Read Rock Bottom (Bullet) for Free Online

whether she really knew him or not, someone else did and had no problem showering him with the affection and attention he was used to getting. 
    He noticed a couple of the younger women sit up straighter out of the corner of his eye, but the counselor still seemed thoroughly unimpressed.  He didn’t get that.  Even before he’d hit it big, he’d had no problems getting women’s attention.  Hmm.  Maybe she was a lesbian.  That would explain it.  He didn’t get that vibe from her, though.  Still, he couldn’t help but look over at her and give her a look, one that let her know he felt like he’d bested her.
    She didn’t even smile, but her expression at least seemed to soften somewhat.  She thanked everyone and then looked at the woman Olivia beside him…and oh, fuck .  Yeah…his charms had worked on her as well.  He couldn’t help the cocky smirk that spread over his face anyway.  God, it would be so tempting to just fuck every single woman in here.  That’d show her.  He had no doubt in his mind he could do that.
    But then, as he heard Jenna begin to speak again, asking Olivia if she’d be able to pick up where she’d left off before Ethan had disrupted the session (she didn’t use those words, however), he felt a prick of something.  It was something he hadn’t felt in a long time, and—instead of listening to Olivia talk—he dove inside himself.  He hadn’t been in there in too long, and it was a dark and scary place.  That smidgen of something felt a little like regret.  It felt like a conscience.  He’d been avoiding going there…all through rehab and even his first visit with Dr. Thomas.  All his life, he’d learned to lock it all out, because it was easier to deal with life that way, and when that box inside started to overflow with shit it could no longer contain…that’s when the booze and other things came in handy.  He was going to allow himself to open up again, though, or at least that’s what he’d told himself, but goddamn .  Just that little bitter slice of regret for being an unmitigated asshole tasted like shit, and he didn’t think he could do it.  Maybe he could just make the effort to change, to not consume anymore.  It could work.  He’d done it before.
    Yeah, right.  Just not successfully.  He closed his eyes as he heard Olivia continuing to talk.  This was gonna be the hardest thing he’d ever done, and he wondered if he’d have the strength to do it.
    * * *
    Olivia was a sweet soul, one who’d just let the world consume her.  She was a lot like the branches of an aspen tree.  She’d sway whatever way the wind blew, quaking and shivering but all the while obedient, bending wherever she had to so she could survive.  The woman had a history of latching on to the nearest tough guy and becoming a victim in short order.  With or without a man in the picture, Olivia had struggled with alcohol since she’d been a teenager.
    Jenna saw a spark, though, something inside the woman that screamed independence, that dreamed of more than just surviving.  Jenna did a lot of one-on-one counseling with the woman but also knew she’d do well in a group setting.  She’d seemed to feel like no one could ever fully understand her struggles and she’d felt like she was alone on an island (her counselor, after all, had never been addicted that she knew of), so Jenna asked her to attend the group and find out for herself that, while everyone had her own path, they were all just as rocky and many were fraught with the same obstacles.  It was here—at Soaring Free—that she’d seen the woman spread her wings and open up like never before.  Here she saw Olivia find hope and latch on, and every session made the woman stronger.  It was these moments that made her feel fulfilled as a counselor.
    So when Mr. Rock Star looked over at the woman with a sly grin, Jenna felt her hackles rise.  She felt protective of Olivia, even though the woman was probably