Finding Faith Read Free Page A

in.
    “George and a new guy, John, were the lucky winners tonight.” Mike peered over at Grace who was wrinkling her nose at the mention of George.
    Not wanting to get started down that road, Mike changed the subject back.
    “Yeah, we all know Dickhead's a snake. Don’t worry about what people think about you, Faith, you’re golden. A bunch of us are meeting at Halligan tomorrow. It would be great if you two could come.”
    Mike’s eyes volleyed between the two of us, hanging on Grace, whose wrinkles had smoothed out with his stare. Grace’s eyes lit up to the invitation and Mike’s shoulders relaxed in response.
    The second I saw their responses I was left with no choice but to say yes. How could I deny Grace? I wasn’t the only one dealing with an ex, and denying Grace a chance to hang out with her secret crush, even if I had no desire to be around people, would be heartless. Grace would never go if I didn’t tag along. We did everything together. We had grown more into sisters than friends, and more than ever Grace felt a need to protect me.
    “Come on, Faith, what are you going to do? Go home and curl up in bed alone? Why not find someone to curl up next to and take your mind off of stuff for at least one night.” Grace was biting the corner of her lip in anticipation. If I waited too long she would need stitches.
    “I even know a few guys who would be more than happy to help you with that if you want,” Mike said, raising an eyebrow mischievously.
    Grace dropped her jaw in lieu of chewing her lip and gave Mike a smack in the gut.
    Even though my friends tried soothing my concerns, I couldn’t shake the feeling that coworkers thought of me as a druggie and a thief. It didn’t help that Brad was telling everyone who would listen that I was exactly both of those things.
    For Grace to suggest a one-night stand was insulting. I had never slept around, and didn’t intend to start now. What was Grace even thinking? That was easy to answer looking at the girl. She wasn’t. She was drooling over Mike. If he stayed any longer I would have to get a mop and bucket to dry up the floor underneath her.
    The two conspirators got an annoyed look from me as I stepped into the opening of a black upright cylinder, spinning it shut in silence. Like a magic trick, when the door opened up to them again I was gone.
    Mike could be heard saying, “That’s the coolest thing ever! It reminds me of something you’d see on a Star Trek show. I never get tired of seeing it.”
    His childish amusement made me smirk. I let out a gush of air that I hadn’t realized I’d been holding until I was away from their interrogating eyes.
    The room I transported into welcomed me with a low orange glow cocooning me with a sense of protection. Even if for only a few minutes I would soak up the calm. While in the closet-sized room, I thought how thankful I was that the hospital was horrible with budgets, keeping them in the archaic age. If they had gone digital, this room would become obsolete, taking away this little haven I ran to whenever I needed to escape while working.
    When I emerged from my hideout, Grace and Mike were both still leaning against the wall in front of the black roll door. Their bodies were facing each other while their eyes watched me come out of the tall cylinder. Their arms crossed in front of them now, looking like they were waiting for a bus to pull up. First stop, the loony bin. Everyone whose life is in the shitter, please step up.
    Not making eye contact with either one, I walked past them in the direction of the X-ray room. The two immediately started trailing behind me in silent anticipation.
    Abruptly stopping before entering the perp’s room, I whipped around and said with a resigned breath, “Fine, but not a word about my situation. I don’t want it to turn into a night of bashing the creep, or worse, a pity party for me.”
    I gritted the last part out through clenched teeth, pointing a finger in both of