Page 38 of Faker
The muscles in my neck and shoulders tense. I grip the railing again but let go as soon as his eyes dart to my hand. “Do it. I don’t care.” I fail in my attempt to sound tough.
“You’re a terrible liar, you know that?” He glides his thumb across the screen.
“Fine,” I groan. “You can call my friend Kaitlin, but she’s a new mom and busy as hell. I shouldn’t bother her.”
“I’m sure she’d want to know how you’re doing.”
I shake my head. “She’s listed in my contacts as ‘My Best Mate Kait (lin).’”
“Cute.”
I hear Tate leaving what sounds like a voice mail message before I slip into a light sleep.
eleven
A shrieking gasp jolts me awake. I squint my eyes open and see Kaitlin standing over me. Her mouth hangs wide and her eyebrows are pinched together. I know that expression well. It’s her signature horrified look.
“Oh my God.” She covers her mouth with her hand and grips the bed railing with the other. “I rushed here as soon as your coworker called me.”
“Um, why?” I look around for Tate, but he’s nowhere to be found.
She shoots me an annoyed, dumbfounded look. “Because you’re in the hospital.”
“Didn’t he tell you that I’m fine?” I’m half speaking, half moaning.
“Emmie, get real. You are not fine. You’re in the hospital, for crying out loud.”
I hold up the morphine drip button. “I have pain meds. I’m set.”
She rolls her eyes and crosses her arms. She’s wearing a pink hoodie zipped over gray yoga pants and flip-flops. Guilt hits. Shemust have dropped everything and rushed to see me the moment Tate called her. I feel bad for being the cause of her worry.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Her frown is one of utter confusion.
“For making you worry. You didn’t need to drop everything to come here. I know you’re busy with Libby—”
She cups her hand over my mouth. I smack it away.
“Stop. You’re my best friend and you’re sick. Of course I’m going to drop everything to check on you.”
“What about Libby, though?”
“She’s with Ethan’s mom.” She pulls a chair to the bed and sits, then sniffles.
“Cold?”
She shrugs. “Libby caught a cough and runny nose from day care. And, of course, that means I get it too.” She pulls a tissue from her pocket and wipes her nose. “I feel terrible you’re going through this alone. You should have called me when you first got to the hospital yesterday. I would have driven like a bat out of hell to be with you.”
“I wasn’t alone. Tate drove me here and checked me into the ER. He waited with me the whole day while they examined me and admitted me, and when the doctor talked to me.”
She flashes a relieved smile. “I’m glad.” A moment later her lips purse. “Wait, you said Tate helped you?Tateis the guy who called me?”
I nod.
“I thought you didn’t like him? I thought you said he was insufferable?”
I shift, pushing the covers off my chest. “Yes to both of those statements.”
