Page 3 of Puck Me

“No, don’t do that. I don’t want to force her to see me when she doesn’t feel invested in my case. How is that going to help anything?”

“I suppose,” Noah mutters. “So, when do you see the new person?”

“I don’t know.”

“I’ll call her office and find out. We’ll get you an appointment as soon as possible, but this time, I’m going to do some proper research on the new person before letting you see them. If I see anything that makes it seem even remotely likely that they may just quit on you, we’ll find you someone else.”

I can’t even summon the will to nod. All of this is so pointless. I’m always going to feel like this. What is the point of prolonging this suffering?

“Chester? Talk to me, buddy. What are you thinking?”

What I’m really thinking would be a mistake to tell Noah, so I simply shrug. “I just want to sleep.”

Noah always lets me sleep after I’ve eaten, taken my meds, showered and been to any essential appointments. Thankfully, it doesn’t seem like he’s going to change that system today.

“Yeah, you sleep. I’ll make some calls and do some research.”

“Whatever.”

I’m already turning over in bed, my eyes closing. Blessed blankness overtakes me.

I’m woken by my phone ringing. I try to ignore it, but the sound is high-pitched and annoying, and I can’t seem to sleep through it.

I reach over to hang up, but the name flashing across the screen has me pausing.

Why is Milton calling me?

We broke up over two years ago, and we hadn’t even been dating that long. He tried to restart things between us a couple of times in the months after the breakup, but eventually, he got the message that I wasn’t interested anymore, and he stopped contacting me.

I hesitate, but curiosity overwhelms me.

“Hello?”

Milton’s voice is the same as ever. “Hi, Chester. How are you?”

No way am I confessing how I really am. “Fine, thank you. How are you?”

“I’m doing well. Really well, actually. I was wondering if you’d like to meet up for coffee sometime?”

I know that there’s nothing wrong with catching up with your ex and even establishing a friendship, but I also know that with Milton, it’s never just friendship. I know him well enough to realize that this is probably not just a friendly phone call.

I don’t know why he wants to make another attempt at restarting our short-lived romance now, but even if I was in a mental space to date at the moment, I wouldn’t take him up on his offer.

Milton is nice enough at first, but as you get to know him, you start to see an obsessive, possessive side to him. I don’t like it at all and it’s why I broke up with him in the first place.

“I’m sorry, Milton, but I don’t think that’s a good idea.” I’m already regretting taking this phone call. What did I think was going to happen? I didn’t think and that’s the problem.

His voice sours. “Don’t be immature, Chester. Whatever happened between us, it’s a long time ago. The least you can do is talk to me.”

“I’m sorry, but this was a mistake. I’ve got to go.”

I hang up before Milton can say anything else. I let the phone fall to my lap, feeling thoroughly disquieted. That was weird

“Hey, I’m glad to hear you answering calls. Who was that?”

I jump as Noah walks in. “You’re still here.”

“Yeah, I’ve been doing some research on psychiatrists. You weren’t asleep for that long before your phone started ringing.”