Page 83 of Love and Cherish

“Yes, you do.” Cherish stepped closer. But the sound of laughter came from the other room.

Cherish shuffled back and continued making the drinks. Her face heated as the laughter lightened and a few familiar voices said their hellos as they continued past.

Therapists on break. Cherish should have known their names, but not one of them came to mind. She nodded and smiled, doing the polite things while her heart pounded loud enough she didn’t understand why no one stared.

“Haylee,” Cherish tried again when the sounds had faded.

“What?” Haylee turned, and the fire in her eyes, in the snarl of her lips was terrifying. “What do you want now?”

“What do you mean?” The words might as well have slapped Cherish across the face.

“God, you’re so oblivious sometimes.” Haylee mixed the last of the drinks with a little too much enthusiasm, splashing some drops over the counter. She cursed and ripped the paper towel before mopping it up.

More voices could be heard, alongside the scuffle of shoes and the click of heels.

“This is ridiculous.” Cherish looked around and despite how insane the idea was, it seemed far more preferable to being constantly interrupted by passerby. “Come with me.”

Cherish reached for Haylee’s hand.

Haylee moved back out of her reach, and Cherish looked from the offended hand up to Haylee’s face.

“Please?”

For a moment, Haylee stared at her, jaw bulging from her clenched teeth behind closed lips.

“What about the coffee?”

“Fuck the coffee.” Cherish’s words came out uncensored, and for a moment, she was high from the thrill of truly not giving a shit. Until more noises filtered down from farther down the hall.

For a moment Haylee’s face filled with amusement before it settled into stone once more. “Fine.”

Cherish opened the closet where chairs were kept for visitors along with a bunch of things they had in storage.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Haylee muttered.

Cherish remained standing with the door open. With a huff. Haylee shook her head and walked in.

Closing the door behind her, Cherish turned, still struggling for the words she couldn’t find.

“Is this what gets you off? Sex in the closet at work?” Haylee’s sneer was vicious.

“What? No!” Cherish ran her hands through her hair. “I just want to talk to you. I don’t know what the hell has happened. Just tell me what I’ve done.”

“That sums you up entirely, doesn’t it?” Haylee spat back. “You do the work. and then forget about everything else. You got everything you wanted from me, and now what? Did you ever have any intention of helping me? Do you even believe anything you’ve said?”

Cherish was taken aback by the anger. She hadn’t expected Haylee to be this mad. “Of course I did. And I did help you.”

“What? You didn’t help me at all. I was thrown to the wolves.”

“It’s not like that.”

“It is,” Haylee snapped. “You promised to help me and then you didn’t. And I’m tired of waiting for you to figure it out.”

Dumbfounded, Cherish couldn’t do anything but watch as Haylee stepped passed her, opened the door and walked back to the kitchenette.

Cherish stood staring through the open doorway until Haylee disappeared, a tray of mugs and cookies in her hands.

What did she have to apologize for now?

---