Page 52 of Mended Fences

I shot her a warning glare, and she threw her free hand up.

“Remember when I came to Sable Point in December?”

“Of course.” She snorted. “You got wastey face.”

“Thanks to you,” I muttered.

She grinned.

“Anyway, I was there that day because I was interviewing for an attending position at Ashford Medical.”

“What?!”

“I passed my boards. The results have been sent to the hospital. I’m just waiting on the call. And then I’ll be free.” I let those words hang in the air between us.

Tessa’s eyes narrowed. “Does Peter know about any of this?”

“No. He thinks I’m just working my usual shifts.” A bitter laugh escaped my throat. “He’s so convinced I need his family’s connections to get a job that he never bothered to check what I was actually doing with my time.”

Before she could respond, the distinct sound of a key in the front door lock sent ice through my veins. Peter was home early.

ELENA

I got it!

TESSA

OMG! CONGRATS!

When do you start?

The plan was in motion.

I stared at my phone, grinning so hard my cheeks hurt. The attending position at Ashford Medical was mine. After months of secret interviews and meticulous planning, everything was falling into place.

This is real. This is happening.

I sat in the hospital cafeteria, munching on a mix of Cheetos and M&Ms. My fingers flew across the screen, responding to Tessa’s excited texts in between bites.

ELENA

End of May, but I think I’m moving sooner. I need to get out of here ASAP.

I pulled up my calendar, mapping out the weeks until my escape. Moving my stuff gradually would raise suspicions, but I needed to be smart about this. Strategic. The divorce papers were already drawn up, hidden in a locked drawer in my home office.

A new text came in. I expected it to be Tessa, but it wasn’t.

CHASE

Hey

My breath stalled. We hadn’t spoken in months. Tessa had given me brief-but-telling insight into what was going on with him—she just had no idea how invested I was in the updates. Chase and I hadn’t spent enough time together for me to know for certain, but the signs were there.

He was an addict, and he was spiraling.

ELENA

Hi.