Page 80 of Dr. Sexypants

Finally, an old-timer who sat at the middle table with a group of regulars spoke up.

“Is it true your legs come off?”

I froze.

How the hell does he know that?

There was only one possible answer, and suddenly I wasn’t hungry anymore.

How could Kristy do that to me?

We hadn’t exactly ended things on great terms, but I never dreamed she’d betray me like this.

Now that the cat was out of the bag, there was no point in denying it.

I was going to own the shit out of it. It was my story, no one else was going to control it.

With a cocky smile, I tapped my right leg against the metal stool I was sitting on, so it made a clinking sound and said, “They sure do!”

That sent a murmur throughout the restaurant, and a ton of questions were fired at me all at once.

I felt like I’d given a TED Talk on RPG injuries, prosthetics, and VA assistance before I’d even ordered.

There were a lot of back slaps while I ate, along with comments about my “courage”. Someone even bought my breakfast.

The town’s reaction—at least this portion of it—was way better than I could have ever expected, and part of me felt relieved that I no longer had to keep it a secret.

But it was still my story to tell. And Kristy had no right to share it without my permission.

Chapter Thirty-One

Kristy

It felt like I was underwater when I went looking for Jess and Lainey in Room Eight.

What had just happened?

I hadn’t imagined the snub. Justin had been overt with it. But what I didn’t understand was why?

Sure, we’d agreed to stop seeing each other, but we hadn’t parted on bad terms. We’d even hugged goodbye while I’d fought back tears.

Did he think because I hadn’t cried in front of him—I’d waited until I’d gotten home to do that—that I didn’t care?

That didn’t make sense for the amount of vitriol he’d thrown my way.

Jess was nowhere to be found, but Lainey sat ashen-faced in a chair while Adam stood behind her, rubbing her biceps. Jade was also there and looked equally distraught.

What the hell is going on?!

It was like I had stepped into an alternate universe.

“Is Ruthie okay?”

“Yeah,” Jade replied absent-mindedly. “Or, at least she’s going to be. They gave her an IV, and there was an immediate improvement.”

I looked between the three of them. Maybe their demeanor had something to do with Justin’s.

“So, what’s going on? Why aren’t you with her?”