Page 18 of Intertwined Hearts

I sat in my bed and shook my head. I heard the words he was saying, but was having a hard time believing it.

“If I asked you to come see me in a week, would you?” the good doctor asked.

“Yeah, sure.”

“We’ll only talk about what you want to discuss. I won’t pressure you. I promise.” He jotted a few more notes down. “Do you have anyone coming to pick you up tomorrow?”

“No, I’m going to catch a cab.”

“That may not be the best option. Will you feel safe enough entering your home alone?”

“Doctor, I have to do it at some point. It may as well be tomorrow.”

He wrote something else, then stood, shook my hand, and handed me his card with my next appointment on it.

Normally, this is when most people would turn to their best friend for comfort, but my best friend was on her honeymoon. And even if she were home, I couldn’t tell her this. Any of it.

When I told her I’d broken up with Landon the day we ran into each other on the beach, I hid most of what really happened, revealing only that he had cheated on me. I wished it was that easy. I wished that was all he had done to me.

The devil had a name, and that name was Landon.

****

My room phone rang and startled me.

“Hello?”

“Did I wake you up, Sleeping Beauty?”

“Hunter?” I cleared my throat.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you. I should have known when you didn’t answer your cell phone. But I thought you might have been ignoring my calls.”

“No, I had my phone on mute. It’s okay, though, really.”

“How are you doing? Any word when you might get released?”

“They say tomorrow, after the doctor comes to see me again.”

“I’m going to take off in the morning and be there to take you home.”

“Seriously, you don’t have to do that. I can catch a cab.”

“No. I’m going to come get you. I’ll take you home, then after you’re all settled, I’ll go to work. Don’t fight me on this, Jackie. You won’t win.”

“Thank you, Hunter. I told you, I don’t deserve you.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere, darling.”

I chuckled. He was such a sweetheart, and silly.

“Is that a bit of a laugh I just heard? That’s like music to my ears to hear you sound a little more upbeat.” I heard a muffled sound like Hunter putting his hand over the speaker of the phone. I could hear some rustling and muffled voices in the background. “Sorry about that. I’m back. I have to go, but I’ll see you tomorrow, unless I can come see you tonight.”

“I think I’d like to see you tonight, if it’s not too much to ask.”

“Never. Don’t ever think you’re an inconvenience to me.”

“Bye, Hunter.”

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