Page 432 of The Doctors Will See You Now

“Winnie already called,” I told him. “She’s worried about my episodes and what they’ll mean for Lexi. She already has enough trouble fitting in as it is.”

His face turned troubled—and deeply apologetic.

“I didn’t know…I had no idea it would be like this, man. I’m so sorry.”

Honestly, Will was one of the nicest guys I knew. I was too busy to consider him a close friend, but if I were looking for one, he’d definitely be a prime candidate.

I ran a rough hand through my hair. “Me too. I know this isn’t your fault, Will. I just…”

…my life is falling apart.

I didn’t say it, but he looked as though he’d heard me. “I get it. Seriously. Don’t worry about me, dude.”

A really nice guy. Maybe I really should try to hang out with him more.

I almost smiled at the thought.

“Wow,” he muttered. “Close call. You’re almost smiling.”

At his teasing, I felt an actual smile give way. “Wouldn’t want that, would we?”

He hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “I gotta run grab some shit and then get back up to four. Catch up later?”

I nodded, considering the offer seriously. I probably should make an effort. “Sure, man.” I held out my hand, and he shook it before heading down the hall.

Funny how Will had been the last person on earth I’d wanted to see, but the first one to sweeten my horrendously sour mood.

Sometimes friends are in weird places.

“Wait a minute,” Harper stated in my ear. “Where are you going?”

“To pick up Doreen and Harry,” I responded and mentally prepared myself for our phone conversation to take a turn for the worse.

“And who the fuck are Doreen and Harry?”

“They’re my friends.”

She scoffed. “You mean, the same friends who are currently living in your house.”

See? This is what happens when you tell your friends things. The mocking goes on forever. This current run of merciless teasing is coming up on two weeks now.

“It’s not exactly like that…”

“It sounds a lot like that.”

“There’s more to the story than that,” I explained. “Yeah, they are currently living in my house, but before the auction, it had been their house. For over fifty years, it had been their home. And up until last year, everything was going good for them. It was after Harry had a heart attack and had to get a triple bypass that everything went to shit.”

I’d eventually gotten the balls to have the conversation with them. I’d explained to them that I’d bought their house at the sheriff’s auction, and the reason Nick and I had been in their house that one day was because it was the day I’d gotten the keys.

Doreen had sobbed when I’d explained the situation to her, and I even showed her the deed.

She hadn’t known.

And Harry, well, he was a proud man, and he didn’t want to be the one to tell his wife they’d officially lost their house because they were too far behind on mortgage payments.

The sad part of it all was, at one point, they’d had that house paid off.

But then Harry had gotten sick, and they’d taken out another mortgage to make ends meet when he had to stop working, and then a second mortgage to pay for all of the medical bills he’d incurred.