“Tell me about that feeling,” she said, her gaze on me.
I was confused. “What feeling?”
“That an accident would lead to you not being welcome back.”
“I was just teasing,” I said.
“Were you?”
To my surprise and horror, tears stung my eyes. I was not going to unpack my childhood baggage of abandonment here. It was not the time or place. Well, maybe it was the place, but definitely not the time.
“I dropped the ball this week,” Elijah said. I wasn’t sure if he knew I needed saving and was returning the favor or if hewas just uncomfortable in silence, but either way, I was grateful to have the attention off me.
“How?” she asked.
“I was supposed to help with her mom.”
“And you didn’t?”
“It turned into a really busy day, half of which I was left in charge of by myself.”
“Michael really had a cake emergency?” I asked, renewed irritation at his lie coursing through me.
“He did,” he said. “Right when I was about to leave.”
“Okay,” I said.
“You don’t believe me?”
“I talked to him a couple days ago.”
“Then you know.”
“He said there was a last-minute qualifier.”
“There was. Then a cake emergency when I was about to leave.”
“You’re sticking with that?”
“Why don’t you believe him?” Dr. Franklin asked.
“Because I saw Michael’s face when I asked him about it. He seemed to make it up on the spot to cover for him.”
Elijah shifted toward me, his thigh pressing even more against mine. “Is that why you’ve been mad at me?”
“I haven’t been mad at you,” I said, even though we weren’t supposed to tell lies in here.
“You were mad when you left the gym the other day. You hardly said two words to me.”
“Yeah, well, you lied, so…”
“You have trust issues,” Elijah said, obviously irritated.
“That is too broad,” Dr. Franklin said. “Let’s not usealwaysorneverstatements.”
“I didn’t sayalwaysornever,” Elijah said.
“But that’s how it was delivered. That she has an all-encompassing issue.”
