Page 61 of Tech

I go back into the bedroom, and I find my jeans and quickly put them on, then my sneakers that were thrown near the wall. I hear a rustling. James stirs, and I freeze, my head slowly turning his way only to see he’s turned over. I sigh in relief and quickly rush out of his room, down the stairs, toward the door, grabbing my purse off the floor near my torn top.

I tut, “I really liked that crisscross top.”

I say a silent goodbye to the top I loved, then slowly open the front door and sneak out, shutting it behind me without a noise. I rush to my truck, fumbling to get my keys out of my bag.

I curse when I drop my keys, then hear a chuckle, which causes me to freeze. I look across the road to see Doc leaning against his bike, grinning like a loon.

Shouldn’t he be resting?

Wait, he’s watching me sneak out….

“Ah crap….” I whisper, realizing that I’m totally busted before I hear, “Well, well, look who’s doing the walk of shame.” I groan, dropping my head back and making him laugh.

He walks my way with a smirk, then slowly bends down before me and gets my keys, grunting when he stands up and places them in my hand.

I glare at him. It’s not been that long since he had a knife stabbed in his stomach by a crazy woman; he shouldn’t be doing this!

I snap, “You are not supposed to be doing stuff like that!”

He hums, not caring at all, and states, with a shrug, “I'm also not supposed to be riding my bike, but….”

His words trail off, and anger shoots through me. I snap, “That’s it, I’m telling Kennedy,” knowing she’ll be hurt and angry that he’s willing to ride this soon.

Isn’t he supposed to be a doctor?

Instead of appeasing me like I thought he would, he grins, flipping grins, and then shrugs, daring, “Go ahead. Maybe while you’re at it, let her know how you became aware of my riding.”

I groan again. He knows she’ll keep at me until I cave and tell her everything if she knows I’m sneaking out of James’ bed. I narrow my eyes at him; the man is pure mean for a doctor.

“Why are you sneaking out, Brook?” he asks, suddenly serious. I swallow hard, my eyes tearing up, knowing he’s worried about me and his brother.

I can’t not tell him….

“Because my heart doesn’t break this way,” I admit. Seeing another woman kiss the man I love, and then have that woman threaten me with his momma, having a sexual relationship seems the most logical way for me.

I’ve never understood why someone relied on someone else, why someone would willingly give away their heart.

Love causes nothing but pain; my love for James proves that, and now I have this suspected diagnosis hanging over my head.

James doesn’t need to be tied down to someone who could have….

Doc’s eyes soften. “Just because you sneak out while he’s still asleep doesn’t mean your heart won’t break, darling.”

I sniffle, a few tears falling, and I admit, “I love him, Doc. I love him so much, but I think this is all we can have?—”

He cuts in, “It’s not. He loves you too, Brook.”

I nod while wondering, if he did, then why did he go to someone else, because that’s what he did….

I tilt my head and ask, “Loves me enough to screw a clubwhore the night I was attacked?” He winces, shocked that I know, and I continue, “Loves me enough that he allowed Faith, his old fuck buddy, to suck him off two nights later?” His mouth hangs open in shock so I’m guessing he didn’t know that one. “And do you know how I know all that? His momma.”

He curses, shakes his head, and states, “His momma’s being a bitch.”

I chuckle darkly and rasp, admitting a little of the truth, “So much so she offered me $50,000 to leave her son and the county.” Doc stumbles back in shock, and I shrug, admitting, “I took the money, and then showed up yesterday as a screw-you to her. When she confronted me, I told her to tell her old man and her son, but obviously, she won’t. She did inform me that he and Nina have been getting closer, so I guess that was her screw-you back to me.”

Yeah, that was a fun conversation. I came to see Sarah when Carol dragged me into the hallway with Nina. Apparently, she and James have become extremely close, and when I called them both patch chasers, which I’m guessing was a sore spot for Carol because well she slapped me across the face, shocking not just me but herself, too. She gasped, taking a step back, her eyes tearing up, and for a split second, I thought I saw regret, before she ran away, leaving me confused and wondering what she has gone through and why it’s so important for Nina to be with her son and not me.

Doc growls, “The woman is fucking deranged.”

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