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“You make it sound easy,” I said.
“Hell no. It’ll be a nightmare. But won’t it be worth it in the end?”
“And if they don’t all want to date me?”
“I don’t think that’s going to happen, but even so, the fact that they are all still in your life when you’ve obviously already kissed two of them says so much. No one has gone running.”
“Not yet.”
“They won’t. They’re strong too. Even if you don’t date everyone, I think you guys have what it takes to find a balance of love and friendship.” She held her hand out to me. I grabbed it and let her help me to my feet, making Bebe let out a little disgruntled sound as he was forced to move from his comfy sleeping position. “Give me your phone. Let me give you my number. If you ever have a question, or just want to talk, call me. Text me. Whatever you’re comfortable with. I’ll respond. And if you want some resources to read, I can dig those up for you too. I suggest being very careful with any online searches you may do.”
I grabbed my phone and passed it to her. Her fingers flew across the screen as she entered her contact information.
“I sent myself a text too so I can add you to mine,” she said. “I look forward to talking with you more. And I’m serious, do not be afraid to reach out to me. I’m a nonjudgmental ear and those are hard to find, especially in towns like this.”
“Thank you.”
She smiled kindly. “Of course. Want to help me with Bebe for a bit longer. There are still a few more commands I want to test out on him.”
“Yeah.”
Before I could move to help her, my phone buzzed. Justin sent me a text. I quickly checked it, my heart freezing as I stared at his plea.
Justin: I’m at the hospital visiting my dad. Can you come get me?
“Uh, I need to go,” I said, unable to tear my eyes away from his text. Something about it was absolutely heartbreaking even if he didn’t allude to anything going wrong.
“Okay, no problem,” Peyton replied, sounding serious as she picked up on the change in my mood. “I’ll make sure to lock the house up tightly after I finish.”
“Thank you,” I said and gave her a wave before practically running back to my house. I was peeling out of my driveway minutes later, anxious to get to Justin.
Me: On my way.
Chapter Eight
Hospitals were meant to do good. I knew that. They were created with the hope to save lives. Technically, they’d even saved mine.
I still hated them. While they saved lives, they scarred people too.
My doctor was on the third floor. The fourth floor was where I stayed during my recovery. I wasn’t going to either floor today though. For the first time, I was going higher, to floor five for in-patient hospice care. Justin had sent me directions on where to go. The entire journey, I rubbed at my chest. If a doctor saw me, they would probably freak out thinking I had chest pains.
I’d been told reporting chest pains to doctors was a good way to stir up trouble. I was tempted to ask a doctor for help. It felt too much like my heart was being squeezed too tightly. That couldn’t be good, right?
My nerves were high. It wasn’t until the elevator doors closed and I began to go up did I realize I was about to meet Justin’s dad. The man who had murdered his wife. Justin’s mother. The man who hurt Justin. Nearly killed him.
Anger swirled inside of me and I had to swallow it. This wasn’t about me or my emotions. This was about what Justin needed and whatever that was told him I could give it to him. So I needed to do that.
The anger ebbed, but that space filled with fear instead. I was about to meet an abuser.
My breaths came in faster.
A man who’d proved he was capable of hurting others. I was about to be near him.
As the elevator doors opened to let me out, I nearly threw up right then and there. My feet wouldn’t move. All my instincts were screaming don’t get off.
The doors closed.
That spurred me to move as I hit the button to open the doors again before the elevator moved. Thankfully, I did it fast enough and the doors slid open. Before I could overthink it again, I stepped out of the safety of the elevator and into the empty, sterile hallway.
