*Julia*

"Listen, no I don't think you are ready to leave the Avalon."

What the hell is happening right now? Jeremy is giving me all these weird mixed signals. Does he want to discharge me or not? I furrow my brows at the doctor in confusion with a pit in my stomach.

"An hour ago, you said I didn't have a fever and that I could leave. What changed in one hour?" I pace my room, feeling my anxiety creeping in. Being alone with Jeremy in my room is making me on edge. Dante is right outside the door but that doesn't help me.  Mike is in session. I have no choice but to be in the same room as my rapist.

"Are you taking your detox seriously, Julia or are you just here to play games?" Jeremy stands by the door, watching me pace. He's pissed about Mike and I and letting me know it by these little comments.

"You're not serious right now, are you?" I spin around to make eye contact. "You KNOW I've been trying so hard!" I burst. "I've been trying to do EVERYTHING right!"

"I don't think you've been trying hard enough." Jeremy squints his eyes at me in anger and steps into my room. 

He closes the door.

 Panic sets in and I start breathing a little heavier. I freeze and swallow hard as I watch Jeremy take another step closer, now towering over me.

"You wouldn't be fucking around with some convict." He seethes and wraps his fingers around my upper arm, pushing me into the wall behind me.

This is what it feels like to die inside. 

*****

*Nate*

I have no clue what's going on. First Donovan calls me telling me he thinks Julia should detox outside of the Avalon because she is getting intimate with Mike Maloney, then an hour later he calls and says Julia had a nervous breakdown requiring sedation... forcing her detox to be put on hold?

The familiar tightness in my chest appears as Jeremy explains the need to sedate Julia... again. She freaked out for no reason.

There's always a reason.

Julia doesn't just freak out. She has to be provoked. I'm not getting the full story here and there is nothing I can do to help Julia being halfway across the world from her.

I'm supposed to have a meeting with Leslie right here in this small conference room at the venue to go over tomorrow's interviews, yet I currently can't seem to regulate my breathing. I look up at the clock hanging on the wall and see I still have ten minutes before our meeting and Leslie is not here yet. I rush out and head to the rec room where everyone else is hanging out.

The second I lay eyes on Jonah he knows something is wrong. He drops his fork and stands up.

"I need an Ativan." 

"What's going on, Nate? Hey. Take a deep breath." He puts his hand on my shoulder, noticing I'm struggling for air. "Casey, get the med bag."

"Something's not right, Jonah."  I manage to say, gaining Trisha's attention now too. She gets up off the couch and heads to where we are.

"Are you in pain? Your heart?" Trisha asks, full of concern.

"Something's not right with Julia. Something happened." I scratch the back of my head, knowing I'm not making sense. None of it makes sense. "Jeremy called and... " I shake my head. "He did something. I know he did."

"Nate. Slow down. Here." Jonah says as Casey hands him the small white pill to help calm my nerves. I take it immediately and begin pacing the room.

"How do you know he did something to her?" Trisha asks.

"You KNOW she doesn't freak out for no reason. Something had to of happened for her to have an outburst." I continue, still not making enough sense for anyone. "He sedated her, and she didn't do anything wrong, did she? He fucking did something to her."

******

*Julia*

I slowly open my eyes and look around the room. It takes a moment for my eyes to focus but I soon realize I'm still in my own room at the Avalon. My head is pounding, and my throat is dry and scratchy. I feel out of it.  My nose itches and when I lift my arm to scratch it something pulls it right back down.

No.

I look down in panic.

Oh my God, No!

 The leather restraints wrap around both my wrists, both my ankles. My eyes dart from one restraint to the other as I explode in tears, trying to wrestle myself free. My room is empty, and my door closed. There is no one here to help me. This is really happening. My shoulder throbs just like it did the last time I was given the intramuscular sedative. 

Jeremy has lost his fucking mind, hasn't he? 

There are moments where I fall back asleep even though I try to keep my eyes open. Whatever was given to me was strong. Stronger than the injection I had before.

Flashes of the incident play out when my eyes are closed. The way Jeremy was looking at me with this smug look to his face. The way he leaned into me and the smell of his cologne filling the air around me. A smell I once found intoxicating now repulses me.

I made him mad by getting close to Mike. Jealous. That's the only thing I can think of as to why Jeremy snapped and changed back into the monster he really is. This split personality that has me on edge, never knowing who I'm going to get.

Bits and pieces of what happened float around in my head but not in the right order, like a puzzle that has just been dumped out of its box. None of it makes sense yet it ALL makes sense.

"You're awake."

My vision is blurry but the voice cuts through my fogginess. I focus on Jeremy who comes into my room and stands by my bed.

"You make things so much harder than they have to be, Julia." Jeremy strokes my cheek, and I feel more tears building. "You're always trying to fight me."

I close my eyes and drift off again.

******

*Nate*

"Paul. You need to go to the Avalon and check on Julia." I don't bother trying to explain anything more to everyone here in the room with me. I stop and call Paul right away.

"They told me I couldn't go back to the facility until I was 24 hours fever free..."

"Paul. GO. NOW!" I hang up the phone and continue my pacing.

"Nate. Talk to me." Trisha sits me down on the couch, trying to calm me down.

"Cancel my meeting with Leslie. I need air." I bolt back up and head to the exit, once again making Jonah and Evan scramble to catch up.

The minute the cold hair hits my face my lungs open up, allowing me to breathe. I bend forward and put my hands on my knees, leaning into the wind for as much air as possible. It's freezing out but I don't care.

"This can't be happening." I mutter to myself. 

"Can you please tell me what the hell is going on?" Jonah is done waiting patiently for me now and needs to know what's going on.

