Goldilocks Forever

Chapter 52

Washington, D.C.

August 2006

Anna bought some new clothes at a thrift store a few blocks from the office complex where she was supposed to meet him. Her appetite loomed large, so several of the outfits in her suitcase were getting too tight. She shrugged off the weight gain. She was merely gaining back the weight she'd lost when felt no hunger.

Dressed in her new outfit, she strolled down city streets, watching addresses change as she approached her destination: a large multi-story office building, non-descript. She went inside and approached the security desk. The man smiled—she was expected—and gave her directions.

The door to his office was open. She knocked on it softly.

Alex looked up from the computer on his desk. "Hello!" He stood and pointed to a seat in front of his desk. "Please, have a seat." He closed the door to the office and put his phone on do-not-disturb.

He looked the same as she remembered him. How long had it been? He sounded surprised to get her call. The lingering expression of surprise and curiosity on his face made her think he agreed to meet with her only to see what she wanted.

"Thanks for meeting with me," Anna began. "I know you're probably busy."

Alex removed his reading glasses and set them next to the computer. He scratched at his beard as he looked at her. "How can I help?"

She opened her mouth to speak but didn't know what to say, how to begin. "I don't know," she finally admitted. "But I didn't know where else to turn."

"Toby said something very similar to that nine years ago when he showed up on my doorstep out of the blue."

"Have you heard from him lately?"

Alex nodded. "He called a few weeks ago."

Anna waited for him to elaborate, but he didn't. "He doesn't know where I am," she said. "No one knows, and it needs to stay that way. At least for now."

"Why? Did something happen?"

Something. Many things. "A lot happened since I last saw you."

Alex looked at her with his blue eyes, not as bright and clear as Toby's, but the family resemblance was there. She wished Toby were also in the room, sitting in the chair next to her. He'd know what to do.

Alex leaned forward. "Why don't you tell me why you called?"

"I don't know what's happening to me anymore." The words poured out of her. "It's like I'm being reinfected all over again, except it's different this time. While I was in California, I was on medication—"

"What kind of medication?"

"I don't know. Two little white pills, although I only took one a day. The others I was stockpiling, but I had to leave without them."

"So now you're off any form of medication. Did you notice any side effects from the drug?"

She thought about it. "No, actually. It helped my moods though. Evened me out a bit."

"Are you having withdrawal symptoms? Fatigue, nauseau, headaches, irritability?"

Anna scoffed. "Irritability doesn't begin to cover it. It's more like a constant rage, sometimes it feels like a simmer, but other times...it's like water boiling over a pot."

"Is that what troubles you the most? The anger and outbursts?"

"I had to leave my family it was getting so out of hand. My dad wanted me to see a shrink. He thinks I'm crazy, that I have post traumatic stress disorder."