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Shit. So she was a user in more ways than one. “What about your father? What did he do?”
“No idea. I never met him and don’t even know his last name. My mother changed mine to Lovechild when I was a kid so I’d have a Hollywood name.” Crystal rolled her eyes.
A door opened to the waiting room, and a nurse called for Crystal. She picked up her purse and followed the nurse.
He sighed and sat back. A fist squeezed his heart as he pictured a little girl with no father and a druggie mother. If Crystal tried to scare her tutors, she couldn’t have been close to them. She must have no idea what it was like to have a family. Sure, he and his brothers fought all the time growing up, and still did, but when push came to shove, they’d go to the mat for each other.
Damn it.
He wanted to keep Crystal at arm’s length and continue thinking of her as an entitled star. Hard to do now with what he knew. She’d just put a crack in the mental wall he’d constructed, sharing some of her painful past. No wonder she’d gotten angry at him for accusing her of playing his mother. Sounded like she’d never had a real mom.
He puffed out a breath, and a few minutes later Crystal came out of the back, holding paperwork. Again, she kept her head down, even though only one person sat in the waiting room. He followed her to the door and outside.
“What did the doctor say?”
Crystal muttered as she climbed into the truck, “Poison ivy. I got a shot, and he called in a prescription for a cream.”
“To the pharmacy next door?”
She jerked her head in a nod, took off the hat, and faced the passenger window.
“They aren’t open yet. I’ll come back at nine to get them for you.”
“Thanks, but you’ve done enough. I’ll figure it out.”
Something was wrong. She hadn’t even glanced in his direction. “Crystal?”
“Hmm?”
“What’s up? Look at me.”
She continued to face the window.
Maybe the doctor had scared her, or someone had recognized her in the back and embarrassed her. “Okay, we’re not leaving until you tell me what’s wrong.”
She finally turned to him. “I appreciate you bringing me here, but please, just take me back.” Her voice quivered.
What had happened?
Chapter Fourteen
Crystal’s hands shook, so she flattened them on her pants. The talk about her doped-up mother had brought back pain. When the doctor had picked up a needle, she’d flashed back to the days when used syringes littered their home. Her gut coiled at the memory of wearing too-large rubber gloves to toss them out before her mother and the boyfriend-of-the-day emerged from the bedroom.
And like a vulnerable teenager, Crystal had blabbed about her past to Zach. What had gotten into her? The last thing she wanted was for him to feel sorry for her. She didn’t talk about her mother to anyone except Jenna, and only on rare occasions. Crystal had worked hard to hide her mother from public view.
She’d let her guard down with Zach after he’d been so nice to her, making her laugh about the pranks. When he’d smiled, his entire face lit up and had taken her breath away.
She knew he’d kept her talking to keep her mind off the intense itching. It worked. But now the shame and humiliation of what she’d blurted out bubbled up like an Alka-Seltzer in a champagne flute.
Whatever attraction they’d shared had to be over, at least for him. He’d never look at her the same way after seeing her in this condition. She’d learned long ago beauty was the allure. Her heart sank into her itchy feet. She should be relieved. Those almost kisses wouldn’t happen again. Fine by her.
Only it wasn’t.
She glued her face to the passenger window. He didn’t ask any more questions, and she welcomed the silence. She might choke up again if she had to talk. Too many hurtful memories swirled in her head.
Some of the terrible itching had ceased since the shot. She touched her face, which had cooled a bit.
Ugh. She’d have to deal with Sydney and Trevor once she got back to the campsite. The doctor had gone over care instructions with her, which included keeping cool, taking tepid baths, staying out of the sun, and applying chilled compresses. None of that could happen in a tent with hundred-degree temps and no air conditioning.
