Page 96 of The Potter

“Oh, you do?” Mrs. Adams seems shocked.

“Dr. Potter recently revised some scars for me. It was something I had wanted for a very long time.”

“And did it make you feel better?” She shakes her head. “Don’t answer that. I’m sorry. I just worry about my daughter’s confidence. If I’m doing the right thing by bringing her here.”

Taking her hand, I squeeze. “The right thing isn’t always clear, but in my opinion, you can’t go wrong with following your heart.”

I wipe away a tear as my statement hits me straight in the chest.

Follow my heart.

Is that what I want to do? Stay here with Vance instead of head to California?

Before I can truly consider the thought, my phone buzzes in my pocket. “Excuse me,” I tell Mrs. Adams, thinking it could be Vance finally calling.

I stand, already walking away when I answer. “Hello, Vance?”

“We did it, Hal! You have an audition!”

Kristen’s voice immediately has me sighing. “Hi, Kristen.” I try to force some enthusiasm into the call, but it comes out sounding more tired than anything.

“Uh, hello. Are you serious right now, Hal? I call and tell you to pack your bags, that I scored you an audition, and you answer me like a depressed chipmunk. What’s going on? I thought you would be happy now that you’re days away from being released with your hot new body!”

Kristen has a way of making people think she’s downed gallons of caffeine when she’s on the phone. Her voice is always high-pitched, and she spits out her sentences at lightning speed.

“I am happy!” I lie, this time faking it a little better. “You just caught me at a weird time.” Which is completely true. “When’s the audition?”

“That’s more like it! The audition is set for Tuesday at 2:00 pm.”

The door to the office opens, and I expect Astor’s next patient.

Instead, I’m met with the angry eyes of Dr. Potter. “Uh, I gotta go, Kristen. Text me the details.”

Hanging up—I’ll apologize to Kristen later—I hurry to catch Vance, when Duke grabs my arm and pulls me to a halt. “Don’t. Just let him go.”

Turns out, Duke was being literal.

Vance

“Are you going to tell me how the deposition went, or should I just wait for you to get drunker and blurt it out?”

I lift the glass of bourbon to my lips and down the rest of the glass in front of Astor, who decided to barge into my office like an inconsiderate asshole. “If I’d wanted a babysitter, I would have asked for one with tits.”

Astor lets out this whistle that, if I were sober, would be annoying. “The mouth on you tonight… good thing I had Duke take Halle home. Otherwise, she might come to her senses and leave your pathetic ass.”

I laugh out a bitter sound. “Halle’s come to the end of her recovery. She doesn’t need another excuse to leave me. Our relationship is done.”

Even if it wasn’t, if Halle ever found out what was said at today’s deposition, she’d leave me without hesitation. Suspecting you love a monster is different fromknowingyou love a monster. Who am I kidding? Halle doesn’t love me. All of this—the job, the surgery, the recovery—was all so she could move on with her life. She never planned on staying in Texas. I’m merely a pitstop on the road to a new her.

“Vance.”

Astor lets out a deep groan that, if I didn’t know him better, would make me think he’s tired. But Astor is rarely tired. He survives on little sleep.

“Let me help you. Let me be your big brother here.”

Standing, I pour another glass of bourbon. I don’t bother with the two-finger shit. I want a whole fucking glass. “I don’t need a big brother right now, Astor. Go home.”

“I’m not going home until you tell me what happened at the deposition that put you in this state.”

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