Leo's Chance(14)

I’m staring at her, my eyes narrowed. Jesus, she lives in her own world. "Lauren, you’re delusional. I never fell in love with you. You were supposed to be a MOM to me. The sooner you get that through your head that I NEVER loved you, the easier it will be on both of us. This is not productive. You need to leave. If you won’t give me the call button then I’m going to start yelling. You need to hear me for once in your self-absorbed life."

She’s quiet a minute, then shakes her head. "No, you don’t know what you’re saying. They have you on so much medication. You’re not thinking straight. One more time between us and you’d remember why we belong together. Remember it, Jake? Those nights in your room..."

I feel myself shutting down now. "I used to sneak down to your liquor cabinet afterwards and do four shots of bourbon just so I could fall back to sleep, Lauren. What does that tell you?" I had done it instead of the alternative, which was crying like a bitch, so confused and horrified over my body’s betrayal.

She laughs. "I was thinking of you, too. It was hard for me to sleep, too, honey."

That’s not what I meant but she’s too self-involved to realize that. I pause for only a second. "MISSY! SUSAN!" I yell at the top of my lungs for the nurses who are on duty right now as Lauren startles at my sudden, booming voice. I hate feeling helpless in the presence of this woman, calling for my nurses like I’m a child. But I refuse to spend another second with her, especially like this, unable to move, like a fly in her spider web.

"Oh stop, Jake. Fine, I’m leaving." She stands up, but instead of stepping back, she leans forward and plants her mouth on mine, licking my closed lips, trying to gain entrance. Before I can make a move, the door flies open and Missy and Dr. Fox stand there staring at us. Lauren steps back, wiping her mouth and smiles brightly at me. "Don’t forget to put me back on the visitors list, Jake. I’ll be back soon." Then she breezes out, leaving all three of us staring after her.

Missy comes over to me and asks me if I’m okay, her eyes skittering away from mine when I look up at her. Obviously she saw my "mom" trying to make out with me in my hospital bed. Jesus. I grit my teeth in humiliation and shame. "I don’t know how she got past us, Jake. We were all sitting right at the front desk. I’m so sorry," she says quietly.

"It’s not your fault, Missy," I say. When that woman wants something, she uses any means necessary. Missy takes my vitals and then tells me she’ll check on me in a couple hours, walking out and closing the door behind her.

Dr. Fox hasn’t moved from the spot by the door. He’s frowning at me as he walks over and sits down in the chair next to my bed.

"Hey Doc, do you mind if we re-schedule? I’m not feeling real up for talking right now."

"It seems to me that this might be a really good time to talk," he says gently.

I shake my head. "No, really. I’m not up for it. Plus, I’m not feeling very well. I need to sleep. I have another surgery scheduled for tomorrow morning…"

He’s quiet for a moment, pursing his lips. "Okay, son." He puts his hand on my shoulder and I flinch slightly. He removes it and looks at me for another moment before moving away.

"I’ll check on you tomorrow afternoon after your surgery. We can re-schedule a session for early next week, okay? But you call me if you want to talk sooner than that."

I nod blankly. I’m just so damn tired. I want to be alone. I want to sleep.

He walks to the door and looks back at me one last time. He looks as if he’s struggling with himself over something.

As he closes the door behind him, I hear a familiar voice in the hall. Preston. He told me he’d visit me this week when he was in town for some meetings in the San Diego office. I’ve been slowly trying to get back to work, participating in some conference calls and going over reports on my laptop. I have so much to do to get myself up to speed enough to start running things in Cincinnati.

But I can’t even think about that now. I feel overwhelmed, weak, sickened.

The voices trail away down the hall, growing quieter. Dr. Fox must have told him I wasn’t up for company. Thank God. I’m not. I close my eyes, letting the depression that Lauren’s presence always evokes wash over me. I fall into a restless sleep.





CHAPTER 10


As soon as I get a break at work the next day, I call Evie. I need to see her. I feel an overwhelming need to hear her voice, just to remind myself that this is not a dream. She’s back in my life. She doesn’t answer and so I shoot her a text message.

Just as I’m heading into a board meeting, my phone rings and I see that it’s her. I stop walking and move to the side of the hallway outside the conference room. "Evie."

"Hi, Jake," she says, sounding a little unsure. I exhale. God, just to hear her voice feels so damn good.

"Listen, I'm running into a meeting so I can only talk for a minute but I'd like to take you to dinner tonight."

"Oh," she says, sounding surprised. "Um, I–"

"Evie, it's a yes or yes question," I say jokingly.

I hear the smile in her voice as she says, "I – yes, that will work."

Thank God. I grin. "Great. I'll pick you up at seven."