The Secret The Cheerleader Doesn't... - Chapter 3: Chapter 3
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"What does that even mean?" Jaelynn scratched her head, her face showing frustration.
"Think of it this way," I tug on her chair, having her face me. "A woman fertilizes an egg but the body registers that it will harm the woman. It then naturally aborts the egg. The body naturally did it, it was part of its make-up. Well, individuals who suffer with apotemnophilia have a mental design where they naturally need to cut off healthy limbs of their body." I watched her become disgusted, shaking my head a little, "Another way to see it is with individuals who enjoy popping pimps or picking at scabs. They feel a need to get rid of it, so do those suffering from apotemnophilia, but just with their limbs."
She shook out her chills, making a face, "That's terrifying. Have you ever encountered someone like that?"
"Once," I leaned back, "a young child would cause severe harm to her legs. Breaking them, ripping the skin or cutting into it and trying to infect it. She wanted to damage them as much as she could so she could get them surgically removed."
"Are you serious?" The fear in her eyes... I remember when I used to find these things frightening... now it's just another client in my book.
Rubbing her head, I smile, "We can't think about how scary or bad something like that is. We need to focus on finding out what caused the individual to start and how we can stop them."
Jaelynn has always been a kind, sheltered, and naive child. I still remember the day she told me she wanted to major in criminal behavioral science. At first I was unsure if she could handle it, but seeing her now... I know one day she will save hundreds of people.
Checking the time, I stood up and kissed her cheek, "Get some rest my love. There is a thing called 'too much studying'."
"Mom," I stopped at the door. She swiveled around in her seat, pinching her arm as a nervous tick, "Why did you stay with mama?"
"Because I love her," I said.
"Would you do anything for her?" She asked.
"I would murder," I replied, "why do you ask?"
She twisted her fingers til they cracked, "There's a guy I've been talking to recently.... and well... he has a daughter."
Smiling a little, I ask, "What's his name?"
A little smile came onto her face, "Peter."
"And his daughter?"
"Allie," she said, "she's three... apparently she really loves the color pink."
Nodding, I hold onto the doorknob and say, "When you decide to meet her, I recommend two things: ask her about her day but make sure to listen, and tell her that you've been excited to meet her."
"Why?" She asked.
Right before shutting the door, I smiled to myself, "Because that what your mama did with you three... see how well that turned out?"
When I left her room and headed down the hall, I couldn't help but be glad about the news. Jaelynn was growing up. She's twenty now... she's about to graduate, move out, start her own family and career. As exiting as it is, it was also terrifying. Letting her go... fall on her face a couple times and figure it all out.... as a parent, I'm terrified of her getting hurt but as a psychologist, I understand how crucial it is she learn what failure means...
Because without failure, how do we understand success?
Cassie was taking a shower as I got ready for bed. The marks on my body had begun to fade luckily. My phone was buzzing away on the nightstand - Jennifer was calling me once again. She messages, emails, calls, and DMs me. Sometimes I have to shut my phone off to just get some sleep. I wish I could block her, but since we are working on a case together, I can't.
Sometimes I hate my line of work.
Powering down my phone, the bathroom door flies open and out steps my heart. Her hair was thrown up in a towel. A few years ago she finally went back to her natural blonde hair and even grew it out again. The only difference is she got wispy bangs now. I admired her as she talked, "Did you hear about the twins? Jakob and Jessika almost got into a fight at practice today! Apparently they were racing each other in drills and Jakob lost so he pushed Jessika, which lead them into hitting."
"It's normal for siblings to be competitive and fight," I said.
"I know but it's still concerning!" She pulled on one of my sweaters and took a seat beside me as she dried her hair, "What happens if they hate each other when they're older."
"That's impossible," I traced the outline of her shoulder.
"And why is that Mrs. Know-it-all?"
Kissing her shoulder and wrapping my arms around her, I nudge my face into her neck, "Because those two can't even go a day without speaking. Right now as we speak, Jessika is helping Jakob with his math and he's doing her science project."
"THEY'RE CHEATING?"
Our lives have begun to settle down. We no longer fought over serious topics like mental health or our past. Instead we worried over our kids cheating and if they have clean socks for the next match. We are having the life that we've dreamed of since forever.
