“Tabitha,” he says. “If I ask you something, will you answer?”
“Depends.”
He clears his throat. “Who texted you? You know, before.”
He noticed that?
Of course he did. He probably notices everything about me. I sure notice everything about him.
Heat flashes my face. “No one important.”
He shakes his head, forcing out a chuckle. “So that’s what you meant when you said ‘depends.’”
“I suppose so.” I cross my arms. “I’m not lying. It wasn’t anyone important.”
He smirks. “Then why won’t you tell me?”
God.
Do I have to go into detail here? About the day I drove back to Boulder from Steel Acres? And I stupidly went on a walk alone at night?
And was nearly…
“Fine.” I huff. “It was a man. His name is Lance Rodriguez.”
Henry’s jaw tightens. “Is he a student in the seminar?”
I lift my eyebrows. Interesting that he went right to the seminar. He’s trying to make it make sense. How simple it would be to go with his assumption.
Yeah, Lance is a student in the seminar. We’re lab partners and we were supposed to work together this weekend, but I texted him earlier that I decided to go out of town. He was just acknowledging and saying he’ll see me Monday in class.
How easily the lie comes to me, and it makes perfect sense.
I’ve never been averse to a little white lie if it keeps someone from being harmed. But would the idea of Lance even harm Henry?
Yeah, it would. I saw his jaw go rigid.
No problem, then. The lie will keep him happy and keep me from having to relive that awful night.
Except…
We promised each other honesty.
Honesty means honesty. It doesn’t mean little white lies that don’t harm anyone.
Besides, Henry should know why I’m not myself. Rather, that there’s a reason other than him—though he’s a big one—that I’m not myself.
“No,” I finally say. “He’s not a student in the seminar. He’s a software engineer.”
“I see.” He doesn’t react. “Do you run into a lot of software engineers on the med school campus?”
I let out a breath. “No. I met him the night I got home after the wedding.”
No reaction. Except he’s still tense and rigid.
“He…uh…” God, do I have to go there?
“Is he the reason you didn’t come to the hospital?”
