The Fallout (The Therapist #3) - W.S. Greer Page 0,61

the floor. The soft, black carpet may have cushioned the blow, but the floor is still made of concrete, and Ava is instantly immobile.

“Fuck!” I shout as I run down the stairs. Evelyn meets me at Ava’s body and we both try to examine her.

“She's still breathing, she's just unconscious,” Evelyn says. Now that Ava is out, Evelyn’s voice finally has some panic in it. “This is fucking crazy.”

“I can't believe it,” I say over labored breathing and a bloody lip. “I thought she had moved on, but she's been breaking into my house over and over again. It’s insane.”

“She needs help,” Evelyn says, just as we hear police sirens moving toward the house. “She’s dangerous, and neither of us can give her the help she needs. She requires real psychiatric treatment.”

“I know,” I reply. “I know.”

The police come into the house, followed by paramedics a short while later. They place Ava on a gurney and carry her unconscious body up the stairs and out of the house, while Evelyn and I follow them out.

Once we’re outside, I see a lot of my neighbors looking through their windows as Evelyn and I stand next to her car waiting for the ambulance to place Ava inside the truck.

“Well, not exactly the night I was hoping for,” I say, doing my best to remove the fear from my voice.

“Definitely not,” Evelyn agrees.

“So, did she scare you off, or are you still okay with getting to know me?” I ask.

Evelyn grins, but I can see the apprehension behind it. She lets out a sigh and says, “Call me tomorrow, Malcolm,” to my utter surprise.

Evelyn opens the door and climbs into her car. She smiles at me after putting on her seatbelt, and I stand in the driveway as she pulls out and drives away.

As her car nears the end of my street, I hear commotion coming from the ambulance. It’s screaming. Ava is screaming.

I run over to the doors to the ambulance and find Ava jerking her body up and down in the gurney as the paramedics struggle to contain her.

“Ava, stop!” I shout as I have to climb into the back with the paramedics and help them as they put straps across Ava’s legs and torso. Once she's locked down, they inject her with some sort of sedative so she doesn't hurt them or herself.

“He's mine!” she shouts, but the sedative kicks in and she’s unconscious again in a few seconds.

“What the hell?” one of the paramedics says as she breathes hard. “She’s as strong as a bull.”

“Thanks for your help, sir,” the other says to me. “We’ll take it from here. Are you going to meet her at the hospital?”

I don't know what I’m supposed to say or do. I’m not Ava’s family, and I don't know if she even has any. I'd hate for her to be all alone when she wakes up, but I also don't want to give her the wrong impression. Plus, she’s going to be facing charges for breaking into my home all those times. I feel so sorry for her, but Evelyn is right.

“No,” I answer sadly. “I can't be there for her. She needs help I can't give her.”

I climb out of the ambulance and hear the sound of the doors closing behind me. When the ambulance drives away and I walk back into my house, all I can do is hope Ava is out of my house for good, and that she gets the help she so desperately needs.

32

~ Malcolm ~

Downtown Dover is a historically beautiful place. Delaware is America’s first state, so in the downtown area there are tons of historical buildings that are really cool to look at and learn about. In the summer, I don't think there is a more beautiful place to walk around doing a bit of small town sightseeing. The grass is green, the trees are tall and beautiful with thick roots that peek above ground before slithering back down beneath the dirt. It just has a calm, serene vibe to it that’s easy to appreciate and puts me in a relaxing mood. I see some of it when I drive to my office, but Evelyn and I have headed just a little west so we can enjoy the spirit of Dover together.

The two of us walk next to each other, but we’re not holding hands or doing much touching. After everything that went down a couple of days ago at my house with Ava, we haven't