Page 41 of The Wedding Driver
Tonya tilted her head.
The curtain slid open.
“What the hell are you doing, Victoria?” Foster shook his head. He had a bad feeling the moment she asked to spend the night. He knew it was too good to be true.
“Fuck you, Foster.” Victoria hobbled past him. “As if I’d stay another second in this hellhole. You manipulated me into coming here, and then you got your girlfriend in on it. I’m not staying. I’m certainly not going to stay at your place so you and your little friend can play house. So get out of my way.”
“At least wait for the antibiotics,” Tonya said. “You need them.”
“I’m not your problem and I’m leaving.” Victoria smirked.
“I’ll drive you,” Foster said.
“No. You won’t. I made a call to a friend while I was in there. Someone who actually understands me. They are meeting me at the front of the hospital.” Victoria limped a few more steps down the hallway.
“Your dealer, I suspect,” Foster mumbled.
“I’m not even going to respond.” Victoria kept walking.
“Are you just going to let her go?” Tonya asked.
“Yes.” Foster had learned a long time ago that there was only so much he could do. His therapist’s voice tickled his brain.
You’re not her keeper. It’s not your responsibility to keep her alive. You have to move beyond the past, live in the present, and think about the future.
He’d taken the horse to water, but she refused to drink.
“Wait,” the doctor called. “Here’s the antibiotic prescription. You should take this with food.”
“I’ll make sure she has food every day.” Foster glared at Victoria. “Let me give you a ride back to the village.”
“Victoria,” the doctor said. “If you come back here every day, I can give you something for the withdrawal. You shouldn’t drink while you’re on this medication. It’s not as effective. I also need you to keep that wound clean. If your fever doesn’t break or you don’t feel better in forty-eight hours, you must come back. This is no joke. You’re not in good shape. Do you understand me?”
Victoria nodded. “I don’t have any way of getting—”
“Foster and I will make sure you get here,” Tonya added.
“If I show up, I show up. Now let’s go. I got valuable stuff that we left behind.” Victoria refused the hand that Foster offered.
He wasn’t about to argue. Instead, he reached for Tonya’s. It felt natural. They fit together, making his heart come alive like it hadn’t in years. Actually, he wasn’t sure he’d ever experienced emotions this intense. This real. Part of him was terrified because while he always wanted Tonya in his life, it had been in the friend zone. He enjoyed her company. She made him laugh and if he needed an ear, she was there.
The intensity of how things changed had scared him and at first he needed time to process. He thought he knew where to take things, but seeing Victoria again showed him that he could never make Tonya happy and it was time to have the difficult conversation.
11
Tonya stared out the window as Foster pulled into the driveway next to the carriage house.
“I’m sorry the evening went sideways. Twice,” Foster said.
She chuckled. “I shouldn’t laugh. It wasn’t funny; it’s just how you said it.”
“My therapist constantly tells me that I need to lighten up about all this and have a better sense of humor.” He put the truck in park and shifted, catching her gaze. “She also tells me I need to find a way to let go.”
“I know it’s hard.”
He glanced at his watch. “It’s late and we’re both exhausted, but is it okay if I come in?”
“I was hoping you’d spend the night.”
