Page 48 of Under Rusted Stars

There have been so many arrests due to the files that I copied, and my face has stayed in the media ever since. They have latched on to every part of my life. In doing so, one reporter found my biological parents. Not only are they out of prison, but they also live an hour from me. I have very little memory of them, so I guess I don’t care. Clearly, they didn’t want me. If they did, they would not have tried to kill me. Although they were high out of their goddamn minds and thought I had a demon inside of me. Logically, they had to get that demon out. With a knife.

Bodhi works so incredibly hard for this town. There are times he has to drop everything for a house call or an emergency, but he always makes time for me and us. Even if it’s just cuddling in the middle of the night before he has to get up and go back to the clinic, he makes sure that I know he is there.

While he is working, I do the same thing. Once I became proficient in graphic design again, I started freelancing designs online. Bodhi helped me set up a bank account, so I feel good about this life that I am building with him. Everything could implode tomorrow, but I have the tools I need to be independent. I have Bodhi to thank for that.

Scott, Bodhi’s father, lives in the cabin next to us. A week after we found out about his tumor, they got him into surgery. Bodhi didn’t want to admit that he was nervous, or that he cared, but he did. Everybody did. News about his tumor spread through the town rapidly, and the amount of compassion that everyone has had for him is incredible.

It’s not that people didn’t like him before; they just didn’t like what he had become. Several people in this town knew him prior to when the tumor had first started developing, so it was easy to blame it on the alcohol.

When we got word that not only was the surgery a success, but he was awake and functioning well. He was extremely tired for a while, so it took him another week to come home, but now he’s here. He looks so damn happy sitting out on that deck. Sometimes he notices me watching him, and he always waves. He looks so healthy now compared to before, but I think that has a lot to do with the fact that he is no longer drinking and he’s actually eating.

Bodhi talked to the neurologist, and they asked him to note any changes in his personality, and it’s like he’s a completely different person. Bodhi was easily able to convince him to see a therapist, and they have a real chance at having a healthy father-son relationship. It’s heartwarming to see Scott and Bodhi smiling and laughing together, because that’s how it should be.

Bodhi is having me come in today so he can check my incision. It healed beautifully, from what I can tell. All of the pain and pressure are gone—It feels normal again. Since I scrapped my old car, Bodhi is having me drive his car, since he drives his truck most of the time. I try not to, just because it doesn’t feel like it’s right for me to use it. I guess that just stems from always feeling like I owe Bodhi, but he won’t hear any of it.

When I get to the clinic, I go inside. “Hey, Olivia!” Jessica, the front desk receptionist, says with a happy smile.

“Hey! I’m just here to see Bodhi. He told me to come in at noon,” I say.

“I think he is finishing up with a patient. I’ll buzz you through, and you can go to his office if you want,” she suggests. “He can just get you to a room from there.”

“That works. Thanks,” I say. When she unlocks the door, I walk back and navigate my way to his office. As I am walking, I hear giggling and laughing coming from his office. That’s weird because he shouldn’t have clients in his office.

When I turn the corner and open his office door, I stop dead in my tracks when I see the woman, also in a white jacket, bent over his desk.

He has his back to the door and is leaning over a bit as he rams into her hard and fast. I slap my hand over my mouth and slowly step back as tears burn my eyes.

How could he do this to me? Was everything he said a lie? What do I do now? I would have done anything for him. He didn’t have to fuck one of his doctors.

I turn to run toward the side door, holding back a sob. I can hardly see through my tears, so I run smack into someone and can’t tell who. “I’m sorr…”

“Liv? What’s wrong, baby?” he says, cupping my face between his hands. I am inconsolable and incoherent as I try to explain. “Olivia. Baby. Slow down. What happened?”

“Office!” I choke out through tears. He gives me a strange look before stepping around the corner and pushing the office door open.

“Goddamn it, Aaron! Seriously?!” Bodhi booms.

“Wha…”

“If you are going to do shit like that, lock the goddamn door,” he snaps, slamming the door shut. He grabs me into a big hug and holds me against his chest.

“I’m sorry. I thought it was… it looked like… and then…” I sob. He pulls me into a room and locks the door before hugging me again.

“Shhh, baby. It’s okay. I’m so sorry. I switched offices to give one of the ER doctors an office space. He’s married to my PA, Kaitlyn,” he explains. “It just happened today, so the nameplates hadn’t changed. Jessica probably just forgot to tell you.”

“I panicked… I’m so sorry. You haven’t in… I thought it was you…” I say as he lifts my chin. “It won’t happen again. I’m sorry.”

“Take a deep breath with me, Olivia,” he says, taking a deep breath in through his nose and slowly lets it out through his mouth. He does it again, and I try to match his technique. I feel my entire body relax, and I realize that I was shaking. My hands are still trembling, but I’m calmer now. “Good girl. You did so well.”

“I didn’t mean to…”

“Stop,” he says before kissing me.

“No, but I should have been…”

“No,” he says, kissing me again. Every time I try to say something in defense of my apologies or fear that he would be angry, he kisses me. Eventually, it makes me giggle, and I’ve forgotten all about why I was panicked to begin with.

“Thank you,” I say.