Secluded Affair

Chapter 25

As I was waking up, I could hear voices flowing through the house, I could tell Jon's voice, but there was another female's voice. I got up and slipped on my robe, and opened the door a little more to see if I could hear what they were saying. Unfortunately, I was too far away, so I crept down the hall, getting closer to them. I stood just past the entrance to the hall from the kitchen so they couldn't see me.

I peeked around the corner to get a look at who it was; I could see Jon with his back to me facing the wall, and that was when I realised he was on the phone and had it on a loudspeaker.

"Yes, Doc. As I explained to the nurse, she was fine the entire time till we went to bed, she was a little freaked out about sleeping in there, but I wasn't going to take her into the room. Then I calmed her down and went to get a drink, and by the time I got back to the room, she was hysterical, shaking, screaming, and when I touched her, she lashed out, scratching and slapping me. I sat at the end of the bed, and I had no clue what to do, so I let her be. Ten minutes later, she looked up like a deer in the headlights, confused, and she had no idea what had happened. She remembers hearing footsteps coming closer, and then it goes black. What do I do, Doc?"

"Bring her into the hospital, Jon; we will look at her and assess her. I think possibly that being in the house is not conducive to her recovery. I'll see you both at 1130."

"OK, Thanks Doc. See you then" he hangs up the phone and busies himself in the kitchen cleaning up last night.

"Morning, Jonny, how did you sleep?" you say as you walk into the kitchen area.

"Hey baby girl, come kiss me. I slept OK, thanks, better now that I got you in my arms" He wraps one arm around your waist and pulls you and swoops down to capture your lips.

"HHMMMM, now that's just what I needed," he says with a goofy grin on his face.

"What with you, what's with the goofy grin? Did I hear you talking to someone?"

"Just happy to have you back home in my arms, baby. Yeah, I called your Doctor, and she booked us in for 1130 to go see her."

"OK, Jon, I am so sorry about last night. You know I would never hurt you. You have no idea how bad I feel." You say, looking into his gorgeous blue eyes.

"Listen to me, Darlin, it's not your fault. I don't blame you. We will find out what's happening and how we will deal with it, OK? And baby, please stop apologising," he says, then leans down and kisses you softly on the lips.

"Now go get ready, and I'll make you some food and coffee before we leave. " he kisses your head and swats your butt to move you along.

You head back to the room you slept in, get your clothes ready and take everything into the bathroom. You jump in the shower keeping your head dry. You finish up in the shower and start getting yourself ready. After 20 minutes, you emerge from the bedroom, ready for your day.

"Are you all ready to go? Gorgeous," you say, skipping your way into the kitchen and over to Jon, wrapping your arms around his neck.

"Good, now sit your butt down on the stool and eat your breakfast; we will be leaving soon."

"Yes, Sir", you wink and smirk at him as he lets out a slight groan and stares at you.

You take a seat on the opposite side of the island from where Jon was stood, and he has his back turned to you. You watch in fascination as he bends over, filling the dishwasher and just the tiny movements he makes making his muscles ripple.

"Oi pervert, I can feel you staring at me."

"I'm so not sorry for admiring your body, babe."

He stands opposite you and begins pulling catalogue model posses, making you howl with laughter at him. He pulls out his pouty face at you laughing at him.

"Sorry, Jonny boy, but that face does not work on me." You blow him a kiss across the counter.

"Oh, Really" he begins running around the island towards you, you take off to the living room, trying to give him the slip, but he catches you and wraps his arms around you. He peppers your face and neck with kisses, tickling you with his little stubble beard that's growing. Your sides are in agony from laughing so hard.

"Please, no more Jonny laughing; my head will hurt."

"OK, come on, we best get a shift on before we miss the appointment."

We gather up what we will need for the day and head towards the garage. Jon opens the passenger door for me to climb in, closing the door and walking to his side. We pull out of the garage and head down the driveway onto the main road. As we are driving, Jon begins thrumming on the steering wheel.

"Whatcha thinking Bongiovi?"

"How the hell do you do that? you always know when I'm trying to find a way to bring something up."

"I'm psychic, baby; now spill it."

"Earlier this morning, I spoke with Ava, the leasing agent; for a while now, I have been thinking of selling this place, and with what happened, it just cemented the idea of selling it even more. So I have her looking for other places for us, especially one with good security, for the remainder of our time here."

"OK. But I don't want to be the deciding factor in selling something you worked hard for, baby. We only have a few days left here before we fly away, honey."

"Baby, let's talk about this after we see the doctor; we can find a little diner, get some food and have a good talk about everything."

"OK, that's a plan, superman"  Jon looks at you and smiles, a genuinely happy smile, picks up your hand, brings it up to his mouth, and kisses your knuckles. You pull up into the hospital car park.

"Jon, Cori, come in, please" The doctor smiles and waves us into her room. We walk in and head to the seats in front of her desk.

"Please take a seat, So Cori, I have spoken to my colleague, and we have gone through your notes. We took a look at all of it from the beginning and all the nightmares, the emotional rollercoaster you seem to be on,  the numbness, the lack of sleep, and now after speaking with Jon this morning, flashbacks, we are 100% sure you have Post-traumatic stress disorder."

"Your brain's way of dealing with the trauma you have suffered, fortunately with treatment and medication you can control it, yes there will be ups and downs with it, relapses and many more. Unfortunately, there is no cure, and it's a lifelong condition. But, it's finding the right way for you both to live with it and manage it, and you can lead as normal a life as you can. I know this is a lot to take on board, and you will need time to do your research and find what's right for you. Everyone experiences it differently; some people have the same trauma, but their brain reacts differently. Talking to someone will help; maybe find a support group when you get home."

"As for going home, I know you guys were meant to be flying out this weekend, but it's too soon for you to be washing and putting your body through that stress. I'd recommend staying for another week at least, come back at the end of next week, and we will have a look and reassess you. "

"Don't stress, Cori, if flashbacks occur, don't fight them. Let them happen naturally. Sometimes they will get you unexpectedly; something like a smell, a sound, a taste, anything can trigger your memory and pull you into one. They are unsettling and can be intense. Jon, if you see Cori having one, don't touch her, leave her to settle, then help, unless she is in imminent danger, don't intervene. Otherwise, you will get attacked again. I could go on for days, but I can't. I have some information sheets for you guys to read through."

We stand up and walk out of the Doctor's office,  a little bit in shock, confused, baffled. I feel like my body is on autopilot back to the car; I don't feel like I've even moved, never mind walk half a hospital and a car park.