Page 48 of Pretty Lies & Ugly Truths

“Yeah—that and all the sun and smooches she’s gotfrom her new lover,” I hear Natya’s teasing tone from behind me.

“Oh…is that right?” Jane cocks her head to the side, one eyebrow raised.

I shoot Natya a scathing look. No, she didn’t just call me out like that. Unfazed, she shoots me a wink before going back to her restocking.

“So it would seem we have some catching up to do. Why don’t we grab something to eat, and you can tell me all about this mystery man?” she says, leading me toward the door. “Who knows—I may even tell you about mine.”

“Wait…what?” My head swivels in her direction, sure I misheard.

As far as I know, Jane has never dated or had a boyfriend—at least, none that she told me about.

“Oh, don’t look so scandalized. I may be old but I’m not dead yet,” she says with a wink.

I look back at these past months with different eyes, taking in her pink, rosy cheeks and how her amber eyes appear brighter somehow. Is he the reason?

She has been so much happier, stronger, so full of life. I assumed it was because of her new medication regimen, but could it actually be attributed—at least partly—to this man she’s been seeing?

We grab takeout from our favorite Thai place around the corner, bringing it back to her house. Jane opens a bottle of white wine, and we both settle down on the old worn sofa where we’ve spent many a night binging movies and old re-runs. Placing the takeout containers on the coffee table we dig into our food.

“So…tell me about this man,” Jane says to me.

I take a slow bite of my basil tofu stir-fry as I think how best to answer her question.

Yes, it’s clear she has been doing so much better, but that doesn’t mean she won’t have a relapse. I don’t want to stress her unnecessarily, but I also can’t stand the idea of continually lying to her.

In the end, I decide to give her the same story I told Natya: that Archer and I met when he came to my rescue after I took a fall—leaving out theminordetail that I was also attacked and almost kidnapped by a mad man—and that he drove me home after.

I do tell her about the break-in, though, and she takes it about how I expected her to.

It’s only after I thoroughly reassure her that they caught the man responsible and that he was in jail, where he cannot hurt me,andinform her about the extravagant security system Archer had installed does she finally seem to calm down.

“So—you really like this guy?” she asks me.

“Yea. I really do, but…it’s sort of complicated.”

“Oh, honey—it always is.”

“Okay, enough about me. Tell me about this mystery manyou’vebeen seeing,” I say, suddenly very curious about who it is she’s dating.

Turns out her new beau is Dr. William Osborne, her neurologist, and apparently, they’ve been seeing each other for the past year. That news shocks me.

I’m not even gonna lie, I’m hurt by the fact that she didn’t tell me.Why would she keep this from me?

She says they wanted to keep it a secret while they worked on transferring her care to another physician, because even though it’s not exactly taboo, it is frowned upon for a doctor to date one of their patients. Which I totally get, but it’s not like I would have said anything. I just wish she would have been honest with me—sort of like how you’re being so honest with her?

I try not to show that I’m upset, because I can tell by the way she talks about him that she loves him, and I’m happy for her.

Still, I can’t help thinking, now she has him, she doesn’t reallyneedme anymore.

I know it’s ridiculous, that it’s just my insecurities making me feel this way, but I can’t shake the feeling that now she has someone else to help care for her, she no longer has any use for me. I’ve played the role of caregiver for so long, I’m not sure how I fit into her life if not that.

We end up finishing off the bottle of wine as we spend the next few hours talking about anything and everything, something we haven’t done in far too long. It starts to grow dark outside, and I check my phone, finding a missed text from Archer informing me he would be working late tonight. Something about some charity benefit for next week that has been giving him hell.

After my initial disappointment wears off, I realize some space might not be a bad thing. We have been together every day for the past week, and I don’t want him to grow tired of me.

Since I rode herewith Jane, and it looks like she can no longer drive, I was planning to order a car to take me home, but decide to save myself some money and just stay here instead.

As I lay in the dark, staring up at the glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling of my childhood bedroom, I reflect on how much my life has changed in such a short period of time. It’s all so overwhelming.

---