Page 231 of Toxic Temptation
I should have put Pavel on Vesper duty yesterday instead of Osip. I love Osip like a brother, but he gets distracted by hospital gossip and pretty nurses. He’s also failed to submit his written report from yesterday, which means he’s either forgotten or he’s avoiding me.
The fact that he tried calling three times last night suddenly feels more significant.
“Waylen can take you to the park today,” Vesper tells Luka, finally looking up from her phone to ruffle his hair. “He just texted. He’ll be here in a few minutes. Go get ready, okay?”
“Okay,” Luka says. But his disappointment is obvious.
The boy’s mood has become directly tied to Vesper’s over the past few weeks. When she’s happy, he lights up. When she’s distant like this, he deflates. It’s another thing to add to my growing list of concerns about how attached they’ve both become to each other.
Another thing to add to my own list of dependencies I can’t afford.
I try calling Osip while Vesper moves to the coffee station to fill her travel mug. Straight to voicemail.
When I corner Vesper by the coffee machine, her entire body goes rigid.
“Are you sure everything’s alright?” I ask. “Because you seem off today.”
She pours coffee into her mug without turning around. It’s like a robot is operating her limbs. She’s stiff. Mechanical.
“You’re not the only one who’s allowed to be distant and withdrawn, Kovan,” she says quietly. “Or is that also part of the deal I signed up for?”
My eyebrows climb toward my hairline. “You’re angry.”
She turns around, but her eyes stay hooded and low. Her jaw is clenched, her mouth pressed into a thin line.
She’s not just angry.
She’sfurious.
“What do I have to be angry about, Kovan?” she spits sarcastically. “Go ahead. Tell me. Tell me more about how I feel.”
“Did something happen yesterday?”
“You could say that.” She brushes past me toward the door. “Excuse me. I have to go. There are things at the hospital I need to take care of.”
She stalks out with her travel mug, leaving me standing there like an idiot. I try Osip’s number again as I follow her outside.
Still nothing.
By the time I reach the driveway, Vesper is already hurling her bag into the car.
“Vesper, wait.”
Her shoulders tense up at the sound of my voice. “Please, Kovan. Not now. I’m late for a board meeting I absolutely cannot miss.”
“A board meeting? Since when do you attend board meetings?”
“Since I called one yesterday.” She busies herself with something in the backseat. “I’ve been passive for far too long. Time to take a stand. Onallfronts.”
I don’t like the sound of that one fucking bit.
“Why won’t you look me in the eye?”
That does it. She whirls around, and for the first time in days, her blue eyes lock onto mine. They’re blazing with an anger so intense it actually makes me take a step back.
“Are you serious?” she hisses. “Youhaven’t lookedmein the eye for a week. Not since the shooting. Even though I apologized over and over?—”
“I told you, you don’t need to apologize. I was never mad at you. What happened that night was my fault. I let you convince me that going out was safe when I knew better.”
