Page 47 of Between Us

It’s too overwhelming and embarrassing. So, I vow to tell them when I’m with them in person and have their physical comfort.

Everything’s great! Just bored as fuck

Margo

I don’t believe you

Meera

Me neither

I promise but I’m at work

I’ll talk to you later

Slipping my phone in my bag, I ignore the churning in my gut from lying to them and make my way across the parking lot.

The little bell over the door sends a sharp pain through my head. Usually, I’m one of the few who doesn’t find the sound a small annoyance, but I’m still feeling emotionally drained after yesterday, resulting in a lingering headache. It’s been a while since I’ve gone through that many highs and lows in such a short period of time.

I guess there aren’t a lot of reasons for it to happen when you spend a majority of your time alone, now that my best friends have left for college. Even then, I don’t think I’d give back even a second with Adrian to avoid the bad.

When I went to grab our waters, I never expected to run into five of my old teammates from Serenity Prep. Not that anyone on my team was necessarily nice to me, but three of these five were particularly terrible. I don’t know why they chose me, or if there was even a reason, and Catalina has spent a lot of time reminding me that it always had more to do with them than with me.

I don’t know how I was able to hold it together for the hour and half drive home. When I turned around and saw him standing there, I knew every wall I had built up was about to crumble. All I wanted was to crawl into my bed and not return for a very long time.

The entire drive home, I was trying to form the words to tell Adrian how I know them, except they tasted like vomit every time I tried to open my mouth. I think he’s the one person in my life that I couldn’t lie to, and that is fucking terrifying. But after last night, I find myself wanting to tell him more.

I drop into the chair behind the front desk and my head falls backward. I’ve been doing my best to avoid my parents, because with one look, they will know something’s going on. So, when my dad called me earlier to ask if I could cover a few extra hours since Olivia’s getting sick, I jumped on the excuse to get out of the house, knowing it was only a matter of time before he and my mom got home. However, now that my four hour shift has turned into eight, I feelexhausted.

Taking a moment to myself before someone comes in, I think back to last night.

To the feeling of his strong hands cradling my face.

To the moment he pulled me back into his chest and held me until I stopped crying.

‘You’re safe.‘

Even just remembering his words has me blinking back tears. Being with Adrian is the safest I’ve ever felt outside of my family. I don’t know how long we stayed out there but at least half an hour.

I didn’t want my bed anymore. I just wanted him. And like always, he seemed to have wanted to be there as much as I needed him to be.

At some point, we naturally detangled from each other, and he silently walked me to the door. He pulled me into his chest one more time, holding me tighter like he really didn’t want to leave me, and whispered a promise that he’s only a call away, even though he’s working tonight too.

“Hey, Blake,” one of the vets, Dr. Evie Lemmings, calls as she walks around the corner. I give her my best effort at a smile, but she doesn’t seem to mind. She’s been working here for almost a decade, so I’ve known her far too long to feel pressured to put on an upbeat act. I’ll save that for the pet owners.

She doesn’t stop on her way to the employee’s storage closet, but she tells me with a small smirk, “There’s something in the break room for you.”

My eyebrows furrow, pushing off the chair to stand anyway. As soon as I step inside though, my expression quickly turns to a scowl.

Fucking Polly. That pain in my ass.

I see the container sitting on the counter, and for whatever godforsaken reason, my legs keep walking closer, even though I know exactly what it is. She uses the same type of aluminum container every time she brings her stupid oatmeal raisin cookies in for the office. Like, seriously, who doesn’t just make chocolate chip or any other flavor?

I stop right in front of it and stare down at my name. The lid is clear so I can see right through it and… yup, that’s oatmeal. My eyes roll before I can stop them. For half a second, I actually consider throwing them in the trash, but even I know that’d be mean.

As I’m turning away, Evie pops her head in and looks down at my hands, confused. “You’re not going to eat any?”

“No,” I shake my head. “I don’t like raisins.”

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