Convincing Her To Stay

Leah
I woke up with a start when someone knocked on my door, setting my new companion off. I was more than a little nervous about how angry my sweet, little—okay, fine, more like big—girl had turned with the knocking. I sat up, ran my hand over her back to help her calm down, and got up to answer the door with her by my side. I pulled the door open and was shocked to see R.H.M. standing there. For a moment, I couldn't breathe, until my little Sugar lunged at him. Before I could grab her collar, R.H.M. had sidestepped her and taken me in his arms. His breath warmed the skin on my neck, as his arms tightened around my waist.
“Call her off,” he murmured.
I took a deep breath as I tried to focus on what I needed to do. With his arms around me, it was hard to think, but I still managed to reach out toward the still-growling dog, who, after a few moments of my soft voice and ear rubs, calmed down. When Sugar sat down, R.H.M. let me go, and I instantly missed his warmth as he stepped away from me to introduce himself to my dog. After Sugar had laid her head on his shoulder with his hand moving over her body, he looked up at me.
“Good afternoon, Phoenix.”
My heart sank. Phoenix? Just what had I said or done when I was drunk? I took a step back toward the door, placing my hands behind my back to wring them together.
“Good afternoon, R.H.M.,” I replied politely as my heart continued to break.
His eyes moved over my outfit slowly while I stood in front of him, freaking out internally. I had the urge to tug on my newly cut booty shorts and shirt that I had cut to barely cover my breasts. When his eyes came back up to meet mine, there was a look in them that I couldn’t identify.
“Mister made an appointment for you. The doctor will be here in about half an hour. You are required to be at Mister’s office by 4 PM, where you will be given a robe to wear during your appointment, unless you choose to dress appropriately to see a person from the outside.”
“I’ll dress appropriately,” I tell him.
“4 PM, Phoenix.”
“I’ll be there. I promise,” I said sadly.
He stood up, giving Sugar one more scratch behind her ears before walking off toward Mister’s office. I beckoned my young lab mix inside before going into the kitchen to make sure she had food and water. When I was sure she had enough to last for awhile, I wandered into my bedroom to find an outfit that I hadn’t butchered yet. Finally, I settled on my traditional attire. I wore a long floor-length grey skirt and a billowing white lace shirt before going into the bathroom to put my hair up in a tight bun that pulled at my scalp.
As I looked at myself in the mirror, I became disgusted by the way I had chosen to look. I ran my eyes over my body before shaking my head. This was going to be the last time that I ever looked like this. This was not who I was anymore. It was not even who I wanted to be. I put my shoes on and walked out of the house to go to Mister’s office. As soon as I walked in, a woman stood up from behind a table that had been put up along the far side of the main lobby, while a strange man stood next to it. The locks on the front door engaged behind me, startling me. I immediately turned around to tug on the doors as panic set in.
“Leah, you are safe. Come with me, and I will show you the secret exit that has been unlocked for our meeting,” the woman told me softly.
I kept tugging on the door, even more panicked about what could happen without an exit. I started to hyperventilate as she began to approach me from behind.
“Leah? Please, come away from the door. Let me show you-”
“LET ME OUT!” I screamed, pulling on the door even more frantically.
“Leah-”
I spun around, throwing my hands out in front of me in an attempt to ward her off. She eyed me for a moment before pulling a badge out of her pocket and holding it out to me.
“Here, Leah. Take this.”
“What is it?” I asked, my voice trembling with fear.
“It’s how you get out. Swipe it through the lock on the right side of the door,” she told me.
I snatched it from her hands before swiping it through the lock, like she said. The locks immediately disengaged, and I rushed back outside, taking several deep gulps of air into my oxygen-starved lungs. My vision swam from the dizzy spell that had consumed me in my panicked state. After taking several minutes to catch my breath, I sank to my knees with my hands over my face as I struggled not to burst into tears. Someone sat beside me, and I shrank back a little away from them.
“Leah? You’re okay. You’re safe,” R.H.M. murmured.
I shakily lowered my hands from my face, sniffling a little as I looked at him. “I’m sorry,” I whimpered.
He slowly reached for my hand, and I immediately tangled my fingers with his, clinging to him like he was my lifeline. In that moment, that was exactly what he was. He squeezed my hand.
“We lock the doors when we have to call this specific doctor in. It is not to cause you to be scared. It is so that nobody walks in while you might be discussing certain aspects of your past that may be sensitive,” he told me.
“Aspects of my past? Just what kind of doctor is she?” I asked.
“She’s a psychiatrist,” he answered.
“I’m not crazy,” I snapped, pulling my hand away from his.
“Nobody said you were crazy, Leah.”
“Then why did you call in a shrink to talk to me?!” I whispered.
“Because you got drunk, and I was worried. I think that there is something deeper going on, and after your panic when I locked the doors for your safety, I know there is. I think you should really consider talking to her and telling her everything. She can help you. Please, Leah, let her.”
I got to my feet, rolling my shoulders back. “This is not what I came here for. It’s not what I want to do. I don’t have to look behind me to walk forward. I think it’s best if I leave,” I told him.
“Why?” he asked.
“Because I just do. I’ll go gather my things. Please tell Mister, thank you for the opportunity.”
“Please, don’t leave, Leah.”
“I have to, R.H.M. I thought I would be physically naked. Which I was okay with doing eventually. I don’t want to be emotionally, mentally, and spiritually naked as well. I can’t handle it. I’m sorry, but I can’t,” I said tearfully.
“Leah, please stay,” he almost pleaded.
I looked at him over my shoulder. “Mister can replace me. Will has already paid. He’s not losing anything by me leaving.”
“This has never been about Mister or money, Leah. This is about you and helping you move on,” he said. “Please let me. Us. Let us.”
“I can do that anywhere. I’m not going back to Will. Period. I don’t need to be here. Please, get my car. I’ll meet you at the gate in half an hour.”
I turned back around to go back to the house that I had been occupying since I arrived. I hadn’t even taken four steps when my elbow was grabbed. R.H.M. spun me around before gripping my other arm too.
“Don’t do this, Leah. Please.”
I searched his face for a moment before lowering my head. “Give me a reason to stay, R.H.M.,” I begged.
He looked around slowly before lowering his mouth to mine. I gasped as my eyes fluttered, allowing him to thrust his tongue into my mouth. I melted against him as I kissed him back. His grip loosened on my arms until he finally wrapped his arms around my waist to hold me close to his body as we continued to kiss. When he finally pulled back, I was breathless. My eyes slowly opened so I could stare into his eyes.
“Is that all?” I asked.
“Isn’t it enough?”
I shook my head sadly as I backed away from him. “No. I thought physicality was enough to save me from my father, but my husband turned out to be just as bad. So, no, R.H.M., it’s not.”
With a heavy heart and tightness crushing my chest, I restarted the walk to the house.
“I told you my name,” he called out, making me pause briefly.
“I’ve known your name since I got here.”
I took a few more steps before his next words stopped me completely in my tracks.
“My real name, princess, and next time I tell you, I want you to remember."