“You said,I think I did something bad.What bad thing do you think you did?”
He shakes his head. “Jenny’s dead,” he mutters, the words barely audible. “Jenny’s dead. And you were going to leave me.”
“I’m not—”
His grip tightens, digging painfully into my hands. “You were. You were going to run from me.”
“Eli, you’re hurting me.”
He releases me as if I’ve burned him.
“What happened to Jenny?” I ask.
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
He surges to his feet and begins to pace.
A flash of metal catches my eye in Nate’s hand, but he doesn’t move. I glare at him in warning.
“I don’t remember,” Eli says, voice breaking. “There are gaps. I don’t know. I don’t know!” He holds his head in his hands. “I loved her. She was perfect—not as perfect as my angel, but… I just wanted her to love me. She didn’t even see me. I don’t remember. I don’t—” His gaze finds mine, his face saying what his voice can’t. “Why don’t I remember?”
I move toward him slowly. “I think you might have repressed trauma. Would you let me help you?”
“Help me?”
“We can work together to uncover the memories. That way, you can get some closure.”
His head bobs jerkily. “Okay.”
I turn to Nate and Carina with a shaky smile. “You should go.”
Carina frowns. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“He needs to feel safe for this to work.”
“We’ll wait in the kitchen,” she says. “But I’m not leaving you alone with him.”
I sigh, conceding, and thank them before focusing back on Eli as they head downstairs.
“I want to try something called EMDR,” I tell him softly. “It helps the brain process traumatic memories by focusing on movement while revisiting the experience. But I don’t know if you’re in the right headspace yet.”
He clutches his head, shaking it vigorously. “Please, Angel. I can’t—I need to—Please.”
“Shh,” I soothe, guiding him onto the bed. “Okay. We’ll start now. But it may take a few sessions, depending on how buried the memory is.”
He nods, his breaths deep but uneven.
“Okay,” I murmur. “Close your eyes for me. Just breathe—in and out. Slow. Steady.”
Eli follows, his shoulders rising and falling beneath my hands.
“Good. That’s it. Now tell me what you’re feeling.”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s okay,” I say softly. “Just try to focus. What’s there right now?”