She greeted Cade in the same way, and from the way they talked, it sounded like they’d already spoken. “Would you like anything to drink?” she asked me, and when I shook my head, she waved her arm toward the door she’d just walked out of. “Shall we head into my office then?”
I glanced up at Cade and squeezed his hand harder. I didn’t want him to come in with me, but I also didn’t want to be alone. Alone was a scary place to be right then.
“I’ll wait right here, and if you need me, I’ll come to you, okay?”
“Okay.” I let his hand go, wincing when our fingers disconnected. He had been anchoring me, and now I was drowning. I felt like I couldn’t quite catch my breath as I followed Dr. Bay down the hallway and past two doors. She went into the third one, and although my steps were slow, I didn’t stop.
It would have been so easy to sit in her office and give her some bullshit story about what happened, but I wouldn’t do it. I’d tell her the truth about last night. I’d tell her how I felt because, at this stage, if I didn’t accept the help I was offered, I wasn’t sure I’d survive the next year.
* * *
CADE
My leg shook as I bobbed my foot up and down, my gaze fixated on the clock on the wall. Forty minutes had gone by in the blink of an eye, and now we were about to hit the sixty-minute mark. I wasn’t sure if it was a good or bad thing she’d been in there for so long.
The longer she was in there, the more she talked, but the longer it took Dr. Bay to come to a conclusion. I was scared to death that Dr. Bay would say she had no idea what was happening. After I’d called her this morning and talked to her, she was confident she could help. I just hoped it was true.
My cell buzzed in my pocket, signaling a call, and I pulled it out, hitting the answer call button without looking at the screen.
“Yeah?”
“Where are you?” Willow screeched. “Where are you right now?”
My nostrils flared, and I ground my teeth together at her demanding tone. She had no fuckin’ right talking to me like that, and right then, all I wanted to do was tell her to go and fuck herself and end the call.
“Out,” I grunted, staring at the door Aria and Dr. Bay had walked through an hour ago.
“With who?” When I didn’t answer her right away, she continued, “My mom said she saw you with a girl a couple of hours ago. Is that true?”
I ran my hand over my face and my hair, then let my head drop forward. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Tell me where you are, I’m coming to you right now. And I swear to god, if you’re with her, we’re over. Which means you’re over. You’ll be done, Cade. Do you hear me? Done.”
The creak of a door sounded out, and I whipped my head up to see Dr. Bay smiling over at me. “She’d like you to come and see her now.”
I stood and darted across the waiting room.
“Who was that? What the hell is going on, Cade?” Willow shouted down the line.
“I’ll be there in a second,” I told Dr. Bay, holding the door open and then watching as she walked away and into a door on the right. “Look, I’m visiting a friend who is in the hospital, okay? I’ve got to go, they’re letting me in now.”
“What?”
“I said I’ve got to go, I shouldn’t even be using my cell.”
“What’s your friend’s name? What happened to them?” Willow asked, talking a mile a minute.
“I gotta go,” I grunted and ended the call. I couldn’t worry about what she would or wouldn’t do, not when Aria needed me. I pocketed my cell, ambled down the hallway, and knocked on the door Dr. Bay had gone through.
“Come in!” she shouted. Inhaling a deep breath, I pushed the door open and stepped into the room. I didn’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t the modern warmth the office was decorated in. The gray walls held paintings, and a desk sat in the far corner. But it was Aria sitting on a dark-gray sofa that pulled my attention. “Take a seat,” the doctor said, indicating next to Aria.
I closed the door behind me and stepped forward, nearly stumbling when Aria’s turned to me, and I saw the tears streaming down her face. “Baby,” I croaked out, reaching for her as I sat on the sofa. “What happened?”
“I…” She shook her head. “I’m just…it’s hard.”
I grasped her hand in mine and nodded as if I understood, but I didn’t. I’d never be able to understand how she felt.
“I asked you to come in here, Cade, so I can get a rounder picture of everything,” Dr. Bay started. “Usually, in cases like this, it’s better to get both the patient’s feelings and understandings of what is going on, but also those who are around them regularly.” She smiled at me. “Would it be okay if I asked you some questions?”