Page 59 of Trust Me

“My best friend takes care of me too,” I said. “That’s all it is.”

“Maybe, but you could be open about what you feel.”

“I sort of have been,” I admitted, thinking about when I’d told Dean I was attracted to him. He hadn’t been bothered by it, but he also clearly wasn’t interested. He hardly knew me, and if he wanted to take care of me, it was only because he’d seen how much of a mess I made of things on my own. “He’s just being a friend.”

Brooks hummed as he pulled something out of his pocket. My eyes narrowed at the crumpled note. He laughed lightly when I snatched it from him.

“See ya around, Oli.”

I just raised my hand before I walked the rest of the way to my car. Once I sat down, I unfolded the paper. Looking at the last thing Dean had written, I bit my lip.

I like you better when you’re not sad. Sue me.

It wasn’t a weird thing to say. If he’d passed it to me in class, I probably wouldn’t have thought much of it. But he hadn’t given it back. He’d even told me he thought the question was rhetorical. So, why did he respond?

I pulled out my phone, then glanced around as if someone might catch me in the act.

I’d been working on this for a few days. A couple calls here, a couple calls there—enough to get a decent list of doctors who were hiring. Most people would’ve stopped there. Normal people. But Dean’s mom deserved better than ‘good enough,’ and if that meant I had to be a little . . . creative, then so be it.

I wasn’t sure if this was wrong. Or ethical. Or sane. Definitely an invasion of privacy, but I couldn’t stop thinking about how Dean said his mom was stuck at the ER, drowning in twelve-hour shifts. Somebody needed to give her a break. So, I might’ve called a few offices. More than a few.

If this worked, Dean would never have to know. And if it didn’t, no harm done, right?