wiping out my memory with some sedative? And then turning my words against me? None of it!”
Holly brings a hand to her chest. “I’m only trying to understand.”
“What the fuck, Dr. Danvers? How many lines are you planning to cross?”
Holly’s cheeks heat, but she keeps her tone neutral. “I’m not following.”
“First with Elaine. And now this with me? And all these drugs?”
“That’s not what—”
“And don’t think I didn’t see you!”
“See me where?” But Holly already knows, and she braces for the blow.
“Stoned out of your mind in your own office. Vaping DMT, no less. I looked it up. That’s hard-core!” Her voice rises with each sentence, and two red blotches appear on her fair cheeks. Her large dark eyes are almost wild. “What kind of doctor does that? Maybe you’re the one with the real problem.”
Ears pounding and face burning, Holly reaches a hand to JJ’s arm. “I can explain! It was after work. I thought the building was locked. It would be no different than if you had run into me at a bar after work and—”
JJ shrugs off Holly’s hand. “I don’t want to hear it. None of it!” She pivots and bolts out of the office.
CHAPTER 28
As Simon sits on his deck, nursing a vodka soda and watching a gaggle of middle-aged men finish their hapless beach volleyball game, his thoughts turn back to this morning’s group session.
