The Read And Weep Bundle: Anonymous, Perfectly Hopeless, Run Read Free Page B

concentrated on Elle as she shifted uneasy in her seat looking as if she didn’t want to be there.
    He checked the clock that hung above the double doors before he got up.
    Nick looked up as Hart approached. Before he could offer him a hello or a polite handshake he took the seat next to Elle making himself at home. Nick wasn’t an ounce impressed and this brought his sister to life for a couple seconds.
    He was doing her a favor. He was pretty sure she didn’t want to be sitting there while some guy scolded her.
    And as awkward as it became once he sat down he didn’t care. The look on her face, the way it changed to relief, made the awkwardness worth it.
    “Nice day,” Hart said and grinned. He looked between the two of them.
    She wasn’t ready to admit anything was nice.
    “Look buddy, I’d love to converse with you, but I’m here to visit with my sister.” Nick arched an eyebrow and gestured for him to take a hike.
    “Ah, I see. This is your brother. It all makes sense now.” Hart’s blue eyes sparkled with amusement. “You’re trying to give her tough love.”
    “Excuse me?” Nick asked growing even more irritated, it was written all over his face.
    Elle watched them throw around their masculinity.
    “Seen it all before, the only thing you’re going to do is push her away and feel like shit when you get home at night.” Hart eyed Nick.
    Elle chewed on her fingernail.
    He was saying things he never imagined anyone would bother saying. Things he was sure when she cared she probably thought herself. He wished she cared, he didn’t even know her and he wished that.
    It was clear that wasn’t going to happen. It wasn’t going to be that easy to take away the pain in her eyes from whatever she had been through.
    Anyone could see just by looking at her that she didn’t care about getting better.
    Her brother pushed away from the table standing up. “Come on, Elle. Visitation is over and by the looks of it you need to get some rest.” He took her by the elbow following the rest of the residents and visitors through the door.
    Hart took his time heading out himself. He pocketed his journal and tucked his pencil behind his ear. It wasn’t long before one of the staff was reclaiming the writing utensil.
    “Hart, now I know you know better,” the nurse said shaking her head at Hart as he shuffled down the hallway muttering something vulgar under his breath.

Chapter 6
    Elle sat rigid in her seat. The room was obnoxiously white with tiny flecks of shadows cascading in different areas of the carpet. The potted plant hanging in the window reminded her of the time when she was little and had to spend the weekends at her grandmother’s. It took her back to the time when she sat on the old wooden swing and stared off into her grandmother’s large front yard counting fireflies as they flew by.
    The sound of the doctor’s throat clearing pulled her from her memory.
    “This is our third meeting.” His voice was soft, gentle even. Sort of melodic like the way she imagined the ocean just after a night’s rain.
    She said nothing. She knew this was his way to draw some sort of response out of her, to get her to speak.
    “How are you feeling today, Elle?” He crossed his legs and rested both hands on his knobby knee that protruded through the thin layer of fabric, a tiny bit of his expensive sock showing.
    She moved her head a little, her soft pink lips parting as she ran her tongue against her bottom teeth. The sensation felt like razors, everything felt worse than anything she ever imagined anymore.
    When she brushed her hair it felt like someone was yanking each individual strand out of her head. When she opened her eyes in the morning and the sunlight hit her, she felt like her eyes were going to roll so far back in her head she would never see them again—and she didn’t care. The only time she didn’t feel anything was when she was drinking. Then she was numb. But the harsh reality coupled with no