Page 28 of The Dragon’s Good Girl

I type out a reply before I can talk myself into calling.

Your refill was approved last week. I confirmed it with the pharmacy, so you'll need to call them if there's still a problem. I'll let Bree know you're looking for her.

My thumb hovers over the message.

Normally, you'll need to call them would become I'll call them tomorrow.

I send it before I can change my mind.

Mom replies a few minutes later.

Okay sweetheart. I just hate dealing with them. Love you.

There's no anger. No accusation. Just enough disappointment for my stomach to tighten anyway.

Love you too.

I put the phone down.

That night, I sleep worse than I have all week.

By Friday afternoon, the guilt hasn't disappeared, but it has become easier to carry. Mom has the pharmacy's number. Her prescription is approved. She is perfectly capable of making the call herself, even if she doesn't want to.

More importantly, I haven't called and done it for her.

I'm starting to understand that saying no doesn't necessarily feel good just because it's good for me.

Friday night, I pack a bag for tomorrow.

I don't need much. A change of clothes for afterward, a few toiletries, my hairbrush. I'm about to zip the bag closed when I remember the shampoo sitting in my bathroom and go back for it.

I bought it Wednesday on the way home from drinks with Tess. I recognized the bottle as soon as I saw it on the shelf—the same shampoo Soren used when he washed my hair. It comes in a heavy glass bottle, smells even better than I remembered, and costs more than I'd usually spend on shampoo. I stood in the aisle for far too long trying to justify the price before finally putting it in my basket.

There was no reason I needed it. The shampoo I already had worked perfectly well, and I could think of at least six more sensible uses for the money before I'd even made it to the register.

I bought it anyway.

Now I tuck the bottle between my clothes so it won't knock against anything on the drive tomorrow.

It's such a small thing that I feel stupid being pleased about it, but I am. I wanted it, I could afford it, and for once I didn't need a better reason than that.

I zip the bag and set it by the bedroom door. When I straighten, I catch sight of myself in the mirror over the dresser and pause.

The circles beneath my eyes haven't disappeared, but they're lighter. My shoulders aren't bunched up around my ears, and I don't have the dull headache that usually starts somewhere around Wednesday and follows me through the rest of the week.

I look rested.

That shouldn't be remarkable either, but this is the week for discovering how many ordinary things I've been doing without.

Nothing else has magically fixed itself. I still feel guilty about Mom. Bree will eventually tell me what she actually wanted. Richard will be waiting on Monday with his calendar, his coffee, and another opportunity to call me Margie.

But tonight, none of them needs anything from me.

I brush my teeth, get into bed, and realize I don't need the bedtime alarm anymore. I'm tired at the right time now, my body already beginning to expect sleep instead of another few hours staring at a screen.

For the first time in weeks, I sleep straight through until morning.

And when I wake up, my first thought is that I get to see Soren today.