She Belongs to Me (Rewritten Version)

Chapter Ten

Vincent:

The steering wheel was cold and hard underneath my grip as I sat outside of a hair salon, waiting for Hope to come out. I didn't have a plan of how I would get her out of the way yet, because there was so much at stake and the pressure of making that kind of decision was mind boggling.

What could I do?  There were only two options, and they both sucked.  I could kill her, but that would destroy Emily; or I could grab her and stick her in my basement, but she would drive me insane.

This was the exact reason that I decided to not become involved with a woman.  I didn't need this kind of drama in my life right now.  I wanted detox from my past and move on to a brighter future.

How could I do that if I was being hammered with murderous thoughts?  There was one thing I could do to help myself.  I had to call my psychologist.

With over twenty years of experience and a wealth of helpful information, Doctor Stephen Holt was an excellent person to confide in.  He was very patient while I cried on his shoulder a year ago, and he told me to not let the sins of my past ruin my life.

I picked up my cellphone and found the number to his office. Holding my breath as the phone rang, I waited eagerly for an answer. "Good afternoon," His receptionist finally said, "Doctor Holt's office."

"Good afternoon. My name is Vincent Graves, and I am in desperate need of a phone session."

I could hear the click-clacking of a keyboard in the background. "The soonest I can get you in to talk to the doctor is January 14th. Will that be okay?"

"No! It won't!" I took a deep breath to calm myself down. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but this is urgent."

"May I put you on hold?"

I leaned my head back and sighed.  "Sure."

Soft rock played in my ears for about two minutes, then she returned. "Doctor Holt had a cancellation this afternoon. Can you talk to him right now?"

"Yes, I can. Thank you so much."

"He will FaceTime you shortly, Mr. Graves."

"Thank you."

I ended the phone call and waited for the session to begin. Doctor Holt was five hours away, back in my old town, and thankfully he allowed his patients to talk to him over the phone. He was the only doctor I trusted with all of the details of my past.

My phone rang, and I answered it. 

Doctor Holt appeared on the screen, wearing a deep purple shirt with a black and white necktie.  His hair was immaculately combed back, and his pearly white teeth smiled at me.  "Good afternoon, Vincent.  I'm so glad to see your face again.  It's been a while."

"Too long, I'm afraid."  I said, "I should have been keeping consistent appointments with you."

"These things happen.  How is school going?"

"I'm really enjoying it."

"That's great.  Have you made any friends?"

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh?"

"Yes.  I met a girl at the beginning of the semester, and things have gotten rather serious between us."

"That's wonderful, Vincent."

"Well, there have been a few issues along the way."

"Like what?"