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“I can't keep you young, but I can help you stay healthy. I've adjusted the dose. We’ll make sure the prescription is sent to the pharmacy. You should be able to pick it up this afternoon.”
“Thank you,” I forced myself to grind out.
It wasn't Quinn's fault that I sort of blamed him for the situation. But then, I also blamed my last doctor. I was definitely blaming the messenger.
Quinn smiled as I stood. “Please schedule with the receptionist on your way out. I want to see you next month unless something comes up again.”
After I left, it felt as if the universe was out to pile on my day. Diego called while I was driving home. I was on autopilot and just tapped the screen on my dash to answer when I saw his name.
“Hey, hey,” he said. “Just checking in. I heard from Daphne you had an episode.”
“I'm fine,” I ground out. “I just left an appointment with Quinn. He's adjusted my medication. I'm fine.” I was so freaking sick of everyone worrying about me.
“I'm your brother. Wouldn’t you want to know how I was doing if I had something going on?”
“Yeah, but it's annoying,” I replied honestly.
“Well, deal with it. How are things going with Grant?”
“They're not going,” I said flatly.
“Hey, you okay?”
“I've had better days.” I was feeling crispy on all my edges.
After I got home that evening, under the guise of pretending everything was fine, I had dinner at the lodge. Grant and I did a fantastic job of ignoring each other while conversing with everyone else. It made me tired. I didn't want to admit it, but I missed him.
Only one night without him, and I missed him. The feeling poked at me, little sharp stinging barbs of vulnerability. It was already too much.
I felt so stupid that I’d ever thought this wouldn't get complicated. Fuck my life. It was a big fat mess. The best thing was to stop it in its tracks. We’d have to muddle through this part of it.
I left almost immediately after dinner, claiming I had work to do. The upside to my work was that I could always do something. I hopped online and fiddled around with graphics.
After the third night of Grant and I going through this routine of ignoring each other, I got up in the morning expecting to see him. I didn't want to admit I knew his schedule, but I did. Cat was in the kitchen at the staff house. She took two mornings off from baking, giving Daphne the same in return.
“Hey,” she said. She was sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee in hand and wearing an old pair of sweatpants with a big fleece top that looked soft and comfy.
“Hey.” I went into the kitchen and poured myself a cup of coffee. “Thanks for making coffee,” I said as I returned to the living room and took a swallow.
“Sure,” she replied. “How come you haven't asked where Grant is?”
“Should I be asking?” I countered.
Cat rolled her eyes. “You two have been doing an excellent job of ignoring the hell out of each other for the past couple of days.”
“No, we haven’t.”
She rolled her eyes. “If you think you two tiptoeing around at night isn't obvious, then you're more naïve than I am.”
I felt the heat flash into my cheeks. I took a swallow of coffee to gather my composure before replying, “Whatever. It's not like we're in a relationship.”
Cat studied me quietly. “He really likes you.”
“I don't think so. He's pissed off because I didn't tell him I had that episode in the hallway. He heard about it from Daphne.”
She eyed me over the rim of her coffee mug before draining it and setting it on the coffee table. “You know, sometimes people just worry about each other when they care,” she said pointedly. “It’s not like I expect you to report to me, but until the past few nights, you’ve spent every night together.”
“I would have told him,” I muttered. Defensiveness grumbled inside.
