Page 68 of Misery and Ecstasy

I knew I had to do something to prove it to him. So I did.

“Please tell me you didn’t make all this shit up to try to make me feel better.” Draven utters without looking at me.

Standing, I walk to the sofa and sit next to him.

“I made these notes here, in red. But everything else you see are notes directly from her doctors back then. She went through extensive therapy but was out within a year. And to summarize the most important parts, she regrets blaming you for her breakdown. She admitted to trying to make you feel bad for rejecting her, saying that you had very little to do with it. And this…”

I pull a packet of papers from the back of the file.

“This is a full background check on her. She’s married, Draven. To a millionaire, and they have three kids, a dog, and a white picket fence. They live in a quiet town in New Jersey, and she’s the president of the PTA.”

Taking a deep breath, Draven holds it in as he closes the folder and places it on the table. Letting his breath out slowly, he stands and paces the floor of my office.

“Fuck…” He mutters after a few tense moments.

Confusion nips at me, questioning how the hell he could still be so upset.

“What is it? I thought you would be relieved by this news.”

“No, I am… God, I couldn’t be more relieved if I tried.”

I shake my head, confused by his actions and body language.

“I’m just … fuckingpissedthat I can’t show you how thankful I am for at least another…” He looks at the clock on my wall. “Thirty-seven minutes.”

“You’re supposed to be taking this seriously.” My back straightens with irritation as he flops back down onto the sofa. Glaring at him until he looks at me, I fold my arms and narrow my eyes.

“Thank you, Kins.Seriously, this means everything to me. I thought I’d feel guilty forever, whether I found out if she was okay or not. But knowing with all certainty that she’s fine… I can already feel the cold fingers of guilt loosening their hold on me.”

His admission causes the irritation in me to immediately vanish.

“I’m glad.” I offer him a weak smile as a strong throbbing begins in my head.

Sucking air between my teeth, I place my fingers on my temples to try to ease the pain away.

“Another headache?” He removes my hands and guides my head down into his lap as he takes over massaging my temples. “You’ve been getting them more frequently. Have you made an appointment with the doctor yet?”

“No, I meant to call yesterday but got sidetracked.”

I can feel him sigh, even though he tries to hide his annoyance from me. He removes one of his hands from my head and digs his phone out of his pocket. My eyes shoot open, wondering what he’s doing.

I watch from below as he hits the screen a few times before a ringing sounds through the speaker.

“Dr. Knight’s office.”

My body stiffens at the sound of my doctor’s receptionist on the line. I try to sit up, but Draven forces my shoulders back down onto his legs.

“Hello?”

“Uh, hi…” Draven speaks into the phone. “I need to make an appointment for a patient of Dr. Knight’s.”

“Draven.” I screech softly, flabbergasted by the knowledge that he knows who my doctor is. “What the hell?”

“Can I have the patient’s name?”

This time I duck away from him. Rolling off of his body, I grab his phone.

“Um-hi. Sorry. I’m the patient. My name is McKinsey Caraway.”

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