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I take a quick breath and walk to the kitchen, putting a big smile on my face.

Chad is sitting on the counter.

I see something from the corner of my eye and turn my head to see Mary Beth leaning against the fridge.

What…

“Hey,” Mary Beth says.

Chad clears his throat. He takes a deep breath.

“Kate, we need to have a serious talk.”

How sad isit that my first thought is I hope Chad and Mary Beth have been fucking? I picture it right away. Them confessing an affair and then apologizing to me. I’ll have to cry my eyes out and hate them… yet I’ll just be excited the entire time knowing I’m free.

“Serious talk,” I say. “Ut-oh.”

I look at Mary Beth. “It’s not a secret or surprise that I’m here. Or that I showed up when I did.”

“I called her,” Chad says. “I told her to come out here and… help.”

“Help?” I ask.

“With you, Kate,” Chad says. “You’re…”

Chad lowers his head.

“Kate, we’re scared to death right now about you,” Mary Beth says. “Something is wrong. You’re not here. There’s…”

“There are marks on your body,” Chad says. He slides off the counter and looks ready to cry. “Your wrists, Kate. And your… your chest…your breast…”

Chad blushes at the wordbreast.

“You’re hurting yourself, Kate,” Mary Beth says. “When Chad told me something was wrong, I didn’t know what to really think. But then I showed up and you’re just… way off. And we’re not jumping on you or anything, okay? We love you. We care about you. We want you to know it’s okay and that we’re here for you.”

“Seems like you might have been drinking a lot too,” Chad says. “Your phone isn’t always turned on either. And showing up in a dress, basically stumbling toward the door.”

Now my face burns red hot.

I open my mouth but I don’t know what to say.

“Kate, please don’t get mad at us,” Mary Beth says. “Don’t get defensive either. This is…”

Mary Beth’s chin quivers.

I glance at Chad.

“Are you hurting yourself, Kate?”

I shake my head. “I… I…”

Chad stares, waiting for an answer.

“What about your job, Kate? I know things are slipping there. I was over there three times in the last two days and you weren’t. Imagine the orders being missed right now. Or ones you should have completed. The job matters to you.”

“Kate, do you want your own bakery?” Chad asks. “We can make that happen. We can talk about it. We can go over it. I can call up Harry…”

Chad grins.