Page 61 of Enemies to Lovers

I blink. Twice. Then a third time. His voice fuzzes in my ear, and I beg my brain to pay attention.

I did it. It’s mine. Years and years of hard work, of anxious testing and nervous studying. Clawing my way up the ladder, pushing that damn rock, or whatever other metaphor there is… This is the payoff.

I wait for the elation, the relief, the pride… something, anything. But I’m hollow. My stomach is empty, my heart missing. This is what I wanted. This is the validation I craved, yearned for…

And it’s not enough.

“Miles?” Dr. Goff says, lifting his brow. Amusement sparkles in his eyes as I come to. “What do you think of that?”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Sorry… of what?”

He chuckles, resting his hands on his desk again. “I wanted to run the internship a little differently next year. I was hoping you’d be my onsite vet at the Humane Society.”

It’s better than the internship. Better than I could’ve ever asked for. I get to stay with those animals, treat them, work under my idol in the field.

And I’m still empty as hell.

“I… Thank you.”

He sits back. “Thankyou.You’ve been one of the top candidates, and throughout the semester, you proved why you were such a contender. I look forward to working with you.”

I nod, my throat thick. He gives me details that he says he’ll send in an email, and I officially start in two weeks… enough time to get the shelter on board with the movement. The details go in my ear and fuzz in my brain, and I mumble my way through.

Hazel and Hunter catch my attention out of the corner of my eye. They’re sitting at the small table in my kitchen, slurping noodles and chatting. It’s no different from any other time they’ve done this, but that’s what I crave. That empty feeling isn’t going away; the person I want to share this with is the one person I worry about telling the most.

And it’s not because of her reaction. She’ll be happy for me; I know that.

But… I want this forher. I want to see her dreams come true, that victorious grin I used to loathe so much. I want to see her in Dr. Goff’s clinic, visit her on breaks, talk shop with her over Noodles n’ Company with Hershey and Brewster playing in the next room.

Suddenly, I can’t get off the call fast enough. My legs bounce under my elbows, anxious to pick me up and carry me out the door.

“Thank you for this opportunity,” I say when Dr. Goff asks if there are any questions I have. “But… Would it be all right if I have a day to think about it?”

His brows rise. “Of course. Will you let me know officially by tomorrow? I will need an answer quickly.”

“Yes.”

“Great. I look forward to it.”

“Thank you.”

We say our goodbyes, and I shut the laptop and push to my feet.

Hunter’s chair scrapes against the tile floor. “How’d it go?”

I’m already halfway out the door. “Later,” I tell him, snagging Hershey’s leash. She’ll smell Brewster on me and give me the cold shoulder if I don’t take her. I whistle, and she bounds upstairs. I hook her up and give my brother and Hazel a wave. “Don’t eat my mac n’ cheese!”

There’s one person who needs this news first, the one person I owe it all to, and I pray she believes every word I want to say.

“Oh my gosh, thank you.Thank you.”

Dr. Goff grins on the other end of my screen, and we say our goodbyes. I close my laptop and happy dance across the living room.

What. A. Relief.

I’ve chewed my damn thumbnail to the nub with all the stress. Thank heavens I can let it grow out again.

Brewster runs up and down my staircase, and I grab his lobster and toss it to the top of the stairs. He races after it, his thundering paws rattling the railing. My smile stretches wider, and I make a list in my head of all the things I need to do. It’s going to be a busy summer, but I’m so ready for it.

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