Influenced by Eva Robinson (best free ebook reader TXT) 📗

“Yeah, she didn’t sleep a lot at my place this weekend. It was brutal. I’m not sure how you get through five days of that.”

“Yeah. That’s not why I called, though. I sort of… impulsively quit my job. I walked out, leaving them with two meetings to cover, and Jerry’s already hired his friend.”

“You walked out? In May?”

“I know. I only had six weeks left. But I just snapped. I thought I lost a student’s test results, and I couldn’t think of how to fix the situation in time. You know how I was really on top of everything in September? That is no longer the case. At all. Honestly, Luke, sometimes I’m worried I’m losing my mind, and I won’t be able to take care of Nora.”

“That job was insane, Hannah. It’s not you. You lasted twice as long as every other psychologist they hired. It’s their loss, really.”

“I just have to figure out what to do next. I don’t suppose the book I plan to write will make me a millionaire until I actually write it.”

“You have plenty of options, Annie.”

She loved when he called her that. “You think?”

“I’m sure there are plenty of districts that need coverage. School psychologists are always getting pregnant.”

He wasn’t wrong about that. “True. But I won’t have any references. Jerry must think I had a nervous breakdown. I’d have to leave the last two years blank on my resumé.”

“Schools get desperate, so you’ll find something.” She heard him suck in a breath. “I think that came out wrong.”

She smiled. “No, you’re right. Desperation is what I need.”

“And then some day, you’ll write your book.”

“I guess I could do some private testing, try to build a client base. It seems to be mostly word of mouth for recommendations, but I’ll see if I can get started somewhere.” She chewed her lip. “But sometimes I get the sense that it’s easiest to get a foot in the door if you’re willing to just make up a diagnosis so a high schooler can get extended time on the college boards.”

“I think you’re making it sound more nefarious than it is. When you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail, right? Psychologists are looking for something wrong, so they find it. And the worst that can happen is kids have time to finish the math problems instead of being rushed. You know what? That is pretty terrible. I’m going to speak to Theo about adding a chapter to our Psychology of Evil book about it. What kind of twisted mind allows kids to finish their tests?”

Hannah had to smile. “Well, I guess you two are the experts.” Luke was a brilliant moral psychology researcher, and he worked with the famous Theo Leigh. Theo never failed to mention his New York Times bestseller status, or his appearance on Oprah years ago. Now, he and Luke were working on a book about how anyone could turn evil given the right conditions. Any person—no matter how functional and ethical—could slip over the border between human and monster, if the environment were right.

“Hannah?”

“Sorry, I zoned out for a second. Luke, I don’t know how to describe this. But I’m starting to feel paranoid. Sometimes I feel like I’m being watched. But it’s more like—when I’m awake in the middle of the night, I have this weird certainty that someone’s poisoned me and that’s why I can’t sleep. Like I’ve been drugged with cocaine.”

“That is some serious insomnia, I won’t lie.”

“I know how that sounds. If I have a complete psychotic breakdown, promise me you’ll look after Nora.”

“Annie. You’re not going to have a complete psychotic breakdown. Everyone has trouble functioning without enough sleep. We both know this. You need less stress, and you found a way to make that happen by quitting your job. And I don’t want you to worry about the money too much right now. I can help you cover your rent for a while. So just forget about that stress, okay?”

Relief flooded her. “Well, I don’t want to take advantage of your generosity. Like you said, I’ll find something soon.” God, he was amazing sometimes. “Anyway, thanks, Luke.”

“Tonight, you should just relax. Watch some dumb TV. I can bring you over more of my homemade wine. I think this batch came out really nicely.”

“It’s always good, Luke. Highlight of my day.” She could hear “Moonlight Sonata” playing in the background, familiar and soothing. She wished she was near him.

“Um, Hannah? I wanted to ask you about this weekend. Are you busy?”

She felt a strange spark of hope. Was he going to ask her out again?

“This weekend?” She smiled. “I’m free. What did you have in mind?”

He paused before answering. “Oh, good. Because I have plans for Saturday night, so I’m wondering if you can keep Nora for the night. And I can maybe take her Sunday and Monday.”

Her stomach fell. “Yeah, of course. Anything fun?”

“Just cooking at my place with a… a friend.”

Suddenly, she regretted the rich food she’d just eaten. She felt a bit sick. A date, then. He had a date—and he didn’t want to tell her about it, which was somehow way worse.

Never had she regretted turning him down more.

Five

When she hung up the phone, disappointment curdled her stomach.

No, it was pure, searing jealousy. Until this moment, she hadn’t realized how she actually felt about Luke. She should have told him yes a year ago.

Of course she wanted to be more than friends. Luke was undeniably handsome—tall, with blue eyes and dark hair. He was smart and patient, and the dorky cat sweaters he wore only added to his charm. He was probably way out of her league, even if they were best friends.

She opened Instagram, hoping to find out who his date was. Maybe she’d find a picture of him out canoeing with a woman who had a perfectly taut stomach, a stomach that had never stretched out to accommodate another human.

Vaguely, she wondered if he was