A/N: Alright, I decided to get back to writing this one… I'm sorry my updates suck… I'm just getting lazy because it's been so hot out! Anyway, this chapter may or may not be short… I'll find out when I'm done writing lol.

Replies:

Animalfriendship: Is this soon enough? Haha

OoMirkaaxX: Awww, trust me, it's far from perfect, but thank you! :)

Jellybean96: Zander has a method going now haha. He'll get her to open up some more, trust me!

~Chapter 3~

Zander had a method this time around.

When Stevie came into the office, they could continue their conversation. Zander just had to talk about his worst experiences. None of them were as bad as what Stevie went through though. He knew that, but he didn't judge her.

She didn't have any control when it was happening.

"Dr. Robbins? Miss Baskara is here for her appointment," the receptionist said through the speaker on his desk. He pressed the button to respond.

"Send her in, Elle. Thanks. Hey, do me a favor? Extend her appointment, I'm free this afternoon." Elle responded and made sure Stevie's appointment was extended like Zander asked. He was glad for more time this time around.

After a minute or two, the door opened, and Stevie came into the room. She didn't sit as far away as possible this time. In fact, she took the seat in front of Zander's desk. He tried not to look surprised, but he was.

"Good morning," Zander said, clearing his desk off a bit. Stevie didn't respond, or if she did, it was too quiet for Zander to hear. She watched as he cleared his desk off.

"You have a lot of papers," she commented, leaning back in her chair a little more. The only light in the room came from the sun through the windows, and it wasn't very bright—the shades kept most of the light out—but it made the room feel calm.

"I extended your appointment this morning. We were really getting somewhere yesterday, and then you had to leave. You don't mind, do you?" Zander asked, absently twirling a pen in his hand. Stevie shook her head in response.

"Where were we yesterday?" Stevie asked, cocking her head to the side slightly as she tried to remember where the conversation ended.

"You were telling me about having your captor watch you change into the nightshirt he gave you the first night you lived with him," Zander said, reading off his notepad. He had recorded their conversation down on his notepad after Stevie had left.

"Right. . ." Stevie said with a small single nod. "Uh. . . he didn't touch me."

"You said he molested a child before. . . you're sure he never touched you any way that seemed. . . unnatural?" he couldn't find the right word to describe what he mean, but he guessed "unnatural" would have to do.

Stevie shook her head, "I. . . don't remember."

"Stevie, I'm here to help you. I told you before, anything you say here stays within these walls, unless it is a risk to your health or life," Zander said, leaning forward slightly. He kept his eyes on her, but her eyes were fixated on her hands in her lap.

"I know," she said, biting her lip. "I did some thinking. . . after I got home yesterday," Stevie said, finally, her hazel eyes meeting Zander's dark brown ones. He raised his eyebrows slightly, urging her to continue and share her thoughts.

"I began to wonder if a lot of things he told me were wrong. . ." she responded, watching Zander for any signs of judgment, but she didn't find any.

"He had no right to take you from your parents," Zander replied softly, hoping to get through to her. She thought for a moment in silence.

"He never hurt me though. I was grateful to not be going home. . ." Stevie said.

"Why?"

"Because my parents were constantly fighting. . . and I'm the youngest in my family. . . I felt like no one was paying attention to me. My brothers were all leaving for college or living on their own. . . I was stuck home with my parents and had to listen to them argue," she shrugged.

"I just didn't want to stay. . . and when he said I'd live with him, I was glad. It meant I didn't have to go home, but then he began to. . ."

"Began to. . .?" Zander prompted. Stevie had stopped talking then, and Zander wanted her to keep going.

"I can't tell you. . ." Stevie said. "If he comes back for me, and he finds out I said stuff, he'll angry with me," she said sadly, looking back at her hands in her lap. Her body was shaking slightly, and Zander knew she was afraid.

"Stevie, you can tell me anything. No one outside of this room is going to find out what you're telling me. You can trust me." He watched as she fought with herself. She was terrified.

"I can't. . . if he comes back and finds out. . . he might not love me anymore. . ."

"Stevie, he didn't love you," Zander said as cautiously as he could. He didn't want her to shut herself up again. "He's sick, in the head, and he knew what he did was wrong. He took you for selfish reasons, and he's being taken care of in prison."

Stevie's eyes began to water. The past five years hadn't been so bad for her, but they weren't great. She felt trapped suddenly. Everything changed quickly, and she felt stuck. Her captor, the only person that gave her the attention she wanted, was locked up in prison.

She's not used to being without him after five years of nothing but being with her captor. Zander could understand she was stuck in a hard, internal battle with herself, but it was his job to get her to trust again.

Tears spilled out of her eyes as she hesitated. She opened her mouth after a moment and said, "He was possessive for a while. Curtains had to stay shut, and I was never allowed to answer the phone, or watch TV, or go on the computer. . . he said things like that, they'd corrupt me. . . and people—bad people, like the police, would come and take me away. He said he loved me and he'd never hurt me."

"He said those things because he knew he'd get in trouble if anyone knew where you were. He was cutting off your means of connection," Zander explained, watching as she began to cry. She was confused. Everything she'd been taught was wrong.

"Stevie, he's the bad guy. . . me, the police, your family, we're all the good guys. We want you to be okay, and we want you to feel safe again. You know that, don't you?" Zander asked, walking around the desk to the front.

Stevie stayed in her seat, but she refused to look at Zander. Instead, she cried silently. Zander sat on the desk in front of her and said, "I won't lie to you, Stevie. Your captor did that—"

"—Stop calling him a captor!" Stevie cried, putting her face into her hands. She didn't want anyone to see her like this. "He took care of me! You guys are the bad guys!" She couldn't wrap her mind around what Zander was saying, she didn't believe him.

"Stevie, I'm here to help you. You'd still be locked up in his house, being taught lies if that rescue team hadn't gotten you out of there. I'm here to help you, because I've been taught how to fix people, like you, for the better. What were you allowed to do at his house?" Zander asked, hoping maybe he could get through to her another way.

"He had a piano. . ." she said softly. "He let me practice on it often. He would buy me music to learn. . . it was really the only thing he would allow me to do."

"You didn't ever think to run away from him, did you? He didn't threaten to hurt you if you left, did he?" Zander asked. He wasn't sure where his questions were going, he was just looking for answers.

"No," Stevie shook her head. "He just said that if I left, bad people would get me. And he wouldn't be able to save me."

Zander sighed.

This guy was good with words. He could brainwash a fourteen-year-old easily, just by scaring her. He talked himself up to be the only good person in the world, and Stevie unfortunately believed him.

"The good people got you out of his house, Stevie. They recused you. He was the bad guy. He took you and hid you away for five years. He knew what he did was wrong," Zander tried again, hoping maybe she would process this.

She didn't though.

"I'm sorry," she said softly, "But from what I know, you're the bad guy. . ."

Zander, not being able to get through to her anymore today, pressed the speaker on his desk. He watched as Stevie wiped her eyes and said, "Elle? Change of plans. I think Miss Baskara is ready to go home early today."

"Alright, Dr. Robbins. I'll call the family."

"Thank you," he responded. He bid Stevie goodbye for the day, and then left Stevie to herself and got as far from his office as he could. He needed time to think things over, and create a new plan. He needed her to realize everything she knew was wrong.

How though? he wondered.

A/N: Alright! So, I FINALLY update this! It's sort of short, I guess. Sorry about that, but at least I've got the story moving somewhere! I have the next chapter in mind, so hopefully that'll be up soon!

Review and let me know what you thought? Thanks!