And then he left as well while I cried through my lunch yet again.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE: SARAH
As I pushed through the door of O’Brien’s bakery, I plastered a smile on my face at the sight of Joyce behind the counter. “Good afternoon,” I called in a fake cheerful tone.
At the momentary flash of shock on her face, I knew I must look on the outside like I did on the inside. Maybe it was the greasy hair I’d swept back into a top not since I hadn’t had the energy to wash it in days. Maybe it was because she was used to seeing me in my work clothes and not an oversized Philadelphia Flyers sweatshirt and ratty sweatpants.
“Um, hey. Would you like your usual today?”
“Yes, please.”
After whirling around, she grabbed a box for Sammy’s cupcakes. She counted out a dozen before turning back to me. “I’m surprised to see you considering it’s not Wednesday.”
“I had the day off, so I decided to surprise Sammy.”
The truth was I’d spiraled after Hudson and Tara’s visit. When I’d tried going home after my last patient to escape with alcohol, Mom had called me. Dad had been awake for twenty-four hours, and she needed me to sit with him so she could sleep.
And of course I did.
So I spent the evening tracking his movements. He’d become agitated about checking on things in the yard. When I tried keeping him inside since it was two am, he’d lashed out at me, calling me things he’d never said aloud before, least of all directed at me.
At that low point of my own father calling me a selfish cunt, I fought to keep myself from calling Maksim. I wanted him to hold me in his arms and tell me everything would be okay. That he would do whatever he needed to take this burden from my mother and myself.
Because I knew Dad was going to go into personal care. He was going to hate it, and it was going to devastate my mom and me.
So, I’d called out of work claiming I had the flu. I was supposed to go back after my fever broke. Although I hated letting my patients down, I had no desire to go back anytime soon. Especially with things in the balance with Dad.
“That’s nice of you.” As she rang up the cupcakes, I handed her my debit card. “How’s Mr. Korolov?”
At the mention of his name, I froze. “He’s…”
A lying, deceitful bastard who broke my heart and crushed my soul.
“Busy,” I finally replied.
“I can imagine. He’s such a kind man. He paid us three times what our cupcakes were after he sent his bodyguard back that night.” With a wink, she said, “You two make a beautiful couple both on the inside and out.”
Please shut up. Please shut your fucking mouth, or I’m going to open my mouth and scream and never stop.
“I have to go,” I muttered before snatching my card from her hands and swiping the box of cupcakes off the counter.
“Wait. I have your receipt.”
“Keep it,” I called as I burst out the door.
Even though I wasn’t in any danger, I broke into a sprint. I didn’t stop until I reached my car. Trying not to cry and have my face all red for Sammy, I eased the cupcakes down in the passenger seat. With my chest heaving, I gripped the steering wheel and desperately tried to get a hold of my emotions. Then I turned on the radio and flipped to a podcast. I didn’t even care about the subject matter at that moment–I just needed something to take my mind off things.
When I got to Sammy’s, I felt stronger emotionally. But I started to worry when I got to the door and he hadn’t come bounding out like he usually did. I’d texted him and let him know I was coming since he was off from work like me.
After pressing the Ring doorbell, I waited for him to answer the door. When he finally came, he didn’t have a smile for me. Panicked, I rushed through the door the moment he opened it. “What’s wrong, Mr. Sweetface?”
“I’m sad.”
Putting the cupcakes down on the foyer table, I turned to him. “Did you have a fight with one of the guys?”
When he shook his head miserably, I asked, “Did someone say something mean to you at work yesterday?” On more than one occasion, he’d been the recipient of someone’s ignorant bias.
After he once again shook his head, I asked. “Did Madison break up with you?”