"I don't know what's going on. But he did something, Jonah. She doesn't flip out for no reason. You know this. He provoked her or put his hands on her or something. And now-" I throw my hands up in defeat. "She's there, all alone. In restraints." I cry out getting worked up all over again. Jonah's eyes widen and he covers his mouth with his hand.

"No.." Jonah's swallows hard hearing this. "She can't.... she won't recover from this...." He stutters the same way I did two minutes ago. Evan has no clue what's happening but knows whatever it is.... it's serious. He stands off to the side with his arms crossed over his chest watching mine and Jonah's half sentence interaction.

"He sedated her."  I shake my head. "He's playing games and there's no one there to help her."

******

*Julia*

I feel like it's been hours of me dozing off and waking back up and every time I'm awake l can't stop crying. I'm starting to become more alert and begin sobbing. I'm petrified and there's no one here to help me. What if Jeremy comes in? What if-

My thoughts are interrupted when the door swings open abruptly. I cry harder when I see him.

Paul! I say, but nothing comes out at first. My voice only cracks from being so dry but I try again. "I didn't do anything wrong." I whisper, unsure if he could hear me.

"Sir, you can't be in here." A nurse calls out from the hall and Paul slams the door right in her face before rushing over to me.

"I didn't do anything. He... He..." I'm so worked up I can't produce words.

"I'm right here. Ok?" Paul grabs hold of my hand and squeezes it. His eyes fill with sorrow and anger at the same time. He has this enraged expression on his face I've never seen before.

"Sir. You can NOT be in here!" The heavyset black nurse in her fifties swings the door open. She glares at Paul with absolutely no fear even though Paul is three times her height. 

"I'm her bodyguard." Paul growls, still holding my hand. "I'm hired to be with her 24/7."

"Sir, it says here you have a contagious-" The nurse starts reading the note in my chart but she's wasting Paul's time.

"Get her out of these restraints. NOW!" He snaps.

"We have to get authorization from Dr. Donovan." She says calmly, putting my chart down on the desk. 

"Then. FIND. Him."

As Paul says that, both Mike and Cara walk by my room with the group leaving their session. Both see me and stop short.

"Now what the hell did you do?" Cara scoffs, not caring that I'm literally tied down and crying. Mike, on the other hand, barrels in, almost knocking the nurse down.

"-the fuck is going on?!" He glares at Paul furious, like Paul had something to do with this.

"Find Jeremy Donovan." It's the only thing Paul says to Mike who then quickly nods and leaves my room. While still holding my hand, Paul drags the chair over so he can sit next to my bed.

"He sedated me." I whimper, regaining my voice a little more. "I didn't do anything wrong. You have to believe me."

"I do believe you, Moretti." He grabs a tissue from the box on my nightstand and begins wiping my cheeks and nose for me before throwing it in the trash. "Tell me what happened before Donovan comes in."

******

*Nate*

[I'm with Julia now. They don't want me here but I'm not leaving her side.] 

Paul texts me instead of calling this time which means he can't talk on the phone. We are all back at the hotel in my room. Trisha cancelled my meeting with Leslie and Leslie was anything but pleased. I don't care.

"Here ya go." Casey hands me a cup of tea and then Jonah one. Her and Trisha are trying to keep things calm while both Jonah and I drive each other crazy in worry. Evan is just Evan. Quiet and trying to take in whatever is going on without us really telling him.

[Paul. Tell me what happened]

I text back, keeping my phone on the table so Jonah can see the messages.

[Getting it out of her now, boss. She's a mess though]

I lean back on the couch and rub the back of my neck.

"This is awful." I grumble and close my eyes.

[She's not making a lot of sense, but it sounds like Donovan came into her room. Told her shit like she wasn't taking her detox seriously. That she was playing games.]

Theres a decent pause where we watch the bubble appear and then disappear a few times before Paul sends what Julia is saying.

[He grabbed her arm and pushed her against the wall. She struggled with him but said it's his word against hers so she can't say anything. Jesus, he had the injection in his pocket already]

I read the text and feel my blood boiling. That's when I jump up in hysterics grabbing my hair with both my hands in tight fists, wanting to throw my damn phone but knowing I can't.

"That sonofabitch!" I'm livid.

"He can't get away with this stuff, can he?" Casey asks Jonah while I pace like a lion. We all remember Evan is in the room and look at each other before Trisha chimes in.

"Evan. We need to know we can trust you. Whatever is said in this room stays between us. I'm talking legal shit here. Shit that could put people in prison." Trisha looks Evan dead in the eye serious as..well..as a heart attack.

"Ma'am, whatever is said will stay completely confidential. You have my word."  He nods with his eyebrows raised.

"You ever ma'am me again and I WILL throat punch you." Trisha glares at the bodyguard and his eyes widen.

"Yes...ma'-... miss?" He looks around the room and shrugs, unsure what is right on wrong, and I roll my eyes at Trisha before getting down to business.

Trisha tells Evan everything. She rehashes it all and the bodyguard looks truly repulsed by what was told.

"So, he gets away with it?!" Evan looks sickened hearing this news. We all nod in response. He scratches his bearded jawline looking like he wants to snap a tree in half or something.

"The charges had to be dropped to protect her. By talking about it she could be charged with slander. So, she just had to." I pause. "Drop it."

"And he's still treating her?"

"He's the only one familiar with her diagnosis. He's a very smart man. Graduated from Harvard. Knows his stuff. Jeremy Donovan is the only doctor that knows how to treat Julia's condition." Jonah says in a defeated manner.

"This is unbelievable. How can I help??" Evan feels useless right now hearing this and not being able to do anything about it.

"You can't. We're here. She's there." I huff, feeling the calming sedating effects of the Ativan. I sit back down and drop my head into my hands.

There is absolutely nothing we can do from Amsterdam.

*****