Page 113 of As They Are
I could call her, but this was something that needed to be done in person. I had to force myself to look her in the eye when apologizing, just like Mom always expected me to.
But how did I say that I was sorry for getting so forceful? That I should have held back? I had no idea how to even begin, and I needed to figure it out.
Instead of walking, I drove in and parked at the back of the clinic, completely avoiding the set. I barely looked at anything in the exam room while getting it ready for the day, focusing purely on work.
The deviation from my schedule was killing me, but I doubted Wren wanted to see me anyway.
My first patient was someone from the town over, and I was relieved to be able to fall into professionalism while I worked with them. It was proof that I could still be the Henry people wanted. I just needed time to get there.
I saw a few more patients after, falling into my usual routine with ease. I felt marginally normal by the time the day ended.
Then the door jingled and one last person walked in. I turned, expecting it to be a walk-in.
It was Wren.
My heart jumped into my throat as I saw her in overalls and a T-shirt. I couldn’t even look at her face yet.
I’d fucked upsobadly.
“Hey,” she said. “I must have missed you this morning.”
I fiddled with paperwork. “I drove in. Needed a change of pace.”
She was silent for a moment, and I was so tempted to see what expression she was wearing. But Icouldn’t.“Okay. I can’t imagine getting stopped every morning is fun, so I get it. Have you had a good day?”
“Yeah, it’s been fine. Can I help you with something?” I hated not saying anything else to her and getting straight to the point, but I needed time to figure out how to be the version of me she wanted. And I hadn’t had that.
“The producers want an interview about the changes in town. They said you were the one the audience knew the most. Are you up for it?”
No, I wasn’t. But I needed to be.
“Yeah, I can do it. Now?” I finally looked up at her, catching only that her cheeks were flushed as she looked at me.
Was it out of disgust?
“That would be best.”
I bit my cheek and followed her over to the set, still unable to look her in the eye. It wasloudtoday. Contractors worked on the facade while Jude hammered something near the front of the building, where we did a lot of the interviews.
Every bit of it pounded into my head.
This was a bad idea.
I couldn’t even talk to the PA putting my mic on. All I could do was stay calm. My shame was turning into annoyance at every sound that hit me.
The seconds couldn’t tick by fast enough.
“You and Wren come over here,” Madison called.
I didn’t know it was possible for me to tense even more, but I did. Would she even want me next to her after how I’d acted?
When I got close to her, she linked our arms.
“You don’t have to do that,” I told her under my breath.
Her eyes widened, but there wasn’t much she could say that wouldn’t give us away. Her arm remained firmly wrapped around mine, though.
“Let’s get this started!” Madison said, getting the camera on us. Wren blinked and turned to it. I wanted to be able to focus on it, but the hammering wasstillgoing on.
