Page 14 of Written in the Charts

“Save it for me.” We both had a chuckle at that. “Thank you for helping me like that. I know it was probably weird.”

“Nah, not weird at all.” I could hear her smile. I pictured her glowing still, the sort of sex glow you get when you have a good orgasm. “Not even the banana.”

I laughed. “Gypsy, it feels like no time has passed at all. It’s been like seven years but it feels like only yesterday when—” I cut myself short. When I hurt her. When I left her. When I disappeared with no word as to where I was going and she got her heart broken.

“Yeah...” Sadness entered her voice and I sighed.

“I’m really sorry for leaving you like that. I was so fucked up. My dad died, and I was angry at the world. I never meant to hurt you.” It felt good being able to apologize, though it did little to remove the pain she’d probably felt.

“I understand. We were just kids, really, and—”

My call waiting chimed in, cutting her off. Frustrated, I looked at the caller ID to see that it was Misty. I could have screamed, but I didn’t want to scare Gypsy. It was time I put an end to this.

“Hey, Gyps, I have a call coming in. It’s important, and I need to take it, okay?”

“Oh, okay.” She sounded disappointed. “Call me tomorrow?”

“You bet.”

I didn’t even say goodbye. I just ended the call and transferred to Misty, who was hysterically sobbing. For a moment, the same good-afterglow vibes I was feeling with Gypsy kicked in and I actually gave a fuck about why she was crying.

“Misty? Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“Evan, baby, I need you. Can you come?” Her sobbing was so loud I had to hold the phone away from my ear. It was a six-hour drive to Bangor. There was no way in fuck I was making that drive. The fact that I even considered it and calculated the drive time, however, made me shudder. She’d sucked me in faster than a vacuum with Cheerios.

“I’m not driving to Maine tonight. Is this an emergency? Are you hurt?” Images of Misty with a gaping wound somewhere flashed through my mind. She was dramatic but never like this. It had to be bad. My heart went out to her even if I was moving on.

“No,” she wailed, sounding like one of those mourning women on TV shows. “He left.” Her hysteria escalated when she said that. “I’m alone. I can’t be alone. Evan, you have to come back.”

There were no words to express the anger I felt. My mind felt like a jumbled mess of rage and confusion. To think she would call me when the man she’d cheated with dumped her. I tried to stay calm, but I’d had enough. It was time to do the thing I hadn’t wanted to do.

“Misty, do not ever call me again. It is over. It was over months ago. I’m done. I want nothing to do with you.”

“But who will—”

“Find a new man to manipulate. It’s over.” I hung up then immediately blocked her number. I felt like a fool for leaving Gypsy like that after we had connected, only to have this happen. I should have blocked Misty a long time ago.

CHAPTERTEN

Gypsy

Professor Graham laid the exam paper on my desk face down just as he had everyone else’s, but I swore he’d given me a dirty look when he did it. I hadn’t even bothered to look at it until I was in my car, knowing I’d bombed it. I had studied relentlessly, but I still ended up failing the test by two points. One lousy question too many.

I drove across town feeling so discouraged by the test that I could cry. I didn’t, but I wanted to. I had not failed a test since high school. I’d struggled on some of the really tough ones, but I hadn’t failed. Until now.

I started to think that maybe I had been spending too much time with Evan and not enough time studying. The other night when he texted me, I had been planning to study a bit more after my shower before going to sleep, but the way things went, I ended up falling asleep in a nice sex haze after he had to go.

Beating myself up wouldn’t get me a better grade, but I did it anyway. I was hard on myself for good reason. I hadn’t made it into med school the first time around, and I didn’t want to blow it this time. Sure, I could retake the class if I failed, but that would mean spending more money, and I wasn’t sure how the state boards would react to a student who had to retake classes just to pass. It didn’t bode well for a successful career, either.

Being a doctor meant everything to me. It also meant being responsible for people’s health and sometimes their lives. It wasn’t something I could just half-ass and hope no one noticed. So I put more pressure on myself in this area than any other. I needed to do better.

By the time I pulled up outside my apartment and parked, I was so angry with myself I didn’t notice Evan until he had walked up to my car. He tapped on the window and startled me as I was collecting my things. He was a sight for sore eyes. I opened my car door and accepted a warm hug along with a half-dozen roses and a box of chocolates.

“That’s sweet. What are these for?” I kissed him on the cheek and cradled the flowers in my arm.

“Just because. How did the test go?” He walked with me toward the building, and when I nearly dropped the chocolates, he took my bag and carried it.

“I bombed it.” I sighed, my shoulders drooping. “I studied so hard. I don’t know why I failed.”

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