Relentless (Elisabeth Reinhardt Book 1) by Nancy Alexander Page B

As she listened to the yelling and fighting, she prayed for the aunts to come and stop them. It broke her heart to hear the anger and the tears. She didn’t know what started these family dramas but she knew that she couldn’t stop them. So she kept her hiding places well stocked and at the first sign of trouble she ran for safety. Tucked away in an opening under a staircase or under some loose floorboards in a closet, she curled up and tried to imagine living a different life, living with a different family, one that acted nice and didn’t fight. Sometimes she would fall asleep in her hiding place and not come out till the following morning. She always thought it was odd that no one ever came looking for her. No one called her name and no one asked her about it the following day. It was as if they never noticed she was gone or if they did notice they didn’t care. Most nights after those fights, her mother would stop in to talk to her daughters. She’d sit on their beds and tell them everything would be OK, it’s just that Papa was mad about something or it’s just that Papa was worried about the crops or animals. She often sat there talking and making excuses for her husband and trying to reassure them that things on the Raines Family Farm were just fine. It was odd but Hattie Raines never seemed to notice that one of her three daughters wasn’t in her bed. The little girl was just gone and Hattie seemed to have no interest in where she was.
    The therapist nodded thoughtfully. Bringing her back to the present time Dr. Reinhardt said, “So tell me what happened in the hospital today.” This question brought up fears that she had blown it that day in the O.R. She no longer worried that they would fire her but she worried that she had lost their respect. It had been hard going back to the hospital after she had acted so strangely. She was overwhelmed with anxiety - fear that people could see through her pretense of normalcy. Maybe she should take some time off. Call in sick. Take a long vacation. Look for another job while she could still get good references.
    They talked abo ut the realities of each worry, the likelihood of it occurring, reviewed her options. In the end, she decided she’d just go back to the hospital and act as she usually did.  If anyone asked about it, she would tell them she needed to change her mask and apron. This flashback at work had been an anomaly and major life decisions should not be based on anomalies. ‘Nothing bad happened,’ she reasoned. She would be fine. She needed some sleep and she’d be better in the morning.
    As they were walking toward the door, Gina said there was one more thing she wanted to mention. She had a steadily growing sense of danger and was not sure if this was a symptom of her PTSD or if she had a present reason for her fear. The look of concern on her face prompted the therapist to ask, “Are you worried about someone in particular, or is it a general worry?”
    Avoiding eye contact, Gina said, “It’s specific.”
    “I see,” said the therapist, “and do you have reason to think this specific person IS indeed after you now?”
    “He’s always been after me.”
    “You’re talking about your cousin, right?” the therapist affirmed and continued, “Right at this moment in time is there any reason to think he is closer to finding you? That you are in danger now?”
    Gina paused for a long moment, “ I have a feeling,” Gina said, but there was something evasive in her tone of voice. She turned and was walking through the doorway when she said, “I put in an application to buy a gun.”
    Dr. Reinhardt stopped her. “Wait a minute,” she said. “I understand you are afraid and you want to be able to protect yourself, but this is a big issue you are bringing up just as you are walking out the door. I want you to be safe from yourself as well as from others but we need to talk about it before you do anything like buy a gun. I need you to hold off