Page 57 of Devoted

Chapter 17

Brooks

“Wow, glad to see you’re alive.” I turn my head away from the doctor I was talking to and see Jess, standing there with her hands planted firmly on her hips.

“Hey, Jess.”

She lifts a brow at me and then cocks her hip out even more. “Hey, Jess? That’s all you have to say to me?”

“Listen—”

“No, you listen, Brooks Bennet.” She’s pissed at me. It’s clearly written all over her face, but this is not the time or place to have this discussion. However, I can’t say that I’m surprised by her reaction.

It’s been two days since I left her waiting for me in the on-call room. I’m not a total dick though. I did text her back when I woke up from my eight hours of sleep at my mom’s house. But by the time she received it, it was the next day since she was sleeping when I sent it. Our schedules are so backwards right now, which is only making communication between us that much more difficult. Add on the exhaustion from working long shifts and the stress of worrying about my mom, and the pressure is wearing on me.

I step forward and grip her forearm gently, leaning down so our faces are mere inches from each other. I can smell her gum—Wrigley’s Winterfresh—and her body spray, sending my nose into a tizzy as I inhale her scent before speaking.

“Listen, can we do this later? And somewhere private?”

She shakes her head at me. “You know what? Forget it.” Yanking her arm from my grasp, she turns on her heels and then walks away, leaving me pulling at my hair in frustration.

“That looks like things are going well.” My cousin’s voice startles me as I twist around and see him leaning up against the counter.

“Yeah. Fucking fantastic.”

“Why does she look like she wants to chop your balls off?”

I blow out a frustrated breath and then walk over to the station, taking up residence next to him. “I kind of blew her off the other day.”

“That doesn’t sound like you, man. What’s going on?”

“Well, my mom fainted. And your mom called me in a panic. I was supposed to meet Jess in the on-call room before her shift to spend some time with her, you know? But I ran out of here in such a frenzy that I forgot about her and left her hanging. Then I passed out. By the time I text her back, she was sleeping, and I’m guessing she woke up to my vague message and it pissed her off.”

Ethan chuckles. “What did you say to her?”

“Something along the lines of, ‘Sorry. Something came up. Talk to you soon.’”

“Fuck. Your lack of dating expertise is showing. Brooks… you can’t say something like that to a woman. Do you know where her mind is at right now?”

I shoot him an annoyed look and then urge him with my face to continue. “Apparently not, so enlighten me, will you?”

Ethan speaks in a surprisingly soothing voice. “She’s probably doubting your entire relationship right now.”

“That’s a bit extreme—”

“No, that’s what women do. She is probably blaming herself, wondering what she did that made you blow her off. And since things are new, she doesn’t know you well enough to argue otherwise. Why don’t you just tell her the truth? You know you’re not going to be able to keep that from her for forever?”

“I know.” I look down at my shoes, contemplating how much longer I can keep my mother’s condition from her. “I just don’t want that reaction from her yet.”

“What reaction?”

“Her pity. Her need to help, even though there’s nothing she can do.”

Ethan tips his head from side to side. “True. She might give you those. But she’ll also give you someone else to talk to about your feelings. Someone who will listen and comfort you on the days when you just want to scream or give up. One of the best things about dating Mariah is getting to talk to her about everything at the end of our day, especially when they’re shitty.”

I glance in his direction once more, this time with a teasing grin on my face. “When did you become so wise?”

“I’ve always been this smart, especially when it comes to women. You just haven’t been around to witness it.”

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