Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 76717 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76717 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
“Angie…”
I squeeze his hand. “It’s okay, Jason,” I whisper. “Sleep.”
The alarm on my phone buzzes at six a.m., and Tillie rustles me out of bed.
“Shh,” I tell her. “Don’t wake Jason. He needs to sleep.”
I grab my robe, take Tillie outside for her morning poop, and then get her breakfast ready while I start a pot of coffee.
A giant yawn splits my face. Staying up late having sex and then getting up in the middle of the night to let your boyfriend in and have sex again—plus the constant worry—isn’t conducive to being well rested.
Once the coffee’s done, I pour a quick cup and return to the bedroom to take a shower.
Jason is still sleeping soundly, and I tread quietly so as not to disturb him. Once I’m out of the shower, I blow my hair dry and get into jeans and a sweater.
It’s Thursday.
Anatomy lab day.
And Jason won’t be there.
Neither will Ralph, which is a positive.
I sigh. Tabitha and Eli don’t even know about Jason yet. There will be a sub, of course. Or, if they couldn’t find one in time, lab will be canceled. Again.
I can already hear Eli in my head.
How the hell are we supposed to learn anything when lab keeps getting canceled?
Jason is still sleeping by the time I’m ready to leave for school. I give Tillie a quick kiss on her soft head. She jumps onto the bed and snuggles at Jason’s feet.
I’m leaving him in good hands.
The drive to school is uneventful, and when I get there, I have about an hour before my first class of the day, which is anatomy lab. I head toward the library but then change direction toward the anatomy lab.
The sign is there already.
Anatomy Lab Canceled
Guess they couldn’t find a replacement for Jason in less than twenty-four hours.
Oh, well. More study time, which isn’t a bad thing since I’ve already missed two classes this week.
I’m still standing in front of the door when Eli ambles up behind me.
“Fuck, is he kidding?” Eli shakes his head. “How the hell are we supposed to learn anything when lab keeps getting canceled?”
I stifle a chuckle. I knew Eli would say exactly that.
But this is hardly a laughing matter.
“Something must be going on,” I say.
“The dude should be fired,” Eli replies. “I mean, I like him and all, and he’s a good teacher, but he only shows up half the time.”
I strive to keep my face still. “I’m sure he has a good reason.”
“Fuck his reasons at this point. I need to cut.”
I resist rolling my eyes. If I never cut again, I’ll be just fine. But I remember Aunt Melanie’s words. It’s all important, and you never know when you may have to use your medical knowledge outside your specialty. Maybe even to save a life, as Aunt Mel did on that flight.
Students come and go, looking at the sign and shaking their heads. Most seem upset that lab is canceled. Am I the only one who doesn’t like to cut open dead bodies?
Eli walks off, pissed, and ignores Tabitha as she walks by him, coming toward me.
“What’s his problem?” she asks, and then she drops her gaze to the sign on the door. “Oh, that explains it.”
“The man wants to cut,” I say.
“He does, and so do I. Do you know what’s going on?”
I shrug. “Not really.”
Tabitha stares at me, and for a moment, I almost feel like she can read my mind. She knows I know because I think she has a suspicion about Jason and me. She has ever since he showed up at my house unannounced when she was there.
“Spill it,” she says.
“Not here.”
“Okay. Coffee, then?”
I shrug again. Sure, why not? It’s not like we have a class to go to. Hell, I was ready to leave all this behind only days ago when Jason asked me to go to Switzerland with him.
If only…
If only we’d left right then, we could have avoided all of this. Jason would have an ironclad alibi for Ralph’s battery. He would have been out of the country.
“Starbucks?” Tabitha asks.
I nod. So much better than the crap they serve on campus.
We walk the block to Starbucks, place our order, and find a comfy couch.
“All right,” she says. “What’s up with you and Jason?”
I look over my shoulder, my eyes wide. No one is in earshot. I turn back to Tabitha, bite my lip. “You have to promise not to say anything to anyone if I tell you this.”
“Scout’s honor.” She holds up three fingers.
I grimace unwittingly. Ralph said the same thing in his bed at the hospital, three-fingered gesture and all.
“I’m serious, Tabitha. Fucking serious. You can’t mention it to Eli or anyone else. And especially not Ralph.”
She scoffs. “Why would I mention anything to Ralph? I’m not the one being summoned to his hospital room.” She sighs. “I can’t believe I was ever into him.”