“Uh, I don’t know what you’re talking about, Liz. Are you referring to Brett?”
I stood from the picnic bench and almost spit the words. “Of course, I’m referring to Brett. I thought he was just being flirty, but now I see he’s a manipulative ass.”
“Elizabeth, what does Brett have to do with you? I don’t know what you’re thinking, but Brett had nothing to do with this.”
“I don’t want the job. Thanks, Ryan. Take care. I’ll call you when I cool off.” I hit the end call icon and dropped my phone in my lab coat pocket.
Then I took it back out and sent a text to Brett,You went too far. Do not try and manipulate my life through myfriends
I couldn’t see straight from the tears that threatened to fall. Inside, I kept my head down, took the steps at a brisk ascent, and shut the door to my office behind me. Then I let the tears fall. It was just too much.
My phone rang. Brett. I let it go to voicemail.
Then a text.Elizabeth, I don’t know what you’re talkingabout
I sat down at my desk, blew my nose, and calmed myself before listening to his message. “Elizabeth, it’s Brett. I have no idea what you’re talking about but I have to imagine, based on your text, that you are hurt. Please call me. I never want you to be sad or hurt or upset with me. Please call me.”
That brought on a fresh wave of tears. I grabbed my bag and my coat and left for the day. Rebecca looked up at me in confusion as I approached her desk, and stopped to tell her, “Please cancel my appointments for the rest of the day.”
“Are you okay?” Her eyes were wide.
“And please cancel tomorrow as well. I’m not feeling very well and think I’ll take the day off.”
She said softly, “It must be allergies. You should get some rest.”
I gave her a wry smile. “Must be allergies.”
“Have a good night, Dr.Cain. I’ll take care of your patients.”
I drove the few miles to my house, dropped my coat and bag on the floor, kicked off my shoes and went into my bedroom. I took my pencil skirt off and dropped it on the floor. The last thing I did before I crawled beneath the covers on my bed was to turn off my phone. I would start over tomorrow.
*
I woke at 4 a.m. and stared at the ceiling. I must have been exhausted to have slept that long. Maybe itwasallergies. Nope. I was emotionally drained.
I battled with myself as to whether I should turn on my phone. The professional side won. I shouldn’t miss any work calls.
When it finally turned on, it pinged with multiple missed message alerts. The first was a missed call from Brett. No voicemail. The second was a missed call from Thomas. A voicemail. I would listen to it later, since I knew it was probably about our date tonight. The third was a missed call from Ryan, and a voicemail.
I checked my text messages. Brett. Three of them.
Elizabeth, something happened and I don’t know what it is. Please callme
Beautiful girl, please tell me what I did so I can fixit
The third was from just after midnight and had a lighter, funnier tone. With a hint of frustration.
It’s clear now. And I don’t know whether to come up there and strangle you or come up there and kiss you senseless. You’ll figure it out soon. I’m going to have to figure out how to earn your trust. I’ll think ofsomething
A sense of dread filled me. I’d missed something. I listened to Ryan’s message. All he said, laughter lacing his words, was, “Call me. You misunderstood.”
I pinched my forehead with my thumb and forefinger. I needed coffee for this.
After preparing my coffee and opening up the front door to let the spring air flow through, I settled down on the couch and waited for a reasonable hour to call Ryan.
The cool air soothed me and I ended up falling back asleep. Shortly after 8 a.m. I woke again. My coffee had gone cold, and Todd was staring at me from the floor. “Thanks for protecting me. Can you give me a few minutes to take a phone call, then we can go for a walk?” his ears perked and his tongue lolled.
I patted his head, grabbed my cell phone from where it had fallen to the floor, and called Ryan.