Page 58 of Faking It with the Off-Limits Doctor

Hightailing it up to the front door, I knock anyway. I can’t help it. I have to make sure. But unless his car has turned invisible, I’m wasting my time. The key to his house is still on my key ring, and I look down at it.

I could…

No. Not now. He’s made it perfectly clear what he wants, and if you step foot in that house, you’ll be crossing more lines than a train.

Unclipping the key, I somberly drop down the steps from his front porch and make my way to his mailbox. Leaving the key inside, just like Alex requested, I turn and look back at the house. It’s a great, looming thing, but I feel a gap in my stomach because I know I’m going to miss it.

The house or him?

Both.

When I get back to my car, I sit there and dig out my phone. There are no missed calls. No messages. Alex isn’t messing around. And then I do what I always do when I need a shoulder to cry on.

I call Astrid.

The phone rings for longer than normal, and then I hear a breathless reply.

“Hi.”

“Hey,” I say. “Did I disturb you?”

“No,” she says, sounding a little strange.

“Are you all right?” I ask.

“No,” she says again.

I’m frowning now because Astrid is being weird. Even for her.

“What’s going on?”

Then there’s nothing. She doesn’t speak, but I can hear her breathing, so I know she hasn’t dropped dead or anything.

“Astrid?”

“I’m sorry, Dara. I didn’t mean to say anything.”

I’m shaking my head in confusion. “Wha—”

And then it hits me.

Oh, lord. What has she done?

“You told him,” I say.

“He came round and he seemed agitated, and then he asked me straight out, and you know I can’t lie. I mean, I’m terrible at it, not that I can’t do it. And then, it all spilled out. And he was so mad,” she rambled.

But it didn’t make any sense.

“Alex came to see you?” I blurt.

“Not Alex. Mark.”

“What?”

“Yes. He was looking for a tonic for his stomach, or that was his excuse at any rate. Then he brought you and Alex up, and then…” She heaved a sigh. “I’m so sorry, Dara. Have I messed everything up?”

“Listen, I need to call you back,” I say, hanging up before she has a chance to say anything else.

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