Page 98 of What You Wish For

But not good enough.

Being around a warm, doped-up version of Duncan had been good—and I didn’t even really register how good until that guy was gone. Being around the robotic Duncan just made me want the human version back even more. I’d been unable to stop thinking about him, feeling a glow of affection that had stayed bright all week. Until now.

I missed the other Duncan.

It created a tightness of frustration in my body.

And so I decided to mess with him a little.

“Thank you for all the hugs, by the way.”

Duncan held very still at that idea.

“And thank you,” I went on, “for being so open and honest about your feelings.”

I gave him a second to ponder what feelings, exactly, I might be referring to.

“And thank you for giving me your succulent collection.”

That got his attention. He looked over at me. “Is that—? You took them?”

“For safekeeping. You’ll be pleased to know I haven’t watered them all week.”

Duncan nodded, like he wasn’t sure if he was pleased or not.

“Also,” I added then, “I saw your scars.”

Duncan got very still.

“But you wouldn’t really talk about what happened.”

Duncan nodded. “I never talk about it.”

“Don’t you think maybe you should?”

“Nope.” Then he turned to me and said, “I will never talk about that. Okay?”

“Not with me,” I said. “But maybe with a professional.”

He gave a curt head shake. “Nope. Not my style.”

I tried to make my voice sound pleasant and informational. “I get it. But I need to tell you something. Babette wants you to get into therapy.”

“Babette?”

“She does,” I said. “And she’s very… all-powerful. She doesn’t make a big thing of it, but she’s basically God around here. She owns this school. And she owns the board of directors.”

Duncan waited.

“Everybody thinks that the board passed her over for you. But that’s not what happened. They begged her to come run the place. She just declined.”

“Understandable,” Duncan said, thinking.

“That’s right. Right? Bad timing.”

Duncan nodded. “Very.”

“But she explained something to me the other night that I didn’t know. They wanted her to run the school then, and they still want her to run the school now. And all she has to do is say the word, and you’re out.”

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