“Viv,” he said, straightening.
She hovered before us. Despite it being half past two in the morning, her hair was perfectly styled. Her pristine white coat seemed almost ironic given the hospital gowns around us.
I dug my hands into my trench coat, crossing one leg over the other, suddenly feeling very out of place.
She turned to John. “What is she doing here?”
“I need a minute alone with Nora,” he said, pulling on his hair.
She glanced over her shoulder. “What if someone sees you?”
He flinched.
She didn’t miss it. The lines around her mouth softened. “I’m sorry. You know I can’t?—”
I stood. “I should go.”
“Wait,” John said, grabbing my hand and moving between me and his press-fiancée. “I need to say something. I should have done this ages ago?—”
At that moment, a doctor walked into the room and called his name.
John turned, his demeanor immediately changing when the doctor told him his father was stable.
I wanted to brush his arm, but I forced myself not to.
“Just call if you need anything, alright?” I said, turning to leave.
“Nora!” he called so loudly I stopped. My heart thundered at all the possible words that might leave his mouth.
“John,” Vivian urged, shaking her head.
I forced a smile. “Go be with your father.” Then I turned, not quite running, almost relieved to have missed whatever it was John wanted to tell me.
He was in a vulnerable place. I didn’t want to hear words he might regret tomorrow. So I told myself it was nothing consequential. Because if it had been, for the first time in a long while, I didn’t know if I would have run.
Chapter Thirty-Six
I can’t tell the truth from the lies.
Charming men are a dangerous thing.
There were other girls.
I woke up the next morning to three messages in my inbox.
One of them was from Charlene, asking if I had seen the email. I rubbed the sleep from my face and checked my inbox. Sure enough, there was a message from Haller & Mark with a brief note that I had to read twice.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, the competition has been paused. The directors’ board will keep you updated on any developments.
My groggy head was too tired to make sense of it all. I splashed my face with water and decided I’d call Jeremy and May after coffee.
The next message was from Otis, reminding me that tomorrow was the premiere and that he’d murder me at leasttwice if I missed it. My stomach twisted when I saw the third message—from John.
He is gone.
Three words.
Such a small message. A bit of black text on a white screen. And yet, those words had the power to tip someone’s world. I pressed the phone to my chest. I didn’t know what John wanted to tell me last night, but I knew there was only one place I wanted to be right now.
