“I just wanted to know… what with graduation happening in less than two months… I just wanted to know what your plans were,” he says, folding his arms across the front of his pale green scrubs and waiting.
“Why do you think that my future plans are any of your business?” I can’t help but ask.
“Because this is my town,” he announces sternly like I’m a teenager who is being obtuse. “I grew up here. I’m staying. Heather and I are getting married here next summer and we’ve put an offer in on a house.”
“And you think that means I have to move?” I cock my head at him like he’s the biggest idiot I have ever known. He actually is.
“You only came to Silver Bay because I wanted you to,” Beckett reminds me. “I got us into the residency program with my connections.”
"I had a near-perfect GPA and top-notch references. I could have gone anywhere," I remind him because he was the one with limited options, not me.
"Yeah, but you came here and then for some inexplicable reason, you stayed when we broke up," Beckett sneers like it's the most pathetic thing ever, me staying in Silver Bay. But he knows that if I left and changed residency programs I would have had to start the year over and wouldn't be able to graduate on time. I wasted years of my personal life on him, I wasn't about to lose any time in my career because of him. "And you don't have anyone here. No family. No boyfriend because that was some pathetic lie."
The judgment in his gaze is so heavy I feel it like a bowling ball being launched into my chest.Oof. A tingle of humiliation tingles in the center of my chest, threatening to bloom and covermy face in an embarrassed flush. But then I remember… “Conner and I are dating. So I do have ties to Silver Bay. And we’ll likely spend a lot of time here in the summer with his family.”
He makes a face like I just passed gas or something equally foul. “You told Heather that was a lie.”
“It was a lie. Conner’s idea, but shocker, he likes me for real. And I like him. We’ve been dating for a while,” I announce and it feels good. I haven’t exactly been keeping it secret. His entire family knows, but I haven’t talked about it with anyone at work other than my mentor and advisor Madeline. “Anyway, you can’t claim ownership over an entire damn town, TP, and so I will likely be here in the future. Not full-time though. I’ve got a job lined up in Portland, where my boyfriend lives.”
He blinks and sneers. “Does Conner know you’re lying about this still? Again? And what the hell is TP?”
“Oh for…” I swallow down the ‘fuck’s sake’ part of that statement because I’m at work. I will not let him take my professionalism from me. He doesn’t deserve it. “You don’t believe me. Cool. Spoiler alert, you don’t matter. And TP is the abbreviation for everything I call you. Trash panda, toxic person, tiny penis, and more. Now please leave me the hell alone.”
I walk away without looking back. God, I feel good.
The rest of the shift is uneventful. That's good on the work front but my phone is abnormally silent. Usually, Conner sends me a few texts and even a selfie while I'm working. But I haven't heard from him since he had Mae text me yesterday night. He broke his phone and is working on fixing it, but he can't call or text. Mae explained she was his 'carrier pigeon' because he hadto use his teammate's phone to call and only knew her number by heart.
I can't wait until we're in the same city. I've decided to rent a place in Ocean Pines too. There are a few apartments within walking distance of Conner that I will be able to afford. I'll need a reliable car for the commute to Portland but it will be worth it to be close to him and the beach. It reminds me of my mom's vacation home in the Hamptons which is my favorite place. He wants to give me a Range Rover and I don't want to take it, because I'm still a little bit stuck on the whole worthy of help thing. I'm working on it with Madeline.
My latest plan is to ask my parents to buy the Range Rover off Conner for my graduation gift. Because it really is a sweet ride and I love it. That kills two birds with one stone. I get to accept the help from my parents I've been rejecting for most of my life and I get Conner's perfect car without feeling like my new boyfriend is bailing me out. Of course, for this plan to work, I need to tell my parents I'm dating Conner. I haven't yet. I want to do it in person, but my mom has been busy planning a charity event for her foundation, and dad is in hot negotiations with a hockey franchise, he just hasn't told me which one yet. So I've kept Conner to myself. For now.
My dad messaged me twice in the last twenty-four hours. He wants to get together and said he would come to Silver Bay so maybe I'll tell him first. I couldn't see him yesterday and he couldn't make it today so we have tentative plans next week. It's kind of weird he's coming all the way to Maine from New York, but this is the longest I've gone without seeing my family. He is the more needy parent so maybe he just misses me. The thought makes me smile.
My shift ends and I grab my coat and boots from my office and make my way out the front doors of the hospital. Shelby is at the main entrance with Heather, which stops me in mytracks. Those two are not friends, and the New Year's party solidified that. So why are they standing together?
Heather’s eyes fly over to me and she shoots me an acidic smile. “Speak of the sad little devil.”
“Don’t be a twat,” Shelby snaps at her.
“What’s going on?”
"Your lies are being exposed again," Heather says. "You really should see a psychiatrist yourself at this point. You are delusional."
“Careful with your words, Heather,” I warn her. “I’m not going to be slandered by the woman who fucked my boyfriend in my bed.”
“Oh get over it,” she snaps, her eyes fiery. “Maybe if you stopped lying about your life and actually focused on improving it, you’d find yourself a real boyfriend.”
I look at Shelby. “What is she blabbering about?”
“Beckett told her you’re lying about dating Conner again.” Shelby rolls her eyes. “I told her she’s an idiot. I know you’re together.”
“Can’t be serious if he isn’t even going to miss her,” Heather counters and holds up her phone, which she’d been holding between her and Shelby when I walked up
“What?” I sputter out because I have absolutely no clue what is going on at this point.
Heather points to her phone and I see she's got the Riptide's Instagram opened. She hits the screen and one of their reels starts to play. I don't spend much time on Instagram so I don't know what they post. In this video, players are dressed in regular street clothes, not uniforms or their pre-game suits. A question is typed at the bottom of the screen, What Do You Miss on Road Trips?
And players are blurting out answers as they walk by thecamera. I watch with annoyance. I should be on my way home by now. Why am I indulging this woman and her…