You Will Be Mine (Forever and Ever #7)(47)

“I do,” he said quickly. “But I don’t want to blow it on rent when I don’t know when I’ll be making more.”

I nodded in agreement.

“So, how’s saving lives?”

I went into a detailed account of my life at Stanford. Slade seemed bored most of the time but he listened anyway, knowing I needed the support.

“Cool,” he said. “Have any of your patients died?”

“Not yet, thankfully.”

“Will you be kicked out if they do?”

“No,” I said immediately. “We aren’t given critical patients until further down the road.”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

The tab came and Slade paid it.

“Let’s split it.”

“I got it, man.” Slade left the cash in the sleeve.

“Slade, you don’t have to baby me,” I said firmly. “I’m okay.”

“You don’t look okay,” he said bluntly.

Sometimes I hated having a best friend. It was impossible to hide anything. “I’m hanging in there…”

He nodded. “So…are you seeing anyone?”

I laughed even though it was an inappropriate response. “No.”

“You aren’t…fooling around with someone?”

“No,” I said immediately. “You know that isn’t me.”

He nodded then looked away.

“Why do you ask?”

“Just curious.” He became quiet and cut off.

He was acting odd. He wouldn’t look at me and he was tense. Why was he being weird?

“Ready to head out?” he asked.

“Yeah…”

We headed to my car then drove back to my apartment. My mind was thinking about Slade’s odd behavior. When we pulled into the parking lot and I killed the engine, it hit me.

Skye was seeing someone.

He was hoping I was seeing someone so the blow wouldn’t hurt so much. Thinking about Skye moving on and forgetting about me was nauseating. I wanted to blow my brains out just to escape the pain.

Getting out of the car and walking to the apartment was harder than it ever had been. I just wanted to fall to the ground and curl into a ball. I couldn’t believe how pathetic I was. Why did Skye still affect me like this? Why did I still love her? She betrayed me in the worst way possible, and my heart still beat for hers.

When we reached the top of the stairs, Slade sat down. “Let’s sit out here for a moment.”

I stilled, realizing he was about to drop everything on me. I took a deep breath then sat beside him, feeling sick to my stomach. I wasn’t ready to face reality, to hear about Skye and her happy life.

Slade was silent beside me, staring into the night. His pleasant mood was gone, replaced by a solemn silence.

I decided to make the first move. “She’s seeing someone, isn’t she?”

Slade turned his head toward me. “Why do you ask?”

“Is she?” I pressed.

“No.”

When I breathed a sigh of relief, I felt shame. I shouldn’t care. I wasn’t supposed to.

“You still love her?” he asked quietly.

I didn’t look at him. “Would you judge me if I said yes?”

“I would never judge you, man.”

“Then what do you want to tell me?” I asked.

“What makes you think I want to talk about anything?”

I rested my arms on my knees. “Because we’re sitting outside in a stairwell.”

He didn’t deny it. He rubbed the back of his neck while he gathered his thoughts.

“Just tell me,” I whispered. “You can’t hurt me more than I already am.”

Slade stared at the night sky for a while then rubbed his knuckles together. “I’ve been dreading this conversation because I have no idea how you’ll take it. If it’s anything like my reaction, you’ll be livid.”

My pulse sped up.

Slade kept trying to find the right words. He would open his mouth to speak then abruptly close it again.

“It’s okay,” I said. “Just blurt it out.”

He took a deep breath. He closed his eyes as he said it. “Skye didn’t cheat on you.”

I stilled and listen to the echo of his words. I wasn’t sure if I heard it right. Did I just hallucinate it? Did my deepest and darkest wish come to the surface and I pretended he said the words I longed to hear? “Sorry?”

He said it again. “Skye didn’t cheat on you. She lied.”

My chest rose and fell quickly. My pulse hammered in my ears. Air was suddenly hard to come by. I felt elated but sick at the same time. My brain hurt. A migraine was forming. My heart was fluttering, treasuring the idea that she didn’t hurt me. “I…why do you say that?”

“Trinity told me. She said they staged everything so you would believe it.” He stared at his hands while he spoke. “Skye was determined to make you go to Stanford and she decided to do anything to see that through—even hurt you.”

I stood up even though I had nowhere to go. I just needed to move. I gripped the rail then relived my last conversation with Skye.

It was all a lie.

There was never anyone else.