She’d just stepped outside when she almost ran straight into someone. She frowned when she realized she recognized him. Although, she’d only met him once.
“Toby.”
The therapist’s brows rose. “Addison, right?”
“Just Addie’s fine.”
He smiled. “It’s nice to see you again.”
“You too.” Well, not really. She’d been angry at the guy since Noah’s revelation the other night.
“How are you?” Toby asked, his smooth voice strangely calming.
“I’m fine.” She had the notion that she was treading water without knowing if she was going to sink or swim.
“That’s good. Well, it was great to see you.” He stepped around her.
Go to your car, Addie. Leave it be.
Did she listen to the voice in her head? Absolutely not.
She turned back toward him. “You agreed that he should leave me.”
Toby faced her again. “Excuse me?”
“Noah. He came to you for help, and you encouraged him to leave me.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t disclose what’s discussed between me and my patients.”
“You don’t have to disclose anything; he already did. And I’ll give him space if he wants it. I would give that man anything he asks. But just so you know, you’re wrong.”
Toby’s brows lifted. “Wrong?”
“We’re stronger together, both of us, and his healing doesn’t have to happen in isolation.”
“Addie—”
“I know you meant well, but love isn’t something you earn once you’re ‘fixed.’ It can help us mend. And I should be with him, walking with him through the darkness.”
Before he could reply, because there was nothing he could say to change her mind, she turned and headed toward her car. She didn’t feel bad about what she’d said, but she didn’t feel good either. There was just this hollowness inside her where Noah had been. She missed him. She missed him so much, and knowing that he loved her but was hurting alone made it all worse.
When she pulled into her drive, she took out her phone and sent him a text for no other reason than she needed to tell him.
Addie: I miss you.
Three words. That was it.
He might not write back, but at least he’d read what she’d written.
She climbed out of the car, grabbed her bag from the back, and moved into the house.
“It’s too hot, Mark. Here, let me cool it down.”
Her father whipped his coffee mug out of her mother’s reach. “I like my coffee hot.”
When the door closed behind her, they both looked up.
Her mother’s brows pinched while her father’s jaw locked.
