Owning Her Curves Read Free Page A

had to talk about it.  They did when they went through their own therapy.
                  They ate in silence for a while.
                  “I met someone,” she said, putting down her fork.  She sneaked a glance at each of them.
                  “Who?” Dom asked with a wide smile, happy she was meeting new people.
                  “His name is Eric.”
                  Dom’s smile froze.  John looked up at her startled.  She was all smiles.
                  “Who?” Dom asked his voice dropping a couple of octaves.
                  Sofia’s smile wavered a little with his change in tone.  She didn’t understand what was going on.  She thought they would be happy she was connecting with someone, who she could talk to and not bother them with her issues.
                  “Eric,” she repeated.  “He’s in the group.  He invited me to coffee.”
                  “You don’t like coffee,” Dom continued in that low voice.
                  “I had tea.  I’m sorry.  Have I done something wrong?” she asked, looking between the two of them.
                  They both thought about their answer before speaking to her.
                  “You haven’t done anything wrong,” John answered.  “You caught us off guard meeting a guy.”
    “What does that mean?  Was I not supposed to meet a guy?  Is that a rule?”
    “No kitten.  But it does make us uncomfortable you going off somewhere with some strange man.”
    “He’s in group with me.  He was raped and beaten by a gang last year.  I – I won’t have tea with him anymore.”
    “That sounds good –” Dom began.
    “No.” John interrupted, staring daggers at Dom.  “It’s fine for you to have tea with him but not alone.  One of us needs to be there.”
    “Oh … I don’t think he would … have tea with me then.  He talks about what happened to him and how he’s dealing with life now.  Kind of a private conversation.”
    “Do you ever talk during these tea/coffee conversations?” John asked, knowing the answer.
    “Well … not really,” she answered honestly.
    “Does he not let you?” Dom asked.
    “He needs time to process everything he went through and our time together lets him do that.”
    “What about you?  Don’t you need to process everything you went through?”
    “He went through something so much more horrible than I did –”
    “He was raped by a gang.  A serial killer cut you up.  I’d say you tip the balance in the weighing of horribleness.”
    “I – I don’t like to talk about … what happened.  I mean, it – it’s nothing compared to everything they have all gone through.”
    “I see we are going to have to set some rules for you for your group time.”
    She shook her head.  “It’s ok, I mean I’ll – I’ll get around to –”
    “No.  We need you to take advantage of this group.  It will help you with the nightmares and anxiety attacks.”
    “You and Dom help me with the nightmares.  And the anxiety attacks … they’ll go away … eventually.”
    “What will you do when Dom and I aren’t here?”
    Sofia started to cry.
    “Why are you crying kitten?” Dom asked gently, reaching over to grab her hand.
    “You’re leaving,” she sobbed.  “You don’t have to sleep with me anymore, if it makes you uncomfortable.  I’ll do better.  Please, please don’t leave me.”
    “Oh honey,” John drawled, pulling her into his lap.  She embraced him tightly.  “We’re not leaving.  But we might have to go on a job.”
    “I can work,” she sniffled pulling back and looking him in the eye.  “You don’t have to be the only ones, especially if you don’t want to.  I can –”
    “No.  We won’t have you working.  Not right now.  You need to take this time to recuperate.  That means telling your story in group.  We are going to