Page 153 of Graves

Over the last two days, I’ve thought a lot about my future. There are some things I want to consider carefully, maybe even discuss with Dr. Mason, but one thing is clear to me.

“Listen, Levi. I want to work as a dentist again—or at least try. It doesn’t have to be full-time, but it’s important to me. I’ll help you with the Japanese—not ‘Japs’—but I’m not officially joining the business. That hasn’t changed.”

“Maybe your new boyfriend would be open to a few gigs.”

I roll my eyes and start wrapping my hands. “Can you help me?”

“Of course.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” I say softly. “But there’s something between us. I want it to work, and that’s one more reason I need to stay out of your illegal shit.”

“You’re doing this for him?”

I shrug, and a small smile spreads across my face.

“God, Aniki! We know you’re no saint, but does this rockstar know that too?”

“He knows everything,” I answer, holding out my other hand. “The whole story. But I’m not just doing it for him. I’m doing it for my own peace of mind. I need time.”

Levi inspects his work and nods approvingly. “And when are you finally taking these stitches out?”

“Not today.”

“The two weeks are up tomorrow, you know that, right?”

I laugh. “Trust me, it’s fine if they stay in a few extra days.”

“I can take them out myself.”

“Don’t you dare.”

“Fine! Come on, I’ll hold the pads for you. That’s allowed, right?”

I look him over, noticing the sweat mark on the back of his neck as he heads for the door. “You’ve already trained today anyway.”

I roll my eyes and follow him into the ring, laughing.

It feels like I haven’t trained in forever. I’m out of breath way too quickly, even though I went jogging now and then. It’s probably because Levi knows exactly how to push me to my limits.

An hour later, I’m drenched in sweat and have to shower before my next appointment.

Yes, it’s finally time to leave Luke behind. And part of that means reconnecting with my friends. Especially Nahla. She was also worried sick and deserves the full story.

Not that Levi didn’t deserve it, but with him it’s better to feed him information in small doses to prevent a meltdown. Nahla can handle the truth.

Or at least I thought she could.

“You did what?” she cries in horror, slamming both hands on the table so hard the dishes rattle. “We don’t see each other for two weeks and you almost jump in front of a train?!”

“Everything turned out okay,” I say soothingly, trying to ignore the stares from the other customers. No need for everyone to know I nearly killed myself.

She sits there with her mouth open, eyes wide. “And you’re just casually telling me this?”

“How else was I supposed to tell you?” I take a sip of iced tea. “I wasn’t really myself. More like a robot.”

“Doesn’t matter if you were mentally there or not,” Nahla says. “That was still you!”

“I know,” I murmur. “Thank God Aran showed up in time.”