5 Bikers for Valentines

His words hit me like a slap in the face. I felt my blood boil and my face flush. I’d never felt this angry in my life. Not only was he lying to me about the painkillers, but he was practically calling me a slut. I couldn’t stand to look at him anymore.

I cranked the engine and sped out of the parking lot without another word.

“Where the hell are we going now?” he asked.

“I’m taking you home,” I said without emotion. “And then I’m going to call Dr. McGee and make sure he doesn’t give you another prescription.”

“You’re fucking insane,” Caleb said through gritted teeth.

“Maybe,” I said. “But I’m also a trained medical professional. Contrary to what you might think, this is my job, Caleb. As for everything else, well, you won’t have to worry about that anymore.”

Caleb sat back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest. He’d never been one for confrontation. Fights always escalated quickly when he was around, so he tried to avoid them. With me, that wasn’t a problem. I wasn’t afraid to fight with him, to yell at him, to tell him what I thought.

Caleb insisted he wasn’t using, but I didn’t believe him. It was the only answer that made sense. Adults didn’t just lose their painkillers twice in a row. That didn’t happen. He must be making an excuse to cover the fact that he’d been abusing his drugs. I couldn’t believe I’d been stupid enough to miss it all this time.

We pulled up outside his apartment, and I slammed on the brakes. Caleb looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to speak. I didn’t. I just stared back at him until his anger propelled him out of the car.

He threw open the door and marched away from me, not bothering to look back. I sat in my car for a few minutes, seething, before I put the car in drive and drove straight to the hospital. I didn’t know why Caleb was using or why he would lie about it, but I wasn?

?t about to let it happen. Not for another second.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE - CALEB

Tara and I didn’t speak until my PT session later that week. I thought about calling her a thousand times, but I refused to give in to that desire. She accused me of abusing my drugs. Again. I couldn’t just forgive that, not after everything we’d been through together. I felt certain that Tara, unlike everyone else, knew me well enough to know I would never do something like that. It wasn’t me. And yet, she flew off the handle. She even talked to Dr. McGee, which lead to an extremely awkward phone call later that day.

Dr. McGee insisted I go in to see a psychiatrist. He too was worried about my drug use. I swore at him and told him Tara was wrong. He didn’t believe me, so I told him to cancel the prescription. I wasn’t about to see some shrink on top of everything else. I wasn’t abusing my pills. I really did lose them. But that didn’t matter. The only thing I could do to prove myself was go off the painkillers completely. So I did. By the time my PT session rolled around, I’d been living off Tylenol for three days.

I walked through the doors of the PT building and immediately saw Tara waiting for me on the far side of the room. She was standing behind the weight bench with her clipboard in her hand. My stomach dropped when I saw her. She looked gorgeous. I was still angry with her, but God, I missed her so damn much. Her long, blonde hair fell loosely over her shoulders in soft waves, and when she lifted her eyes to meet my gaze, I forgot how to breathe. It had been three days since I was pierced with those pale blue eyes. I could barely control myself as I moved closer to her.

“Hey,” she said weakly. “I wasn’t sure you were going to make it.”

“I can’t miss PT sessions, remember?” My voice was tight.

“Yeah.” She nodded and cleared her throat. “Well, let’s get you started with some stretches, then we’ll move to the bench.”

“Okay.”

I got down on the mat table and stretched out my leg. Tara sat beside me and watched, making verbal adjustments. She never touched me. I saw her fingers twitch a few times, but she always stopped herself before she came too close.

“That’s great,” she said. “Do you want to try the fives today?”

“Tens,” I said with confidence. Tara looked at me nervously. “I’m ready.”

She nodded and loaded up the bench. I tucked my foot beneath the padded area and lifted. My leg tensed at first but after a few reps, it loosened up. I could feel myself strengthening as I breezed through the session. My leg ached when I was finished, but it was a good ache, the kind that told me I’d just kicked serious ass.

“That was great,” Tara said softly. “How’s your pain?”

Her eyes met mine, and I knew she was thinking about my pills. I felt my stomach tighten with anger as I stared at her. I hoped she would have realized her mistake by now, but that obviously wasn’t going to happen.

“I’m only taking Tylenol,” I said sharply. “I had Dr. McGee cancel the prescription.”

“Oh,” she said. “Why?”

“Because I wasn’t lying, Tara. I haven’t been abusing the damn pills and if going off them completely is what it takes for you to believe me, then that’s what I’ll do.”

She stared at me with wide eyes. I could see the emotions swimming behind them, but she didn’t say a word.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” I demanded. “It’s been weeks, and you’re still distant. You’re picking fights about stupid shit. I’m not an idiot. I know there’s something you aren’t telling me.”