Room For More(65)
“Well, we’re just going to have to meet up often to swap stories, then.” I smiled at her.
“Definitely.” She smirked at me. “Maybe we can go on a double date sometime.”
“Ooooh. Double date? Who’s the lucky guy?”
She batted her eyes at me as a devilish grin spread across her face. “Let’s just say he has a giant snake.”
Realization washed over me and my mouth fell open. “Viper? I thought you said that was a one-time thing?”
“It was supposed to be.” She shrugged. “But he texted me and I couldn’t stay away. That boy can lick the bark off a tree.”
“Okay, okay. I get it.” I scrunched my eyes closed and held my hands up, not wanting to hear anymore. “For what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re happy. And I would love to go on a double date, assuming…”
“You’ll still be together,” Darla said softly, reaching over and putting her arm around me. “He’s just angry. He’ll get over this. You guys will be just fine. Want me to ask Viper to tell him to call you?”
“Sure.” I laughed. “Maybe Viper can pass him a note in homeroom to meet me in the science lab after the assembly. I appreciate it, but no, thanks. I got myself into this, I’ll get myself out.”
“Speaking of getting themselves in and out of trouble…” I looked up at her as she nodded down the hallway. I followed her gaze and saw Zach walking toward us.
“Hey, guys.” He waved as he walked up. “Kacie, can I talk to you?”
I nodded and offered him a polite smile. “Sure.” I turned toward Darla and whispered quietly, “I’ll be right back. Cover for me, okay?”
“You got it,” Darla said as I followed Zach down the hall to a waiting area.
We sat across from each other in itchy sage green hospital chairs with wooden arms. It was uncomfortable but private. He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, his chin resting on his folded hands. Yellow and purple bruises stained his cheeks.
“You okay?” I asked, leaning to the side to get a better view of his face.
“Yeah. I had an x-ray. Not broken, thank God.”
“I’m… uh… Sorry about that,” I stammered, not sure the apology was fitting coming from me. I’m not sure that he deserved an apology, period.
“Don’t. Please don’t apologize. It just makes this harder.” Before he started speaking again, he sighed. “Listen, Kacie. I have no idea what to say except I’m sorry. I’ve been replaying the other night in my head over and over and I can’t figure out why I did what I did.”
“First things first—why did you drink?” I searched his face, looking for a sincere answer.
“Honestly?” He looked up at me. “I don’t know. Something about hanging with the girls at the park just set me off. I was sitting around feeling sorry for myself when my friend Brett called. Before I knew it, we were in a bar and I was throwing back rum and Cokes like I just came in from the desert.”
I studied his face as he stared down at his hands, clearly ashamed.
“What does this mean? Ya know, for your sobriety?” I asked, genuinely concerned.
“I’m still taking everything day by day. I’m just going to check in more often with my sponsor, and instead of going to meetings a couple times a week, I’m going to go every day for awhile. I’m not worried about that part. I’m worried about the damage I did… to you.”
“Yeah, that part sucked, but it wasn’t completely your fault.” I took a deep breath. “Had I told Brody that you were back and we’d talked, he wouldn’t have reacted the way he did.”
“It wasn’t your fault I got drunk and came over uninvited.” He shook his head.
“That’s true. It’s over and done with, though; nothing either of us can do about it. Now I just have to try and figure out how to fix things with him.”
“That’s actually why I wanted to talk to you,” he said slowly. His eyes caught mine and my stomach sank.
“That first time I saw you here, at work, I felt like there was a reason we were put together at the same hospital at the same time. I mean, what are the odds? Out of all the hospitals in our area, out of all the departments you could have been placed in, out of all the shifts between the two of us… we ended up in the same room at the exact same time.”
“I would call that dumb luck on your part. From my end, it was terrifying.” I didn’t mean to sound like a total bitch, but I was being honest.
“I realize that. For me, it seemed like maybe a second chance at what I’d missed out on five years ago.”