Page 25 of Great Pretender
I would owe her big time, and I would make sure the repayment would be enough to give her everything she ever wanted.
God, am I seriously considering this?
9
Piper
Okay, that’s a bird I hear singing. Actually, it could be two. Even if the sun hasn’t fully risen yet, I might as well get up and start the day.
I’ve been lying in that bed for the last two hours, hoping I’ll drift back to sleep. It hasn’t happened yet, and I doubt sleep will come again in the next hour or so.
Especially since every time I closed my eyes, I not only remembered catching Heath and Sheila having sex in his office, but I kept seeing them yesterday, mocking me. It was the two of them, and I can just imagine them doing the same during the time they were together behind my back.
I think yesterday stuck in my mind, though, because they had an air of relief about them. Like they were happy they could just be a couple.
They were free of me and of the worry—if they ever worried, that is—that someone would find out.
It made me feel sick, but it also made me feel foolish.
I sit up and look at the oncoming sunlight through the long French windows.
As sure as the sun will rise today, I knew deep down when I first got together with Heath, it was a mistake. I just went along with it, hoping that the deep love I’ve always wanted to feel would come. It never did.
I can sit here in my gloom, or I can get up and truly start the healing and moving-on process.
I guess that actually began last night when I went back to Heath’s house, took what remained of my things, and felt nothing as I drove away from the place I’d called home for the last three years.
I actually felt nothing. No remorse, no nostalgia for any memories I might have associated with the house; No reminiscing of what used to be or what could have been.
I actually felt free. That has to count for something, and that’s the thing I’m working with to help me get to where I want to be emotionally and physically.
Deciding to get up, I slide off the bed and grab my shower bag with all my shampoos and hair treatments.
It’s six a.m.
Since it’s so early, I might as well spend some much-needed time taking care of myself; then, I’ll head into work early. I’m supposed to be there at nine today, but if I can get there at eight or just before, I can catch up on the paperwork I didn’t get to finish yesterday. It was mainly looking over the charts for my patients undergoing treatment in the Center.
If I get that extra hour in and focus on getting the work done, it would mean more time to spend with Dad. I’m a little worried about that headache of his, and if he’s stressed and feeling low, that’s an indicator that he needs support. His stubborn nature will stop him from asking for help.
I head to the bathroom and cover my hair in a conditioning mask which stays in for the forty minutes I’m in the shower.
When I get out, my hair is silky smooth and looks like strands of sunlight with lighter streaks; people always think I had placed there as highlights. My hair is naturally like that, like my mother’s.
Today, I trade my oversized clothes for something a little prettier. So, I choose a powder pink camisole top and a pair of black slacks. Although I’ll spend most of the day in my white lab coat, people will see that there’s a difference in me by the rest of my attire and my hair, which I’m leaving down.
I apply some light makeup, which is also different for me and make my way downstairs.
I’m surprised when I see Chad already in the kitchen sitting at the breakfast table with a pot of coffee and a half-finished cup before him. He looks like he hasn’t slept. He’s also still wearing the same clothes he had on last night when I got back.
When his gaze lands on me, his face brightens, and there’s a spark in his eyes that resembles the look I get from most men when I make an effort.
“Morning,” I say first.
“Hey, there. You look good.”
I smile and join him at the table. “Thanks, I feel better. I’m determined to have a better day today.”
“Good, you should have a better day. And the best part is, you don’t have to see that asshole ever again.”
