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“Perfect choice,” Layla praises. “It’s so good here.”
A waitress comes over and we order drinks and food, and then once it’s just the three of us, I hand Katy my phone so she can play her Disney game on it, and I can talk to Layla without Katy giving us her undivided attention.
I reach over and take Layla’s hand, playing with her long, delicate fingers and the ring that’s sitting high on her hand. “Layla, how well do you know Murphy Wallace?”
The question takes her by surprise, and she shifts in her chair. “I’m assuming not as well as I thought I did. I have a feeling you’re about to confirm that for me.”
“She accused you of cheating.”
Her features harden, and she sucks in a sharp breath. With her hand gripping the edge of the table, she leans against it. “Are you fu”—she quickly glances at Katy—“f-ing kidding me?”
“Unfortunately, I’m not.” I explain everything that happened today with Dr. Scabowitz when a shadow falls on our table.
“I thought that was you.” My head flies around to discover Mrs. Bible standing beside me. “I was coming to see you after I had some dinner, but here you are.”
I stumble out of my chair and extend my hand to her. “Mrs. Bible. How lovely to see you.”
She breaks my hand with her grip. “I was taking Miss Fritz’s advice and trying out Stella’s restaurant. I don’t typically enjoy Creole food, but I’ll see how this goes.”
Layla stands too, with a forced smile on her face that dies with her next heartbeat. She mutters something under her breath that sounds like a gritted curse, her gaze locked on something over my shoulder, and reflexively I turn to see what it is.
My insides plummet to my feet as Patrick and Murphy enter the restaurant and head our way.
32
Iwon’t even lie and say I’m not ready to draw blood. Murphy accused me of cheating when she was the one copying and pasting from Doctor Fucking Google, and now she shows up at Stella’s restaurant with my ex. Normally, I’d just verbally eviscerate her, flip him off, and then go home with Callan because the sex and love with him is a million times better than it ever was with Patrick, but I can’t.
Because this had to happen right when Mrs. Bible—of all freaking people—decided to dine at Stella’s. I can’t even ask Murphy the burning question that’s sticking to the tip of my tongue—how did she know about me and Callan?
I’m not sure what to do or how to play this. Beside me, Callan is a statue, staring at Murphy and Patrick and then back at Mrs. Bible as if he’s watching two cars about to collide and he can’t do anything to stop the destruction about to happen.
For a moment, I think Callan is about to pick Katy up and run. Instead, he takes Mrs. Bible by the arm and starts to gently guide her away from the table. “Mrs. Bible, where are you sitting?” he asks. “I’d hate to have you miss your food being delivered.”
“No, no,” she tells him. “I was about to order when I saw you—”
“Wow,” Murphy exclaims, cutting Mrs. Bible off midsentence. She’s sporting a grin that makes the Cheshire cat look depressed. “What an incredible coincidence to find you here, bestie. With our professor. Hi, Dr. Barrows.” She gives Callan a wiggly-fingered wave. “Or is it Dr. Hottie McSterious? Isn’t that what you call him, Layla?”
“Professor?” Mrs. Bible questions, her gaze ping-ponging back and forth between Murphy and Callan. “I thought you were a doctor.”
“I am,” Callan says, ravaged defeat blaring like a siren across his face. His hands meet his hips, and his gaze dips to the table, then over to Katy, then back to Mrs. Bible. “I am also holding a temporary position at Harvard Medical School for the summer. Filling in for a doctor who passed away.”
Mrs. Bible shakes her head. “So you’re Miss Fritz’s teacher? In addition to working with her at the hospital?”
“He sure is. Not the most ethical thing to do, is it? Then again, neither is cheating.”
“Murphy,” I snarl under my breath. “You don’t know what you’re talking about or what you’re doing. Walk away. Now.”
“You thought I didn’t know?” she snarls right back at me. “You thought you could get away with it. But I saw you with him on campus one night after our simulator lab. I saw him take your hand, talk to you, kiss you, and then run off together. That was the night of the first case study. While we were all toiling at it ourselves and on the group chat, you were sleeping your way to answers. Naturally, you were the only one to get it right.”
That was the night Callan and I started sleeping together. She saw us. It explains why she’s been cold toward me since then. No wonder she accused me of cheating.
“I didn’t cheat. That’s not what happened, and that’s not what’s happening here.”
Murphy laughs sardonically, folding her arms over her chest and popping her hip out. “Right. Sure. Real fucking believable.” Her grin slips into a sneer as her voice turns acerbic. “You thought you were so much better than all of us. So much smarter. But you’re a liar, and a cheater, and a slut. I told Dr. Scabowitz about you. You’ll be expelled by the end of the week.”
“This is why you wouldn’t get back together with me?” Patrick jumps in before I can answer Murphy and tell her that she’s the one who is out and not me. “Because you were screwing around with him?” He jabs an angry finger in Callan’s direction before turning on Murphy. “Why the hell am I even here? You told me she wanted me back.”
Mrs. Bible is rightfully confused. Murphy is positively gleeful. Patrick is pissed. Callan is a mess, and I’m right there with him.
