Page 54 of You Make Me Feel
My throat tightens further. “Of course,” I say. “But I still need to find a way to break it to them.”
“They don’t know?”
“Only one brother does right now.” Wyatt. And he’s so laid back he hasn’t asked many questions.
“Well, I’d advise you to let them know as soon as possible. Once we have your genetic results back, we can test them to see if they’re carriers too.”
I send up a prayer to the god of retinas that they aren’t.
He passes me a glossy leaflet with a QR code on it. “You can use this to access information about your condition, and about our research,” he says. “And of course any time you have a worry, feel free to call my office.”
“Thank you.”
“Do you have any questions I can answer for you now?” he asks me.
I let out a breath. Way too many. And none of them I’m sure I can bear to hear the answers to. I go with, “So I just keep doing what I’m doing?”
“Yes. For as long as you can. People live long and fulfilling lives with RP. I have no doubt you will, too.”
Yeah, but most of them don’t travel for a living. Or seek out beautiful pieces of art for clients.
“Thank you.” I stand, because I need to get out of here. I need to forget about this for a while.
Dr. Rogan stands too, offering me his hand. I shake it firmly.
“Take care, Zach,” he says softly. “I know there’s a lot to take in, but you are not your condition. Keep living life. Enjoying it.”
That’s what sinks in. And he’s right. At this moment, it’s a diagnosis but it’s not my living fact. I can still drive, I can still look at paintings.
I can still run after a pretty woman. Even in the dark. For now.
As I walk outside the research building, toward my car parked in the lot, my phone buzzes in my pocket.
Answer to question two. I want you to choose the location. I can handle surprises. – Sadie
It’s strange, but seeing her words on the screen makes me relax. My mouth curves before I can stop it. If we’re going to do this at night – and we are going to do this at night – I know the best location. It has trees but I know the place like the back of my hand. Which means I could find her with my eyes closed.
Maybe I should be worried about how much space she’s taking up in my head. But the messages, the planning, they’re taking up a space that needs to be filled.
Right now, I need to feel in control of something, because this shit is just so out of my scope it’s not funny.
I’ve barely fired up the engine when the car Bluetooth pings. Hudson’s name flashes on the screen.
I try not to sigh. My brother always did have perfect timing.
Hitting accept, I lean back in the seat. “Hey,” I say, glancing out of the windshield at the research center. Sun reflects back from the windows, making my eyes squint.
“Hey, I just saw Jesse. He said you took the ferry to the mainland. You never mentioned going over there.” Hudson sounds curious.
Of course Jesse told him. “Yeah,” I say, letting out a sigh,because this was supposed to be under the radar. “I had an errand to run.”
“What kind of errand?” Hudson asks.
God, I should have known better than to answer his call. He’s a nosy bastard. And I’m not telling him the truth. Not yet.
“Just some stuff with the gallery. I had to get something notarized.”
“You could have done it on the island. Samara is a notary.”
