Page 16 of Come Back to Me
I get in the cab and shut the door. Heading back to my hotel, I call Alex and give her a play by play.
“Cock tease? Seriously?! I’ve never understood that insult, it seems to me teasing the cock would be a great skill to have.”
“Alex! Be serious!! ”
“Not my thing…ha ha.”
“Shut up! I’ve never been so mad. It was gross, the way he acted like I’m horrible because I’m not ready to be intimate with him. He even knows about what happened to me!”
“He’s an ass! I called it the first time I met him!!”
“You say that about everyone who asks me out.”
“Well, I think a girl has to be choosy. Call me old fashioned, but I believe in true love.”
“I think your heart just grew two sizes.”
“Shhhh. Don’t tell anyone.” We both laugh.
“I’m around the corner, see you in a minute.”
“K.” She hangs up.
“Cock tease,” I whisper to myself. What a pig! It might be a cold day in hell before I talk to Jack again.
“$23” says the driver, interrupting my thoughts. I reach for my wallet and pull out the cash just as my vision goes black. I feel like I am having an out of body experience, I’m back in that hotel room trying to fight Carter off of me, when he looks me dead in the eye and says, “you’ve always thought you were out of my league, but I’m going to show you just how worthless you really are.”
“Ahhhhhhh!” I gasp. Holy geez! “Oh my gosh, I’m hyperventilating.”
“Hey lady, are you okay?”
“Uh, yeah, yeah I’m fine.” I grab some money and throw it at him as I bolt from the car and straight up to my room. I start banging on the door because I can’t even bother with my key.
My whole body is shaking. “Alex!” I yell.
“Hey, did you forget your…” I latch onto her the minute she opens the door. “Hey, whoa! What’s going on, Mia? What happened?”
“Oh my God! I think, just, I don’t know… I had a vision.”
“Wait, what?? Sit down, let me get you some water. What are you talking about, a vision?”
“I was in the cab, we hung up, and I went to pay, then, bam! A memory of that night. Carter said the ‘out of my league’ thing… Alex, I remember something!”
“Whoa, are you okay? I mean, really… are you okay, Mia?”
I feel frantic, juiced up by adrenaline. I am freaking out over remembering something that I don’t really understand. My breathing slows and I see the pained look on Alex’s face. I wonder why she’s looking at me like that when I feel tears on my face. Tears.
When I tell my mom what happened, she insists we make an appointment to see the doctor. I don’t fight her, because I’m happy to go this time. I want answers and I hope he can provide them. I meet her at the office, downtown. She looks elegant as usual. She always knows how to dress for an occasion. I threw on chucks and jeans with a t-shirt. I figure I don’t need a pantsuit to find out if I am losing my mind.
The waiting room is fairly empty and the wait is short. I was never so grateful for an interruption as when my mother started talking to me about getting back into the work force, especially now, since I graduated… When everything happened with Carter, I was too afraid—afraid to leave my house, afraid to interact with people, afraid of life. I cut class incessantly and took well over my allotted mental health days. It started as a break for me to get myself back together, but it has been dragging on. I took online classes and just went in for the psych class to finally graduate, but never went back to work. I’ve gone through almost all of my savings, but I keep refusing to take money from my mother. I am happy to accept their generosity for the hotel, though. I won’t cut my nose off to spite my face.
“Mia West!”
“Yes! Here, yes…” I am a bit enthusiastic. At least that’s what I took from the “tsk, tsk” I got from Mom.
“This way,” she says, leading us to an office. We each take a chair and sit. The doctor walks in a moment later.
“Grace,” he says warmly. “It’s nice to see you. How’s Richard? Getting any more of those headaches?” Of course, the doctor is a family friend.