AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hey!”
I pull out my phone and tap the screen a few times.
“What are you doing?” Dr. Shaw asks me, looking like a man being assaulted from all sides.
“I’m calling my lawyer. Maybe I’ll add a lawsuit for all the grief you’ve put me through,” I say. I put the phone up to my ear, although I haven’t really dialed my lawyer. “Oh, and I will release a statement about how Hayden harassed me. It won’t look good for the clinic, and Hayden, anything you do after that will look petty.”
She tries to reach for my phone but I step back and hold it out of her reach.
“Delete the video and leave me and everyone in my life the fuck alone,” I demand. I bring the phone to my ear, but keep my eyes on her. “Hey, Dillon, yes, about that issue-”
“Stop!” Hayden cries.
“Hold on, Dil...” I cover the mouthpiece even though there’s no one on the other end.
“Fine.” Hayden bites out like a petulant child.
“I need to see the video deleted. Completely. You have to delete the delete folder on your phone, and from the cloud if it’s there, as well.” I hope she doesn’t ask me to delete my files as I don’t want to lose my proof and leverage in case she tries something in the future. Although since my lawyer has it all, I suppose I could delete her texts.
She snaps the phone back from her father and I crowd her as I watch what she does because I don’t trust her. She wisely deletes the video.
“If it’s stored anywhere else, you need to delete it from there as well,” I say. “All this starts over again if you threaten or harass me with it again.”
She makes a face. “It’s nowhere else.”
I don’t believe her, but I have to hope she’s smart enough to know that I’m not kidding. If she comes after me again at any time, I’m ready to fight.
“I’m glad this is resolved. Merry Christmas,” I say.
“Merry Christmas,” Dr. Shaw mutters.
Hayden just glares.
I walk outside, stopping by my car and letting out a long breath. For the first time in months, I feel like I can breathe. Well, almost. I’ve got Hayden off my back, but in the process, I’ve lost a piece of myself. I wonder if Charlotte even knows she has that piece. Would she care?
Thinking of her reminds me to call Theo and find out about whether or not he went to see her.
Not wanting to run into Hayden or Dr. Shaw again, I get in my car and drive back to the beach, deciding to call Theo from there. When I get back to my little rental, I get a beer, pop the cap, and then step out onto the back deck to enjoy the beautiful California day.
Before I call Theo, I just sit for a moment, relishing that I have at least part of my life back. But I don’t have it all. I could if I was willing to go back to New York and beg Charlotte for another chance. I really want to. But I can’t imagine that she would forgive me because I left so badly. In hindsight, I should’ve talked to her, but I was so terrified about what Hayden might do that I wanted to get her attention on me and back to California. I didn’t want Hayden to know just how important Charlotte was to me because that would have definitely made Charlotte a target.
After a few sips of beer, I call Theo.
“Hey, Oliver. How’d it go today?” Theo asks right off.
“I got what I wanted.”
“You don’t sound too happy about it.”
I take another sip of my beer before I answer. “I don’t trust Hayden. But at this point, I’ve done about all I can do. I let her know that I was prepared to go to the police, anything to put her away if she continued.”
“I hope that that works. What are your plans now?” he asks.
I look out over the ocean, watching a few surfers. I wonder what Charlotte would think about people surfing two days before Christmas.
“I think I’m just going to sit tight here till after the holiday.”
“Why don’t you fly out here and come to Christmas with us up at Madeline’s grandparents? I know they’d love to see you.”
