AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I had somehow kept my cool. I couldn’t afford to lose my job and lose Avery in the process. If Doc Rose wanted to play dirty, I couldn’t let him play alone.
I turned up the radio, drumming my fingers against the steering wheel as I headed up I-95 North toward Alapocas.
I didn’t have much of a plan. My only goal was to remind the doc that he had just as much to lose as I did, whether he realized it or not. He had stopped pursuing her weeks ago and had begun to enjoy the arguments his flirtations would spawn. I’d dealt with his better-than type my whole life, but I’d be damned if I’d let him destroy what I had with Avery.
I parked along the curb of Doc Rose’s house, killing the engine as I looked over the brick shaker-style home that I’d seen so many times dotting the Pennsylvania countryside. I’d pictured Rose in one of those Victorian-style homes that overran the squares in Gettysburg, but I was surprised to see that his home was much more modest.
I watched a light in the upstairs flick on, illuminating a silhouette before turning off. The entire downstairs seemed to be lit like they were having a party. Part of me hoped they were so I could out his slimy ass in front of all their uppity friends, too.
“Your electric bill must be fucking outstanding,” I grumbled to myself as I opened my car door and made my way up the extra-wide sidewalk leading to a small, sloped entranceway.
I knocked, glancing around. As the sun sank below the buildings, the neighborhood was cloaked in darkness, making my visit feel even more ominous.
The door opened to reveal a woman, smiling with curiosity in her eyes and wrapping her thin, Robin’s-egg-blue sweater across her torso.
“Can I help you?” she asked as the sound of something electronic caught my attention behind her. I glanced down at the young teenage girl, who rode up behind her in a red electric wheelchair. The woman shifted her body to block my view.
“Are you lost?” she asked.
I swallowed hard, regretting coming to Rose’s home.
“Is it the pizza?” Rose’s deep voice called from behind his wife as he stepped forward, rifling through his wallet and pulling out cash. When he finally glanced up, the tiredness in his eyes was immediately replaced with alarm.
The moment I saw the fear in his eyes, my regret melted away. This motherfucker was guilty.
“Josh.” He tried to hide the surprise in his voice by clearing his throat. He clasped his hand down on his wife’s shoulder. “I got this, hon. Josh is a colleague.” He pressed his lips to the top of her head as she slipped by him. The daughter followed her mom further into the house while Doc Rose closed the door behind him.
He looked down at the book in my hand, nodding slightly.
“I don’t know what Avery has said to you, but I’m sure she has the wrong idea.”
I swallowed back the apology and the guilt I’d felt for showing up at his home. “What does she think is going on, Doc?” I asked, gripping the book tightly to keep from punching him in his smug face.
“Avery is a nice girl. She’s sweet and young, and she looks at me like I’m somebody special, not just the guy who plays nursemaid at home.”
“You want pity now? Is that it? Man the fuck up. Whether you see it or not, you have a life most have only dreamed of.”
He scoffed, shaking his head. I knew guys like him didn’t expect to struggle, but no matter where we came from, life was cruel. I knew that firsthand. Bad things happened to good people, and sometimes, God liked to shine his magnifying glass down on the biggest ant just to watch it squirm.
“Sometimes it’s hard to see the silver lining,” he said.
“You have a wife, children, a home, and a six-figure salary. What more could you possibly want?” I tried to keep from raising my voice. His jaw tightened, and I widened my shoulders at the silent exchange between us. “Avery is off the table.”
He smirked. “Is that a threat, Josh?”
“No. You won’t be a very good doctor if you have two broken hands.” I slapped the book against his chest. “That’s a threat.” I held his gaze for a moment longer before hurrying down his sidewalk and into my car. I needed to see Avery or I was going to lose my mind.
Just as I stepped out onto the sidewalk, a golden leaf drifted from the maple tree that stood in front of my building, and rested on my sneaker. I pulled my scrub jacket tighter around me, looking for Josh’s car. He’d just dropped me off from work, and then said he’d be right back, but he’d been gone for half an hour, and the sun was beginning to set.
Glowing Jack-O-Lanterns flickered on our stoop, and plastic ghosts hung from the trees lining our street. Night clouds were beginning to build in the west, making the breeze feel colder. Halloween was approaching, one of my favorite seasons, but fall felt wrong this year. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but even with the chill in the air and the spooky decorations, I felt time slipping away from me.
An older car slowed to a stop in front of me and honked. The lime green practically glowed against the thick black stripe down the side. The car looked angry, and strong, and bright enough that no one would accidentally run into me again.
Josh killed the motor and then jumped out, grinning from ear to ear. “She runs!” he said. He patted the black hood with the palm of his hand before jogging to where I stood on the sidewalk. He squeezed me to his side, staring at the beast of a car like a proud parent.
“It’s great,” I said.
He turned to me, his eyebrows pulling together. The adorable double lines between them made me a little giddy. We were at that phase where every little thing he did was magical, and for the most part, he could do no wrong, but now he was looking at me like I’d just eaten his last favorite cookie.
