Breaking Away (Assassins, #5)(16)
“Yeah, when do you have her again?” she repeated.
Harper gave her a look before answering, “Monday through Thursday next week.”
Reese thought for a moment.
“Does she go to school or something?”
Harper laughed. “Yes, Reese. She’s a sophomore at Belle Meade Private Academy.”
“Okay, bring her to the studio every day after school. I’m putting her on probation,” Reese said, reaching for her bag and throwing it over her shoulder.
“Does she want that?”
“Sure she does, she just doesn’t know it. Or, she does, and she is being a brat about it. She is amazing, Harp, like super good.”
“I’ve seen her.”
“Bring her.”
“If I can get her to come.”
Reese nodded before kissing both her and Ally on the cheek. With a goodbye, she left as her mind ran crazy with things she was going to have Claire do on Monday. She couldn’t wait; she only hoped that Harper could get Claire there. If she couldn’t, Reese would drive over here and get Claire herself. She may have let go of a dancer for a bad attitude but Claire was different. She didn’t want to be hateful; it was just a wall she hid behind. A wall that Reese planned to knock down.
It was that simple.
PHILLIP RAN his hands through his hair as he leaned back in his seat. Looking around the gray room, he let out a breath. Between him and Claire, he wasn’t sure who hated doctors’ offices more, but he was starting to think it was him. He felt like the walls were closing in, as he waited for Claire to get done with her session. Phillip wasn’t the most patient person. Add in the fact that everything about the doctor’s office aggravated him, and he wasn’t a happy person, but he still waited. This was for Claire. She needed this.
Pulling out his phone, he checked the time to see that he only had ten more minutes left to wait. They were going shopping for school clothes once they left, and then he would drop her off at Harper’s since he had to leave early to go to New York. Even though he wasn’t that stressed on the road anymore, since Claire wasn’t there screaming at him or trying to sleep with his teammates, he worried about her constantly. Harper reassured him that things were great, that she was quiet and polite, which he was sure was a lie. Claire, polite? Please. But even with the reassurance from Harper, he just couldn’t shake the feeling that Claire was going to take off.
It had a lot to do with the fact that she wouldn’t talk to him. He texted her constantly when he was gone, and all he got back was one word answers. When he picked her up after coming home from California, he asked how it was at Harper’s. She just shrugged her shoulders and said it was fine. That was all he got out of her. It was frustrating as hell, but he had noticed that in the three days since coming home, she hadn’t yelled at him once. They had gone to dinner, hung out, and she was actually civil, but every conversation he tried to have with her was one sided.
Letting out a sigh, he opened the Facebook app on his phone to read his friends’ statuses. When a picture of Rebecca Hartwit, one of his bedmates, came on the screen, he smiled. She was wearing hardly anything and posing in a way that had him shifting in his seat. He hadn’t been laid in months, and he was so tired while they were on the road trip that he didn’t call anyone over. He had females in every city and loved spending the night with them, but lately, Phillip had been emotionally and physical tired. It was very unusual, since nothing kept him from sex before. He blamed it all on Claire.
Nothing like an angry teenager to make a man’s dick not work.
It was depressing, but it was his life. Really, all he cared about was getting Claire help. This was their first time to Dr. Haley, and that was the main reason Phillip was fidgeting in his seat. He had been taking Claire to another doctor in town, but Claire hated him, and refused to go there anymore. Elli suggested Dr. Haley and, when Phillip met her, he felt good about her. She honestly looked like someone that could crack through the walls of his niece, and he ignored the fact that he wanted to f*ck her. It was against his normal MO but hey, it was all about Claire these days.
When the door opened, he glanced up to see Claire coming out with Dr. Haley behind her. Claire wore her regular ‘I hate life’ expression, while Dr. Haley smiled widely at him in a way that told him she wanted him. Standing up and smoothing out the front of his shirt, he smiled.
“How’d it go?” he asked, but Claire ignored him and went for the door. He watched her leave and let out a frustrated breath before turning to give the hot doctor a strained smile. “Not good?”
She smiled.
“It’s gonna take time. She really is lovely.”
“Lovely?”
She laughed at his surprised expression before placing her hand on his bicep. He looked down at her hand and then smiled as his eyes met hers. Man, he’d love to f*ck her. She had naughty little glasses that sat low on her nose, long blonde hair, a great body, and bright green eyes. Her eyes widened before she dropped her hand and cleared her throat.
Looking away, she said, “Yes, everything is going to work out. See you next week. Stay strong.”
She turned quickly and disappeared behind the door. With a sigh, he sent a grin at the receptionist, but she ignored him, before heading out after Claire. Finding her leaning against his car, he hit the unlock button so she could get in. Getting in the car himself, he started it before asking, “How did it go? You okay with Dr. Haley?”