Page 75 of The End of Me

He smirks. “Obviously. I called other people to fill in for you.”

“Derek—”

“The words you’re looking for are thank you.”

No, they aren’t. I… I open my mouth and close it. “I’m grateful, but—”

“Someone has to look after you, Piper. I’m beginning to think that you live away from your family just so they don’t see how poorly you treat yourself.”

I shake my head. “No, the plan has always been to live here until my thirties and then…”

“You go back to Seattle?”

I nod because the plan was to have babies and then return to our family so they could grow up with… Is Archer ever coming back?

“Plans change, life throws you a few surprises, and you adjust. I’m sure it doesn’t feel like things will get better, but have a little faith,” he says.

“It’s hard,” I mumble.

“Why don’t we eat upstairs?” He shows me the takeout bag. “Bring two glasses unless you want to drink out of the bottle.”

I should go home, but I can’t. I hate to admit that I need this. I need Derek’s company.

We eaton his side of the rooftop. I find myself talking about Tucker. He and Sage are expecting a little boy. I might be going to Seattle to stay with them for a couple of months so I can help with Mae. I won’t stay in their house, but I’ll be close to them.

Derek believes that we can find staff to cover for me so I can begin to travel and visit my family more. I can’t argue since he was able to run the practice without me for an entire evening. If we hire the right people, we can make it happen.

I pull out my phone to show him part of my family. Mostly the little ones. I like Derek a lot, but I’m not ready to tell him about the Deckers.

“Your niece is adorable,” he says after I play the video Tucker sent me yesterday.

“Mae is the most amazing toddler in the world. I can’t wait to meet her little brother.” I hug the phone to my chest. “What’s happening with your sister?”

“We need more than wine to discuss her.” Derek rolls his eyes. His sister is driving him crazy. She’s always calling to ask for money. Her lawyer quit last month.

I point toward the side of my rooftop. “You can always go for more bottles. You left your single malt last weekend. We have everything for you, even hard liquor.”

He rolls his eyes. I guess he knows I’m not going to let this go unanswered. “She finally convinced our father to help her out. I’m not even sure what he will do for her.”

“You’re concerned, aren’t you?”

“I’m trying not to be, but it’s almost impossible. My family is terrible. Well, except for the youngest, Benedict. He ran away from home when he turned eighteen. A buddy of mine got him into a program at Stanford.”

“You two get along?”

He shakes his head. “Only during birthdays and holidays.”

I shiver. “I can’t imagine not being close to my family.”

He gives me an ‘are-you-shitting-me?’ glare. “You live far away from them.”

“We talk, text, and video call daily. Mom might not have me next to her, but she knows what’s happening with me.”

He arches an eyebrow. “Including the fact that you overwork yourself? If I contact them, would they know you lost your shit for a couple of days?”

“She wouldn’t be surprised. It’s part of my DNA. My parents are overachievers. One of them had four jobs at one time, including a t-shirt company.” I grin because Pa still has a few in storage, and they’re pretty awesome. “Speaking of overdoing stuff, I was thinking about expanding the practice. We should talk about it next week.”

“You’re still out of it, aren’t you? We just talked about adding more therapists.”

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