Chained (Caged Book 2) by D. H. Sidebottom

lucky. I hadn’t cut for a long time. Now I only used food to comfort the nightmares that plagued me. I’d cared for many ‘emotional eaters’ - as the health authority like us to refer to binge eaters, anorexics, and bulimics – but I had never come across a case similar to mine. Well, not yet, anyway.
    “Kloe?” Leroy, one of my oldest recurring self-harmers looked at me with a furrowed brow. “I must say, it’s nice to have you back, but I still miss that smile of yours.”
    I gave him a smile, shaking my head to distribute my thoughts. “Sorry, Leroy. I’m tired today.”
    “Tired?” He laughed. “After the long holiday you had?”
    I wanted to scoff. “Because of the long holiday I had.” I winked.
    Leroy was lead guitarist in a world renowned rock group. He found the stress of being in the limelight suffocating, and his only release was to cut and get high. There were other factors to his SH (Self-harming), I knew there was, but he had buried them so tightly inside that even after eight months of him in and out of Three Ferns, I was still trying to uncover them.
    “You fancy a walk?”
    “Sure.” I smiled, thankful for his need for some fresh air.
    He smiled, nodding as he pushed himself out of the huge, soft chair he had in his room. He called it his ‘writing chair’. It was specific to his request, but Genesis Convalescence prided themselves in catering to each individual client’s wishes.
    The stiches on his arm pulled and he winced.
    “You okay? Do you need some pain relief?”
    He quirked an eyebrow at me and then rolled his eyes. Rolling mine back, I followed him out of his room and onto his personal patio. But today he needed more visual stimulation so we both meandered down into the gardens.
    The grounds were divided into six exclusive areas, each surrounded by either a wall, hedges, or trees. The privacy each of the several unique gardens supplied cost the company a small fortune to maintain. But they were an essential part of the healing process.
    Leroy headed for the Japanese garden, one of my favourites, and the most secluded; towering trees and various clipped high hedges enclosing each small private spot within the oriental section. He led us to a bench that sat to one side of the fountain and was surrounded by a trickling stream, a tiny bridge, and numerous cherry blossom trees.
    “I have to tell you something, Kloe.”
    I nodded, shifting on the bench so I was looking at him and giving him my full attention. “Go on.”
    Turning away from me, he concentrated on the fountain. I had a feeling he didn’t want to look at me and I prayed he was finally going to open up to me.
    “I missed you. Frank is okay, but he isn’t the same.” Frank was the therapist who had filled in for me while I was gone. He was good at his job, but hearing that from Leroy gave me a sliver of pride in myself. “It made me realise that if I want to get better then there’s only you that can help me.”
    “And you,” I told him. “Both of us can help you, Leroy.”
    He shrugged, not sure if he believed in himself as much as I did. “Whatever, but…” He closed his eyes and swallowed. As I reached for him, he slid away from me and shook his head. “I need to do this; your compassion won’t help. Please don’t.”
    “Okay.”
    I placed my palms together and slid them between my thighs, showing him I had no intentions of touching him.
    For a long time he just sat quietly, staring at the water that leapt from the mouth of the large fish in the fountain. I allowed him patience, and I sat as quiet as he did.
    A cold shiver raced up my spine and the hairs at the back of my neck suddenly stood to attention. I swung round, searching the area for company but Leroy and I were alone. Putting it down to my pregnancy hormones, I turned back around and waited again.
    And eventually, we had a breakthrough.
    “I did a bad thing, Kloe.”
    I slowly nodded, leaving my eyes fixed on the gardens. “You do know