Page 17 of Psychotic Obsession

I point to my chest. “Me?”

“I’m looking at you, aren’t I?”

“Will my presence deter you from going or something?”

He smirks and averts his eyes with a shrug. “Or something.”

“So…” Justin gestures to Tobias. “Yeah?”

A hum, and he does the same as me, staying silent while they make the plans. They invite two nurses who politely decline, leavingthe four of us going for food.

It’s going to look suspicious, right? Two scientists from Scotland going out for dinner with their assistants?

What if Gabriella decided to snap a picture and post it online? Will Ewan see?

A huge part of me dreads something like that, but there’s also a sick part of me that wants her to post, because then he’ll think I’m moving on and not sitting around with a broken heart. It’s going to be hard when I get back home. I’ve been in Jason’s lifeforever, and the distance is already killing me, but Ewan fucked up. I can’t stay with someone who keeps a secret like that for years and acts like they’re the most perfect person ever.

Let Gabriella rub it in his face.

Do I care?

Not enough to cancel and go to the hotel myself.

Twenty minutesof us being at the pizza place, and Justin has been the one to talk the entire time. His voice drones on and on and on, and Gabriella eats up every word while Tobias glances at me when he thinks I’m not paying attention.

Sitting diagonal from me at the table, he fidgets, his middle finger tapping, his knee bouncing, and I wonder if he’s a smoker like my mother and needs a cigarette. Her nicotine withdrawals always end up with her yelling at my dad every five seconds, eating her weight in food, or doing exactly what Tobias is doing right now.

“How did you two meet?” Gabriella asks Justin, and it grabs my attention–I’ve wondered this too, since they’re polar opposites in every way. Their friendship makes no sense.

“Met in a therapy group when we were teenagers,” he replies, nudging his elbow into Tobias, who scowls at him like he wants him to fall off a cliff and die. “His dad got him a job at the hospital and, being the great best friend he is, he got me in too.”

“Stepdad,” Tobias corrects.

“Whatever. We live close to each other, so he’s kind of stuck with me forever. Did you know he has three motorbikes in his garage?”

I frown at the random information.

“I crashed one of them, and he beat the shit out of me. Remember? You broke my arm and kicked me down your apartment stairs.”

Huffing, Tobias stands from his chair and doesn’t announce his departure as he heads straight for the bathroom.

“He’s quite moody,” Gabriella says. “Does he loosen up when he’s drunk?”

“He doesn’t get drunk. Think I’ve witnessed him drinking twice, and both times, he went home early and didn’t speak to me for weeks.”

My phone buzzes in my lap, my heart skipping a beat when I see who the message is from.

TobiasWork: He never shuts up.

Me: Neither does Gabriella.

TobiasWork: Want to ditch them?

Me: They’d end up on ‘missing’ posters all over the city.

TobiasWork: That's a risk I’m willing to take.

Me: They’ll never let us leave.