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My blood heats, and I’m sure my face turns so red it’s probably purple. “You have got to be fucking kidding me. Who is this bitch?”
“Just some nurse. Trust me... I don’t believe a word she says. I think she’s BSing everyone. I think she’s just trying to get attention, calling dibs, that kind of thing. But I wanted to give you a head’s up.”
I nod, fighting back tears. He’s been messaging someone else this whole time, while ghosting me?
Lauryn grabs my hand. “I know that look, Chris. It’s not like that. This chick is a total slut. She is just saying that to get the jump on when Eric returns. It’s not true.”
I look up at her with tear-filled eyes. “How do you know that?”
“Remember that date I had a while back, when you asked me to hang out and I couldn’t?”
I nod.
“That date turned into something serious. I’m glad I took a chance on Dane. He’s a fellow nurse, we’re pretty serious.”
I force a smile. “I’m happy for you.” And I mean it.
“Well, she used to flirt with Dane. I told her to back the hell off. She did. But Dane tells me she still flirts. Mariana’s a bitch. Please do not think that she’s telling the truth about talking to Eric. How would she get ahold of him anyway? Didn’t you tell me he had a different phone number because of the service providers over there?”
I nod. “Yeah, Taryn gave it to me. But she could have contacted him another way. They have wi-fi and internet service there. Trust me, I Googled it,” I say sheepishly.
“Yeah, but I doubt it. She’s so gross and pathetic.”
I lift my martini and drain it. I can’t handle this. There’s no way he’s been talking to some random while I’ve been here alone, writhing in pain.
“I appreciate your honesty. I need friends like you,” I confess.
She reaches across the table and grabs my hand. “I’m gonna get to the bottom of it for you. Shifts have been slow and sometimes boring in the ICU. I’ll get the truth out of her. I promise. In the meantime, are you okay?”
I shake my head and glance around the bar until Maria’s eyes meet mine. I lift my empty glass and she gives me a thumbs-up.
“That bad, huh?” Lauryn asks.
“You have no idea.”
After Maria refills my martini, I completely spill every last sordid detail to Lauryn. In fact, by the end of the night, I’m so tipsy, that I even confess about my night in the Mile High Rooms—something I haven’t even told Taryn about.
