The elevator doors open again, showing me the lobby of the hotel. An older couple walks in and ignores me, standing along the opposite side of the elevator. I shove the note back into the envelope and as soon as the elevator doors open to my floor, I sprint to my room and lock the door.
11
JON
I don’t knowwhy I tried to get her to stay. She made the best decision for both of us. She can’t be in my life. Sheisn’ta part of my life. She’s a distraction and a temptation that I don’t want, but I’m absolutely shit at resisting her.
Margeaux is a walking red flag. She’s loud. She wears her emotions on her sleeve. She’s blunt. She’sreckless. What’s the appeal in someone like that? I could never truly want a woman likeher. I’m just getting nervous about taking the next step with Nicolette. That’s it. This is just nerves.
Margeaux isn’t staying in town much longer. She has no reason to cross paths with me again. I can easily avoid her until she leaves. Then I can focus on building the life I’ve been working so hard for. I need to focus on my patients. I need to focus on my education so I can help kids like Sammy. Margeaux clouds my judgment, like a siren singing a song in the middle of the ocean. She lulls me to my doom.
My phone rings and my entire body stiffens knowing who it is. I answer the call knowing I can’t get away with avoiding her any longer.
“Hey, babe. Sorry. Busy day. I’m actually really tired and think I’m gonna crash,” I tell Nicolette in one breath before she can speak.
“I’ll come over, babe. I’ll help you relax,” she coos. Ordinarily, I would let her convince me to sleep with her and make love to her.
Maybe that’s the problem. I don’t want to make love. I want passion, and animalistic urges. I’ve always done the right thing, even when I knew it was the wrong thing to do. Nicolette is waving all her green flags at me, promising me a secure future, with a gorgeous wife, who knows how to fit into this elite city.
“I’m really not in the mood tonight,” I say carefully.
“Oh really? Why is that?” I can hear her defensiveness and skepticism through the phone. What woman would enjoy being turned down?
Nicolette has been acting out of character lately. She’s always so sweet and bubbly to everyone. But since she met Margeaux the other day, she’s been acting extremely possessive of me. She calls and texts me more frequently. She makes more of an effort to bump into me at the hospital. It makes her seem childish and petty. She doesn’t have anything to worry about. I’m not going to run into Margeaux’s beautiful, tattooed arms.I’m not.
“I’m just overwhelmed by work, Nic. I don’t feel like being aroundanyoneright now, okay?” I snap. I never get short-tempered with her. I’m wound so tightly right now.
“Jon. What is getting into you? I don’t believe this is just work. What’s wrong? Talk to me,” she says more softly.
Guilt immediately floods me for being so curt with her, for ignoring her, and not being honest about everything.
I let out a deep sigh. “I’m sorry. I truly am just tired. I want to be alone today. We’re still on for touring those condos the day after tomorrow, right?” I ask, trying to change the subject to something more upbeat, and reassuring her that things between us are fine.
“Oh yes! Everything is set. I got us private showings scheduled. I already told Meredith, the listing agent, that you’re a doctor at the hospital and she quickly made space for us. It’s practically a done deal, babe. You sleep and take care of yourself. I don’t like a grumpy Jonny,” she says in a patronizing tone. I hate when she does that. I don’t say anything about it and just roll my eyes, thankful for her mood shift.
“Yea, okay. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” I end the call and toss myphone on my coffee table. I’m not tired enough to sleep, but I can definitely get on board with being lazy for the afternoon.
After mindlessly flipping through channels for an hour, I landed on a channel showing the PEW, and the program was showcasing highlights from recent matches. I’ve never been into sports. I watch football occasionally if I’m out with people from work. I just don’t have much patience for watching sports. The games take forever, I don’t know any of the athletes. The rules for most sports seem very limiting. I don’t understand the rivalries. If everyone is a great athlete, why do peoplehatesome of them? Just appreciate a good athlete showcasing their skill.
I caught a lot of flak in college and med school for not being competitive enough. My classmates would straight up refuse to study with certain people because they scored higher on an exam. I never understood that kind of animosity. I surrounded myself with the best students, and we helped each other. I was friendly with everyone, but nobody really considered me part of their circle of close friends. I was always a bit socially awkward. I blame that on being home schooled as a kid.
My parents…Dwayne and Josephine. They envisioned a different life for me. I focus on the television, refusing to give them any of my mental energy. Margeaux’s face is all I see on the screen. They’re doing a highlight about her because the bar fight she was in has now gone viral. The PEW is painting her as a short-fused rebel who does whatever she wants. I learn about Margeaux as an athlete for the next hour.
She signed a contract with Professional Entertainment Wrestling last year. She is a villain, or heel, and is now gaining a lot of popularity. A part of me wonders if she pulled that stunt on purpose. Was she just trying to make herself more well-known? Boost her ratings and likeability? No. She’s not like that. And I was at the bar that night. I saw how Brice Strickland was behaving. Margeaux shouldn’t have hurt him, but that guy isn’t exactly known for his classy behavior. Just as Iam starting to feel better, a new set of images pop up on the screen, and the hosts of the show start talking.
“Looks like Margeaux Wild has been busy in Paramount,” one male host says. “Here are several images with her and this kid—whose face is blurred out in the photos. Apparently, this kid is terminally ill and is a huge fan of Margeaux Wild’s.”
Sammy. Those are pictures of Sammy. Did Margeaux do this?
“Yea, Mike. She has mentioned in a few short interviews that she loves her fans. How great of her to take the time out of her schedule to visit a fan who is unable to watch her on the big stage,” the female host says.
“Absolutely. Maybe there’s a softer side to Margeaux Wild that the world hasn’t witnessed yet,” the male host, Mike, adds in.
They talk about Margeaux for a couple of more minutes, and then the program moves on to promoting the upcoming match ups. My phone rings with Dr. Nash’s name lighting up the screen.
“Dr. Nash, hi. Good evening,” I say, wondering why she’s calling.
“Dr. Jacob,” she begins, and I can tell from her tone that she’s displeased about something. “I just got a very angry call from Wendy saying there are pictures of Sammy all over the internet. It’s saying he had a visit earlier this week from an athlete, and now people are trying to track him down with questions. Wendy also says this is an athlete that’s currently in jail for assault. Did you allow him to be visited by her?” Dr. Nash is speaking in a very composed manner, but I can tell she is pissed. She has every right to be.
