Indulge Me

Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

MIAMichael wanted to spend his life with me.

As soon as the words had left his mouth, everything inside me had felt so light.

I stared up at my psychology professor, unable to focus on anything but the other night. It had been one of the best feelings in the world.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, pulling me out of my thoughts. I cleared my throat and sat up taller in my seat, focusing on the slides Dr. Xiao had on the screen about dissociative identity disorder.

On my computer, I typed every word she said, knowing that it’d all be on the exam. After another fifteen minutes and two more phone messages later, she finally released the class. I hurriedly packed all my belongings, wanting to get a head start on my homework.

“Mia,” Dr. Xiao called before I could sneak out of the room.

I shoved the last of my work into my backpack and walked over to her desk.

“How are you doing? Your mother?”

“She’s doing good,” I said, nodding.

Dr. Xiao was the professor of one of the classes I’d had to drop last semester because of Mom’s sudden hospitalization. She was one of the most caring professors on this campus that I’d met.

Dr. Xiao leaned against her desk, arms crossed, giving me that look. “And you?”

I gave her a small smile. “I’m doing better. I …”

There was so much I wanted to say but didn’t have the confidence to. She wouldn’t judge me at all for anything, but I didn’t know if it was appropriate to bring up my drama.

“It’s okay to not be okay. I can tell your mind has been wandering all morning.”

I glanced down at my shoes. “I have a lot I’m dealing with.”

“Care to share? I have some time before my next class.”

“Just my ex-boyfriend, my mom, my best friend …” My current boyfriend’s ex-wife, who also happens to be my best friend’s mom. “College drama. That’s all it is.”

She raised a brow, giving me a I don’t believe you one bit look, and rubbed my shoulder. “If you ever need to talk, I’m here for you.”

After nodding once more to say good-bye, I walked out of the room and pulled out my phone. I didn’t think that Dr. Xiao would understand the type of drama I had gotten myself into. It was more than some petty college drama. I f****d and had fallen in love with my best friend’s dad and was facing the consequences.

Three unread messages from Mom.

Mom: Good morning, sweetheart. I hope you’re working hard in class today. You make me so proud.

Mom: Why don’t you come by today? ;)

Mom: Sorry, last message was for James!!!

I scrunched up my nose and stifled a laugh. Mom was definitely getting it on with James in the assisted living center. I had no doubts about it after that text. I typed her a quick message about going to Michael’s work party this weekend and walked toward the Dunkin’ Donuts downtown.

It was by far my favorite place to do homework. It was relatively quiet during the day, and the doughnuts smelled so damn good. My phone buzzed again.

Mom: Going to a work party? Things must be getting pretty serious. ;)

Me: I’m just … nervous.

Mom: About what? Seems like Michael really wants you to meet his coworkers.

I stared at the phone, not knowing how to reply, and frowned.

Me: Worried about what they’ll think about me.

Mom: People are going to judge you, no matter what. Don’t let it get in the way of your happiness.

I pushed my phone back into my pocket. I knew not to let people get in the way, but it was still difficult. Something deep down told me that they’d judge me. It wouldn’t be to my face, but behind my back. So many men were pigs, and they would think I was just some toy to Michael, like Linda had basically suggested.

But I couldn’t let that stand in my way. Michael had said he wanted to spend his life with me, and I wanted nothing more than to spend my life with him. I would try not to let the rumors get in the way, but … it was difficult after being screwed up by Mason.

It would take some time to love truly—without pain, without insecurity, without all these thoughts rushing through my head. I didn’t want to push them too much on Michael. I needed to deal with them myself.

I slipped into a Dunkin’ Donuts, ordered a lemonade, and grabbed an orange from the bunch of fruit by the registers, deciding on something healthier than another Boston cream doughnut. It was more crowded than usual, but I needed to get some schoolwork done, so I broke out my computer and started on all the homework I had due tomorrow.

Psych. Psych. And more psych.

It was easy stuff, just so much filler work that it was driving me crazy.

My mind wandered to Dr. Xiao and how I should’ve told her about everything. She lived a couple streets down from Michael. I had seen her walking her dog with her husband, who looked much older than she was, around our neighborhood the other day. If she didn’t know we were together already, she would probably find out soon.

Maybe it would be nice to have someone take a fresh look at all the drama. A different perspective that wouldn’t make me feel so … so … inclined to shake off these rumors. Because, damn, was it tiring.

After another half hour, I pulled out my phone and tapped on Michael’s name in my messages. I knew he was busy at work, but I wanted to forget about everything for a bit. So, I scrolled through my photos until I found the perfect one that I knew would set him off and clicked Send.