Bad Seed

The only thing that kept me somewhat focused was my building headache. It started in my temples five minutes after Tyler left, but it had grown in strength as the night wore on. I sat beside Caleb, talking and laughing and trying to ignore the pain.

“I still can’t believe we did that,” I said, laughing as Caleb reminded me of the time we snuck into our high school gym at midnight. “We were idiots.”

“That wasn’t even the worst thing I ever did,” Caleb said. “That was so fucking tame compared to everything else.”

“It was a big deal for me,” I said. “That was the first time I ever broke the rules.”

“You were such a good girl back then,” Caleb said smirking. “What the hell happened to you?”

“You.” I laughed. “You were a terrible influence.”

“I just taught you how to live,” Caleb said. “Got you out of your shell a little bit.”

“Yeah,” I nodded, my eyes locking on his. Caleb’s face was inches from my own. I could smell his sweet breath, and it was more intoxicating than the beer.

“God, I missed you,” Caleb said his voice low.

I leaned forward without thinking. Caleb cupped my cheek and kissed me. His lips were magical as they danced over mine. Everything faded. My headache disappeared. The only thing that existed was that one kiss. I moved closer, sliding my body against his and sighing against his lips.

When his tongue traced my bottom lip, I moaned and shivered, my entire body silently begging him to take me. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think.

Then, I came back to my senses, and I pulled away quickly. My head swam, and soon, my headache was back in full force. I stared at Caleb, shock and disappointment on his face. I sighed and shook my head.

“Tara,” Caleb said.

“I should go.” I jumped to my feet and flew out the door before Caleb could say another word. My head was pounding as I ran toward my car.

I cranked the engine and pulled out of the parking lot, desperate to put as much distance between Caleb and me as possible. While I drove, I knew I needed advice. Being around Caleb again was fucking with my mind. I had no idea how to handle this, so I called my best friend and hoped she would know what to tell me.

“Stephanie,” I said when she answered. “I just kissed Caleb.”

“What the fuck, Tara?” Stephanie said, frustration in her voice. “Are you kidding?”

“No,” I said. “I don’t know how it happened. I went to his apartment to go over his at-home treatment, and there was a party, and then everyone left, and it happened.”

Stephanie groaned into the phone. She and I had been best friends most of our lives. She was around when I first met Caleb, so she knew everything about our relationship. More than anyone, Stephanie knew how badly Caleb had broken my heart.

“I thought you were going to keep your distance,” Stephanie said. “Isn’t that what you told me?”

“That was the plan,” I said weakly. “I don’t know what happened, Steph.”

“You two just can’t be trusted together.” Stephanie sighed. “How do you feel about it? Do you want it to happen again?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “He’s my patient. It can’t happen again.”

“Patient my ass,” Stephanie said. “You didn’t care that he was your step brother, so why should patient matter?”

“This is my job,” I said. “It’s serious.”

“I know,” Stephanie said. “Which is why you need to pull yourself together and get a fucking grip. You can’t do this, Tara. You can’t lose yourself in this boy all over again. You just can’t.”

“I know,” I said. She was right. Her advice was harsh but also exactly what I needed to hear. No matter what happened with Caleb, I’d worked hard to get where I was. My career was just getting started, and I couldn’t let my feelings for Caleb cloud my judgment.

“It’s going to be okay,” Stephanie said. “I know how much he means to you. If things keep going like this, maybe you should have someone else take over his case.”

“I tried that,” I said.

“Try again,” Stephanie insisted.