Page 80 of Aftertaste

Rush: After the date?

Haven: Yep.

I bit down on my bottom lip and glanced at the open door. I could hear Doctor. Vasali talking to someone, so I knew I had to get my ass into gear and start my shift.

Rush: Okay…I don’t get it.

I rolled my eyes.

Haven: She’s still in high school.

Rush: Oh. Shit.

Haven: Yep. Exactly my thoughts too.

I huffed out a breath. I couldn’t keep avoiding my brother. I missed him. And it wasn’t really his fault. He wasn’t to know what would happen after our date. He wasn’t to know that she was still in high school.

I rubbed my temples, sick of thinking the same thing over and over again. It was a mistake; one I would get over. So why did I feel so shitty? Why did I miss her? Why did I want to pick my cell up and message her all the time?

Rush: Is this why you’ve been ignoring me?

Haven: Well…it was you who sent the text.

Haven: I know, I’m stupid. I panicked.

The three dots signaling he was messaging back appeared then disappeared. I didn’t have time to wait for what he was going to say, so I stowed my cell away into my locker and headed toward the main desk.

Three clipboards waited for me, and I grabbed the bottom one, knowing they’d gotten here before the other two. I was in a world of my own, reading the chart and digesting what the patient had made the appointment for.

“Morning, Thalia,” one of the other nurses greeted.

I didn’t lift my head up as I replied, “Morning,” and walked into the medication room. The key to the locked away area was attached to my scrubs, so I plucked it off, opened the lock, and walked inside. I knew exactly where the morning after pill was—the reason this woman had made an appointment—so I quickly took a box that contained a single pill, then locked the door behind me.

Room two was opposite, so I knocked twice then pushed it open, not looking up from the clipboard as I entered. I had several things I needed to do before I could hand over the emergency contraceptive: take blood pressure, check temperature, make sure the patient was well in herself.

“Hi,” I started, placing the clipboard and small box on the counter. “I’m Haven.” I jammed the tap with my wrist and washed my hands, expecting a reply, but when I didn’t get one, I turned around.

My entire body jerked at the sight of her. Thalia. In the room with me. It took me several seconds to register why she was here. And when I did, I could barely contain my anger. “What are—”

“I shouldn’t have come,” she interrupted, keeping her head down. She lifted off the patient bed, slow and steady. I swore I heard her groan at the movement.

“Thalia.” My voice was firm, but also questioning. “What are you doing here?” I shook my head, a laugh slipping from between my lips. “That’s a stupid question. I already know why you’re here.” My thoughts scattered, trying to make sense of it all. It had been nearly two weeks since she’d been stood in my apartment. She didn’t answer me as she shuffled across the floor, so I stepped toward her. “Thalia.” I grasped her arm gently.

“No!” She jaunted backward, her hands coming in front of her. “Don’t touch me.”

“What…” I blinked; my body frozen to the spot as she finally looked up at me. Her eye was swollen shut, and what looked like fresh bruising covered her cheeks and neck. “Thalia,” I exhaled. “What happened?”

“Nothing.” She tried to stand up straight, but the way her face screwed up told me she was struggling to do that simple movement. “Just give me the pill and I’ll leave.”

My gaze flicked to the box on top of the clipboard, only feet away from her. Somehow, she’d managed to be closer to it than I was, but she hadn’t realized that yet.

“Not until you tell me what happened.” Everything I’d been thinking since she’d been stood in my apartment vanished. I didn’t care that she was in high school. I didn’t care that she hadn’t told me she was eighteen. All I cared about was what had happened to her. “You can tell me,” I said softly, holding my hand out to her, but the move spooked her. She grabbed the box with the pill, slipped past me, and made it out of the door before I got the chance to stop her.

Confession

Thalia

“Thalia!” Her voice bounced off the walls and straight into my ears, but I didn’t stop. Not when she called my name a second time, and not when I heard footsteps behind me. I pushed my body as far as it would go, trying to break out into a run—trying to escape.

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