Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 103428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 517(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 517(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
“I was just coming up to see if you were back. I, uh, found my hairclip on my desk today so I thought you might be.”
He nodded. “I found it in the bathroom last night.”
Merrick didn’t look well. His skin was sallow, and dark circles rimmed his normally bright green eyes—which were pretty damn bloodshot. He was also a wrinkled mess, which was very unlike him.
I stepped forward and reached out. “Are you okay?”
Merrick stepped back. It would have been less painful if he’d slapped me across the face.
“Are you sick?”
He shook his head.
“Are you hurting because of seeing Amelia’s daughter?”
His eyes jumped to meet mine. I’d never mentioned that the man had filled me in on who he was.
“He told me after you left the store,” I whispered.
The elevator doors slid closed behind me. It made the hall feel so much smaller.
“Will you talk to me? Maybe I can help.”
Merrick shook his head. “I don’t want this.”
For some reason, I assumed he meant me giving him therapy. “I won’t try to psychoanalyze you or treat you like a patient. Whatever is going on, I can just listen as your girlfriend.”
“I’m sorry, Evie. I made a mistake. We should never have happened.”
I instantly went from sad to angry. It was one thing to dump someone, but another to say it was a mistake. “A mistake? You’re calling what happened between us a mistake?”
“It’s my fault.”
My hands flew to my hips. “You’re damn right it is. You know why? Because you wore me down. I wasn’t ready to go down this road—you chased me. Not to mention, I thought it was a bad idea to get involved with someone at work, the boss, no less.” I looked up and laughed maniacally. “Oh my freaking God. I did it again. Fell for a guy who is full of shit. Tell me, Merrick, is there a woman in your apartment, too? Because I left my phone downstairs, so you don’t have to worry about any video going viral, at least.” I shook my head. “Is that what this is? You were growing bored so you went back to fucking models? I mean, your neighbor would be convenient and seemed pretty interested.”
Merrick hung his head. “No one is inside. I’m sorry. It’s just… I can’t be in a relationship and be responsible for someone else.”
My neck pulled back. “Responsible for me? When did I ever ask you to be responsible for me? I’m an adult and perfectly capable of taking care of myself. Now you’re just pulling excuses out of your ass. You know what, you were right to begin with. This was a mistake. But the mistake was completely on my part. I should have never fallen for your shit. That’s what the mistake was.”
Merrick met my eyes, and I waited a few heartbeats. A small part of me held out hope that he’d apologize and say he was wrong. But realizing I was clinging to that hope only made me more upset. I needed to get the hell out of here.
So I spun around and pushed the button—ten times. Merrick didn’t seem to have moved from where he stood, though I couldn’t be sure since I didn’t turn back to check. Luckily, the elevator was super quick. I slipped inside before the doors had even finished opening. Pushing the button, I looked up at Merrick one last time. “You’re just like the rest of them.”
CHAPTER 28
Merrick
Three years ago
It had been three days with no change.
I stood back, watching the group of doctors who came by each day for their morning rounds. Dr. Rosen lifted one of Amelia’s eyes open and moved a pen light back and forth. First one, then the other. The frown gave me the answer before he even spoke.
“No change,” he said. “I’m sorry.”
I nodded.
He looked me up and down. “Have you left the hospital yet?”
“No.”
“It looks like this is going to be a long haul. You might want to consider getting some rest. If you don’t take care of yourself at the beginning of the marathon, you won’t make it the full distance.”
I nodded. “I don’t want to leave her alone in case she wakes up. Her friend is coming today, so maybe I’ll leave for a while then.”
Dr. Rosen lifted the iPad he always carried around and started to type into it. “I’d like to consider starting her on a course of methylphenidate. It’s a central nervous system stimulant. In some cases, it can help bring the person out of a coma. We’re not there yet, but it’s something for you to consider, maybe in a few more days if there are no new developments.”
“Okay… And that’s safe with the baby?”
“There’s a recent study that showed it to be relatively safe during pregnancy.”
“Relatively?”
“There are possible side effects with just about any medication. It’s rare, but medications in this class can cause heart defects in an unborn child, though what’s been studied is mostly the effects in the first trimester, which Amelia is past.”