Chapter 40

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“I can’t do this,” I whispered, staring at the people milling about.

Harry shook his head. “Yes, you can.  Stop being so negative.”

“I’m… What if he’s suing me?”

“He can’t leave it in his will to sue you, Bren, let’s be logical.”

I turned to Harry. “I’m scared, Harry. Alright? I’m scared. I’ve seen many things that should have scared me a lot more than they did, but this is scaring me a lot more.”

We had left his mum’s house earlier that day, after staying for a week. Anne hadn’t asked me about my dad or his death, and Harry hadn’t mentioned me walking into their private conversation. He had acted as if nothing had happened, and I appreciated that immensely.

“Brenna Edwards?”

I snapped my head towards the name, finding a man leaning out of his door, an apologetic smile on his face.

“Hi, I’m Matt Devon. Sorry for not coming to greet you sooner, you’re a tad late.”

He looked about thirty. He was wearing glasses that looked like they were too big for his head, and his black hair was gelled back. He was dressed in a suit, and he was freshly shaved.

I stood up, keeping my eyes on him. His eyes flickered to Harry. “He can’t come in.”

“Why not?” I asked.

“Only immediate family.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but he stopped me. “Don’t try and lie to me about who is, because I’ve read all your files, dear.”

“Your files?” Harry asked.

I ignored him. “I don’t like the idea of you snooping into my life,” I said through gritted teeth.

“I’m sorry, I had to pry in order to find you. Had to speak to Doctor Evans.”

“Oh, really?” I asked.

“Yes. He told me a lot about you.”

“Did you have fun analysing my life?”

He looked embarrassed. “Well, I wouldn’t call it analysing.”

“Who’s Doctor Evans?” Harry asked.

I kept my eyes on Matt. “From the age of thirteen to fifteen I was ordered to see a psychiatrist. He was no help. I refused to go to him again.”

“Which was irrational.”

“He told me I should forgive my dad.”

“Look, would you like to come in to my office? We could discuss this if you’d like, but I have no intentions of learning about your life. I just had to look around in order to find contact information. Hence why I phoned at two in the morning. Which was unprofessional of me, I know. My office is this way.”

“Okay.” I looked at Harry, who was assessing Matt with a frown on his face. “Harry, I’ll be out soon. Let’s get this over with.”

I followed Matt into his office and sat down, keeping an eye on him as he sat opposite me.

“Right, well how are you, Miss Edwards? Grieving for the loss of your father?”

“The man beat me regularly.”

“Oh. Right. Sorry.”

“You said you’ve read my files. You should know about what he did to me.”

“I didn’t actually read into your files,” he said, seeming proud of himself. “Just the phone number, which I had to retrieve from Doctor Evans.”

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