Jennifer:
"See you tomorrow morning😉"
"Think of it this way," I tug on her chair, having her face me. "A woman fertilizes an egg but the body registers that it will harm the woman. It then naturally aborts the egg. The body naturally did it, it was part of its make-up. Well, individuals who suffer with apotemnophilia have a mental design where they naturally need to cut off healthy limbs of their body." I watched her become disgusted, shaking my head a little, "Another way to see it is with individuals who enjoy popping pimps or picking at scabs. They feel a need to get rid of it, so do those suffering from apotemnophilia, but just with their limbs."
She shook out her chills, making a face, "That's terrifying. Have you ever encountered someone like that?"
"Once," I leaned back, "a young child would cause severe harm to her legs. Breaking them, ripping the skin or cutting into it and trying to infect it. She wanted to damage them as much as she could so she could get them surgically removed."
"Are you serious?" The fear in her eyes... I remember when I used to find these things frightening... now it's just another client in my book.
Rubbing her head, I smile, "We can't think about how scary or bad something like that is. We need to focus on finding out what caused the individual to start and how we can stop them."
Jaelynn has always been a kind, sheltered, and naive child. I still remember the day she told me she wanted to major in criminal behavioral science. At first I was unsure if she could handle it, but seeing her now... I know one day she will save hundreds of people.
Checking the time, I stood up and kissed her cheek, "Get some rest my love. There is a thing called 'too much studying'."
"Mom," I stopped at the door. She swiveled around in her seat, pinching her arm as a nervous tick, "Why did you stay with mama?"
"Because I love her," I said.
"Would you do anything for her?" She asked.
"I would murder," I replied, "why do you ask?"
She twisted her fingers til they cracked, "There's a guy I've been talking to recently.... and well... he has a daughter."
Smiling a little, I ask, "What's his name?"
A little smile came onto her face, "Peter."
"And his daughter?"
"Allie," she said, "she's three... apparently she really loves the color pink."
Nodding, I hold onto the doorknob and say, "When you decide to meet her, I recommend two things: ask her about her day but make sure to listen, and tell her that you've been excited to meet her."
"Why?" She asked.
Right before shutting the door, I smiled to myself, "Because that what your mama did with you three... see how well that turned out?"
When I left her room and headed down the hall, I couldn't help but be glad about the news. Jaelynn was growing up. She's twenty now... she's about to graduate, move out, start her own family and career. As exiting as it is, it was also terrifying. Letting her go... fall on her face a couple times and figure it all out.... as a parent, I'm terrified of her getting hurt but as a psychologist, I understand how crucial it is she learn what failure means...
Because without failure, how do we understand success?
Cassie was taking a shower as I got ready for bed. The marks on my body had begun to fade luckily. My phone was buzzing away on the nightstand - Jennifer was calling me once again. She messages, emails, calls, and DMs me. Sometimes I have to shut my phone off to just get some sleep. I wish I could block her, but since we are working on a case together, I can't.
Sometimes I hate my line of work.
Powering down my phone, the bathroom door flies open and out steps my heart. Her hair was thrown up in a towel. A few years ago she finally went back to her natural blonde hair and even grew it out again. The only difference is she got wispy bangs now. I admired her as she talked, "Did you hear about the twins? Jakob and Jessika almost got into a fight at practice today! Apparently they were racing each other in drills and Jakob lost so he pushed Jessika, which lead them into hitting."
"It's normal for siblings to be competitive and fight," I said.
"I know but it's still concerning!" She pulled on one of my sweaters and took a seat beside me as she dried her hair, "What happens if they hate each other when they're older."
"That's impossible," I traced the outline of her shoulder.
"And why is that Mrs. Know-it-all?"
Kissing her shoulder and wrapping my arms around her, I nudge my face into her neck, "Because those two can't even go a day without speaking. Right now as we speak, Jessika is helping Jakob with his math and he's doing her science project."
"THEY'RE CHEATING?"
Our lives have begun to settle down. We no longer fought over serious topics like mental health or our past. Instead we worried over our kids cheating and if they have clean socks for the next match. We are having the life that we've dreamed of since forever.
Jennifer:
"See you tomorrow morning😉"
End of The Secret The Cheerleader Doesn't... Chapter 3. Continue reading Chapter 4 or return to The Secret The Cheerleader Doesn't... book page.