Before I go, I leave a new appointment card on the counter for her.
I let myself out the front door, but halfway to my car, I can’t remember if I locked it. The crime rate is low in Baymont, but even if there’s little chance of someone breaking in the one night her door is unlocked, I won’t leave her unprotected like that.
I go back to the door and turn the knob. Sure enough, the door opens.
I think about locking it from the inside, but quickly change my mind.
I haven’t had an opportunity to test my copy of her house key to make sure it works. I wasn’t sure I ever would unless I ended up needing to use it, but now I’m here when they’re both asleep, so I might as well try it out.
I draw out my wallet, using a finger to spread the tightest pocket. I tilt the wallet, and the copy I made of Aubrey’s house key falls into my palm.
It’s shiny and new, a tight fit when I slide it into the lock, but once I’ve turned it, I try the knob again and the door is locked.
Satisfied, I nod and tuck the key back in my wallet.
I’m a realist, so I can foresee a scenario or two in which I might want into Aubrey’s house, but she might not want to let me in.
Good to know my key works just in case I ever need to use it.
Chapter eighteen
Aubrey
When my alarm goes off the next morning, I wait for the usual dread to sweep over me. Exhaustion, my constant companion, to beg me to stay in bed.
But I actually feel surprisingly well-rested.
I reach for my phone on the nightstand, and when I lift up to grab it, I notice something else.
Money.
That wakes me up the rest of the way. I frown, turning off the alarm and sitting up on the edge of the bed. A bunch of twenties are spread out underneath my charge cord. I grab them and count them out on my lap.
It’s $400.
Dare must have put it here before he left.
I feel bad that I fell asleep on him. I didn’t even get to say goodbye.
I think about texting him, but I know there’s little point. It feels recent to me, but it was last night. Besides, I’ll see him at school.
Since I was cuddling with him in the clothes he likely wore out in the world all day, I take a shower and get dressed for the day before I make breakfast.
Mom is awake in her chair in the living room when I come in. The house is quiet, and she has a book open on her lap.
“Good morning, honey,” she says.
“Hey.” I lean in and kiss her temple before heading to the kitchen. “You want a spinach omelet this morning?”
“Sounds good,” she says, closing her book. “Did you leave that appointment card for me on the counter?”
I frown, grabbing a carton of eggs out of the refrigerator. “Appointment card?”
She grabs a little white card off the end table and holds it up. “What is this? Why do you have an appointment card for a doctor in New York?”
“New York?”
I have no idea what she’s talking about, so I walk over and grab the card.
I’m well versed in appointment cards at this point, but this one is confusing. It says we have an appointment next Saturday at 2:15—at a cancer center in West Harrison, New York.
“Um… hang on. I need to text someone.”
“Aubrey.”
Mom’s tone is firm, like it used to be on the rare occasion I got in trouble.
I look up at her. “What?”
She’s giving me a look. “Why do you have that?”
“I’m not completely sure. It may be the doctor a friend was telling me about, but I have to double check.”
“Aubrey,” Mom says on a sigh.
“I know, Mom. I know you’re tired of the doctors and the appointments,” I say, walking in to sit on the arm on her chair. “But Dare was telling me this guy helped his mom’s friend who they thought was a lost cause. They’re up on all the newest research, and they have access to trials maybe we didn’t know about. It can’t hurt to just talk to the guy and see if there’s something he can do for you. What if there is?”
“Honey, we can’t afford to fly to New York for a consultation. Even if we could, you know how leery I am about flying. All those people crammed in a metal tube in the air, all their germs floating around. I get sick every time I travel on a plane. When I’m in perfect health, that’s mildly annoying, but now?”
“Well, yeah, I didn’t realize the guy was in New York. He didn’t tell me that part. It’s possible he just didn’t think about it because his family has money, so they could probably fly out for something like this. I’ll ask if they have a location we could drive to.”