Obsessed (The Lizzy Gardner Series) by T.R. Ragan

week, he would join 24 Hour Fitness and work out every day, just like he used to when he was in college. He was determined to get into shape before he met the woman he loved. He was going to get rid of his Honda, too. He didn’t need a flashy Mercedes, but something decent, something worthy. Next time he ran off to meet Madeline, he would be a new man and he would do things right.
    Passing up the leftover lasagna, he grabbed a handful of minicarrots from the refrigerator instead and walked through the living room and down the hall to his office. He turned up the volume on the radio and got comfortable.
    “Please welcome Dr. Madeline Blair, Sacramento’s favorite psychotherapist.”
    “Hello, Sacramento. Today we’re going to talk about letting go of childhood trauma. So many of us try, day after day, to push away painful memories, so much so that we begin to disown not only past experiences but parts of ourselves as well.”
    As always, Madeline Blair’s voice soothed Seth, lifted him higher.
    “For some,” Madeline went on, “pushing away painful memories means forgetting what happened.”
    He nodded in agreement as he swallowed.
    “For others, it means convincing ourselves that whatever happened to us wasn’t so bad. If we want to be whole again, we must embrace these painful realities. It’s not easy, but once again it comes down to owning the truth. Embracing our past life experiences, no matter how painful, will set us on a path to freedom. It always seems to boil down to this . . . the truth will set you free.”
    He munched on his carrots and sipped his water, feeling uncomfortable as she went on. Again it was as though Madeline could see deep inside him, driving down to the core of his being. Today he didn’t want to go where she was taking him, though. To the day of his accident. The day his life was changed forever.
    Seth didn’t like to think about his childhood. Although his mother had told the doctors he’d been in a skiing accident, he knew it wasn’t true, but somehow over the years the lies had become his truth. That’s why he rarely thought about his past. For years after the accident, he’d been confused about everything. Every night he would come awake with a start. The nightmare was always the same: his mother swinging at him, swinging with all her might.
    He was certain his accident was no accident at all. In fact, he’d never been skiing in his life, but his mother was always so insistent. His head used to hurt when he thought about it for too long, so he’d gone along with his mother’s lies. Tonight, though, as he listened to Madeline tell her listeners they wouldn’t be able to let go of the past until they faced the truth head-on, he knew he had to try.
    He closed his eyes and allowed himself to return to that day. He imagined himself as a ten-year-old boy skiing on hills at Heavenly, smiling as onlookers envied his natural-born talents on the slopes. The sun was shining and the snow gleamed like a giant snow cone without the syrup.
    After a caller relayed her own sad story, which ended on a good note after she was able to face the truth and move on with her life, Madeline sniffled, and then apologized. She was having another rough day, she explained. This morning she’d found a note on her refrigerator that read, “I hear you. I see you. I want you.”
    How could that be?
    He laced his fingers together, turned his palms away from him and bent his fingers back until he heard a crack, crack, crack as the bubbles surrounding his joints burst. He did it again and again, his tongue clicking—just another nervous habit his mother detested.
    Who left Madeline a note? he wondered.
    Impossible. He’d killed her stalker. She should be weeping with joy, not fear.
    If her stalker wasn’t dead, what did that mean? What had he done?
    “I’m listening,” she told the next caller.
    A deep, masculine voice came over the airwaves. “Hello, Madeline. It’s me. I’ve been dying to know