When someone dies mysteriously during a Psych experiment, Rhiannon becomes enmeshed in a conspiracy that includes both the survivors and the killer.
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Short on cash, Rhiannon...
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CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
PERSUASION
( — the process by which a message induces change in beliefs, attitudes or behaviors. )
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THE DOOR SEEMS TO SLAM A LOT LOUDER THAN IT ACTUALLY DOES. Rhiannon jumps after it happens, nearly dropping her phone, and her psychologist, Dr. Landry looks at her like she's a pathetic excuse for a human being, which is awfully close to how she currently feels.
The look Dr. Landry throws her drips with disappointment. It's not even as if Rhiannon wasn't used to it, having gotten it from pretty much everyone that has exchanged over two sentences with her, but it doesn't make it hurt any less. It only makes her wish she wasn't here even more than she usually does.
She understands she needs this kind of support. Not just after what happened on January 14 and all the consequences those events have brought; she should have reached out for help a lot sooner to help her find some strategies to cope with all the crap she has been put through throughout her life—even if there were certain things she brought upon herself.
Her family isn't exactly known for being particularly talented at providing proper emotional support. The Ford family dynamics haven't changed in years, and Rhiannon didn't expect it to be any different with her; she saw how her extended family treated the youngest people, calling it tough love as they brought them down.
That's not how it works.
These appointments would be a lot more helpful if Rhiannon could be fully honest about why she's here. There's a difference between that and why she thinks she's here and what she's here for; she's here to get better, to talk about things she can't tell anyone else, and to develop new strategies to cope with her trauma.
That trauma also includes January 14 and she can't tell the full truth about what happened that night. Even though Dr. Landry has a deontological code to follow and it says her confidential information shouldn't be released and their confidentiality contract should, preferably, be broken with her consent, it's kind of different when there are legal issues at stake.
Omission of information. Obstruction of justice.
Even though she technically didn't do anything wrong that night, having miraculously slept through the entire thing and having gotten out of the house with Jude and Roman before the fire broke out, and even though the police has concrete proof of her innocence, she can still get in trouble.
That's why she's not stupid to the point of opening her mouth about what actually happened. It's why she hasn't spoken to the authorities about how the group has been pressuring the members to follow their arbitrary norms and stay quiet. They'd find a way of pinning the blame on her, arguing she had, somehow, tampered with the cameras; even if they can't accuse her of having pushed Frances, they can mention the fire in their statements.
