The receptionist held her hand up to her mouth. "Oh," she said, her voice sounding a bit shocked. "Sorry to interrupt…" She turned to me and made a face, shrugging.
At that, Drake and Sam both turned towards us. While Drake was frowning, Sam's expression could only be one of triumph.
I hesitated for a moment and then turned on my heel and walked down the hallway. I didn't know what I saw but I didn't like it. Not after being away from Drake all weekend, not after what happened with Sefton and not after what I suspected Claire had said to Michael, and perhaps to Drake, about what she thought she saw in the tent. The thought that Drake had spent his time with Sam, and now appeared to be getting some kind of solace from her, made my stomach sick. There she was, with her hands on him, alone in a small room in the depths of the hospital.
It was too much for me to take.
Tears bit the corners of my eyes as I tried to find my way out of the hospital, re-tracing the way we'd come, but in truth, I had been far too focused on what I'd say to Drake to have noticed our path through the maze that was the hospital's corridors and I had no clue where I was.
I finally stopped at a bank of staff elevators and stood there, my fists clenched. I heard footsteps behind me and turned to see a pale-faced Drake rounding the corner.
"Kate," he said and grabbed hold of my arm. "Why did you leave? What's wrong?"
"You know very well what's wrong."
He frowned and shook his head. "It's not what yo
u think."
"Isn't that what everyone always says when caught in a compromising situation?" I swallowed past the constriction in my throat, remembering what happened between Sefton and me. "What, exactly, do you think I think?"
"Sometimes it really isn't what you think." He exhaled loudly. "You saw Sam trying to give me a neck rub because I have a headache. She offered, I refused then she insisted, but you probably didn’t see or hear that."
"No, I didn't," I said. "All I saw was you alone in the staff room with Sam, leaning your head forward, rubbing your neck, and her massaging your shoulders."
He took my arms in his hands, trying to catch my eye, but I kept looking away, afraid that I'd start to cry if we made eye contact.
"What you didn’t hear was that she offered to give me a neck massage when I complained of a headache because I was up all night. I said no, but she ignored me. I can't help that she did it anyway."
He took my face in his hands, cupping my cheeks. "Kate," he said, his voice soft, touched with pain. "It was nothing. Nothing happened. There's nothing between us."
I finally stopped struggling and looked in his eyes, my vision cloudy.
"You didn't answer any of my texts. I thought you were mad at me."
"I haven't checked my phone for hours. I didn’t get your texts."
Then, I realized that Drake didn’t know what happened.
"I'm sorry," I said and hit my head with a fist. "You have to understand how it made me feel to see you like that," I managed, my voice shaky. "I've been away all weekend, missing you so much, and what do I find but you alone with her. A woman you've had sex with. And she's giving you a massage." Then I took in a deep breath. "And something else. Sefton said and did some things to me this weekend and I…" I said, hesitating. "It looked so intimate I thought you were with her..."
"What did Sefton do?" he said, his face blanching. "Tell me." He pulled me to a set of couches in a tiny alcove and I sat beside him.
"I sent you texts about it. I think Claire misinterpreted…"
"Kate, you’re not making any sense. Tell me what happened."
I stared in his eyes, trying to get control over my emotions.
"Sefton was drunk and followed me to my tent after dinner. He tried to kiss me, and Claire came in and saw. She thought we were together. I couldn’t talk sense into her. She said she thought you and I were wrong for each other. I figured Claire would have told Michael or even called you or texted you."
Drake only frowned, his eyes half-hooded. "Go on."
I could see he was really upset. "I had to tell him I was going to scream if he didn't leave me alone. He finally left."
"Did he kiss you?"
"No, no," I said. "You have to understand. I did nothing to encourage him. You know how I feel about him. He's pushy and rude."