Page 36 of Thunderstruck
Huh. It’s funny how easy it is to see the red flags in a person when you’re looking backward.
“Okay,” Carissa says before I can respond to her opinion about my yard. “I said I would tell you about my rule and why I’m here.”She twists and curls one leg up so she’s facing me. “And I know this is going to sound hypocritical of me, but first I need you to promise that you won’t tell anyone what I’m about to tell you.”
Intrigued, I nod. But I also say, “Technically there’s no hypocrisy. Just you sharing things you’re not supposed to share.”
As pink blossoms across her cheeks, she rolls her eyes at me. “The Darcy/Tamlin thing wasn’t mine to share, but this thing is. I don’t want you to tell anyone because it’s mortifying.”
The urge to reach out and take hold of her hand comes on so suddenly that my fingers lift off my lap before I stop myself. I hate the idea of someone as sweet and bubbly as Carissa being so embarrassed, but we’re definitely not at a point in our friendship where I can try to offer comfort. I don’t even know if we’re friends.
I vaguely wonder if becoming friends with Carissa fulfills Freya’s expectation because Carissa is technically part of the team, but I push that thought aside and smile. “I’m better at keeping secrets than you’d think. I won’t tell anyone.” I tilt my head, too curious not to ask. “Do you believe me?”
She tilts her own head to match, just like she did earlier, and I can’t help but smile at the way she’s so easy to like. I was an idiot before now. “Is it weird if I say yes?”
“Probably.”
“Well, I do believe you.”
“Stranger things have happened.”
“Are we friends, Cole?”
The question settles warm in my chest, no matter how out of the blue it feels. The fact that she’s wondering the same thing I was makes this all easier to stomach. I don’t trust easily anymore, but I want to trust her. “Do you want to be my friend?” I ask.
She nods. “Even though you were mean to me.”
“I was awful.” Admitting as much hurts, but I think I’ve been doing okay tonight. I’ve been trying, anyway. “I’m sorry.”
Carissa smiles. “So we’re friends?”
“Yes.”
“In that case.” She heaves a deep sigh and then says everything all at once, in a single breath. “I fell in love with one of my patients and only found out he was married when our relationship became a scandal on local television because he was running for governor and someone took a picture of us on a date.”
Well there’s a sucker punch to the gut. I can’t find words to say so I sit here and gape at her like a fish, which is not the kind of reaction I’m sure she was hoping for. Only one rough word makes it out of my throat. “Oh.”
She ducks her head, letting her blonde curls fall around her face. “Yeah. It was kind of awful. He wanted our relationship to be a secret, and I thought it was because he was my patient, you know? That was bad enough. But then I found out about his wife and kids, and…” She presses her face into her hands. “I was such an idiot.”
This time, I can’t stop myself from reaching for her. I take a wrist in each hand, pulling her arms toward me until her face is free and she looks up with tear-filled eyes. “The only idiot in that situation was him.” My voice comes out more growly than I would like, but I can’t help it. Whoever this guy is, he needs a firm punch to the face. I hope his wife plans to leave him and find someone better.
Sniffling, Carissa looks down at my hands circling her tiny wrists. “I shouldn’t have fallen for him in the first—”
“Hey. Don’t do that to yourself. You didn’t do anything wrong.” But I frown as I think about everything else she’s told me. “Is that why you’re here? Why you left your physical therapist job?”
She nods. “They fired me because I was a liability and an embarrassment. And no one else in the state would hire me because Peter’scampaign team pushed all the blame on me. I’m lucky it wasn’t a big enough story to spread out of Pennsylvania.”
A curse slips out of me when I remember theHot Scooparticle that dropped this morning. If anyone figures out who Carissa is, they’re going to dig. And whoever runs that stupid website is good at doing their homework. If there was any news coverage about the scandal,Hot Scoopwill find it.
I need to make sure they don’t have a reason to dig.
“Forget what I said.” The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them, and I drop her hands, rising to my feet and putting as much distance between us as I can without stepping off the deck into the bushes. “I don’t need a ride.”
“But—”
“Just use the car, and I’ll get myself to practice.”
“Cole, what—”
“I’m not going to argue with you!” I snap, then flinch when I catch sight of her tears.Oops.
