“All right. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
As I told Oleg to drive, I had more hope within me than I had in days.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT: SARAH
It had been a week since I’d seen Maksim. A week spent in a hellish, zombie-like existence. A week crying myself to sleep. A week dodging phone calls from not only Maksim, but family and friends. A week of refusing to accept delivery of flowers with handwritten apologies and professions of love.
A week of feeling like I’d had my heart ripped from my body and then trampled on the ground.
But life went on even when I would’ve rather hidden out under the covers with Voxie and a bottle of Merlot. It tookeverything I had within me to put on a happy face for my patients. Of course, the older ones could see through me, and more than one had asked if I was okay.
With my hermit-like existence, I shouldn’t have been too surprised when I walked out of my office with my patient to see Hudson standing at the counter talking to Tara, his face drawn with worry. After initially breaking down on him and coming clean about what had happened, I’d been refusing his calls and texts until yesterday when I’d requested for him to tell Maksim to stop driving by my place after I got off work.
I knew it was only a matter of time before he turned up either at work, my apartment, or my parents’ house.
The moment he saw me he transformed his face from concern to over-the-top happiness. “Hey Whit-Whit.”
I gave him a weak smile. “Hey, give me just a minute.”
Once I got my patient to her parents, I went back into the reception area and over to the counter. “What are you doing here?” I asked.
“It’s your lunchtime, right?” he asked.
“Yes.”
He waved a bag of food from my favorite sandwich stand. “I brought your fave.”
As my stomach recoiled at the smell, I replied, “Thanks, but I’m not hungry.”
He and Tara exchanged a look. “You need to eat,” Tara urged.
“I’m fine,” I replied to her. I gave Hudson a grateful smile. “Thanks for bringing it.”
An exasperated sigh escaped his lips. “You look like hell.”
“Thanks. I feel like it, too.”
Hudson’s soft eyes appraised me. “Have you talked to him?”
Unable to speak, I merely shook my head. “Don’t you think you should try?” he asked.
My eyes bulged in horror. “Yeah, I’m not talking about this with you right here.”
Whirling around, I stalked down the hall to my office. I didn’t bother slamming the door since I knew both Hudson and Tara were close on my heels. When through the doorway, I said, “Please tell me you were joking earlier.”
He shook his head. “We all fuck up in relationships. I have a personal gift for it. Just ask Archie if you don’t believe me. It’s a miracle we’re still together.”
“Have you ever deceived a guy by pretending to be two people at the same time?”
“Not exactly.”
Bobbing her head, Tara said, “I mean, I’m totally two different people when I’m on my cycle.”
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I countered, “This is not about acting like a bitch for a couple of days a week. It’s about complete deception.”
“Which he felt like he had to do so you would give him a chance,” she argued.
Waving my finger between them, I said, “I’m seriously thinking of revoking your best friend statuses.”
