at Sahper's practice. Chances are, if I leave my apartment, I'll run into her by some fucked up twist of fate... so I think I'll stay in today.
Chapter 16
Melissa
Yawning as I stared blankly through the television screen, I sniffled hard through my swollen sinuses. My eyes watered constantly, and the stress of the past few weeks seemed to finally catch up to me. I hate May, and the past two weeks had been particularly miserable. All of a sudden, all the trees decided to attack me, and I hadn't been able to do anything.
Terry offered to get my groceries, for God's sake. I'd watched almost everything on my Watchlist on Netflix. I got a Hulu subscription because I ran out of stuff to watch!
I scowled as I wiped my eyes with a tissue, pulling my knees higher to dig my toes into the sofa cushion. My CPAP machine was my only saving grace, and my allergy medication wasn't helping.
"After the universe spent so much time getting Carl and I together, now it's punishing me for it." My nasally grumble made my intense migraine flare, and my scowl darkened as I reached to rub my nose between the butts of my palms. "Ugh..."
Carl's sister's call still rang in my ears, that he felt so panicked and was downright paranoid about losing his job. I'd made the appointment with the other pulmonologist in Providence as soon as she hung up, and they were able to get me in two days later.
But that didn't excuse the fact that I put him in jeopardy for a quickie I couldn't quite remember all that well. Of course, I knew he knew that I'd transferred to another doctor, but I hadn't actually seen him. Through my bleary, watering eyes, I couldn't see anything at all.
For almost two weeks, I'd contemplated texting Carl, but what could I say? Lol sorry for maybe killing your career but you dtf?
No.
My doorbell rang, snapping me out of my muddled misery, and I groaned loudly as I flung my legs over the front of the sofa. My muscles ached in protest when I stood up, and the room spun a little as I shuffled heavily. The soles of my feet never left the carpet, and I hiked up my pajama shorts with sluggish, shaky hands.
I wheezed just from the minimal effort it took to round the couch and reach the front door, and I pulled open the barrier with a jerk. My dad stood on the other side, his hair combed over and his cheeks red enough to reach past his ears.
"... I came to apologize, Mel."
Instantly, I was on guard as my dad's voice knocked around in my head painfully. Frowning when he cleared his throat, I had to squint to really see his features twist in discomfort.
"Can I come in?"
"No, you can stay right there and say what you need to say."
He tensed, my dad, like this was so hard for him, and my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. Pointing an accusatory finger at him, my head threatened to explode as heat slithered up my neck.
"What do you want, huh? Just say it, so I can tell you to fuck off because I'm not doing anything for you. You're only apologizing because you want something— otherwise, why would you be nervous, huh? Not because you screwed me over, surely!"
I practically shouted, my lungs on fire as I stabbed my dad in the chest with my fingernail. My slow brain couldn't pinpoint what about his demeanor told me he was only apologizing to ask for something else, but even my swollen face couldn't hold back my words. In the apartment next to mine, I heard a loud, muffled thump, and my wheezing intensified as my dad rubbed his palms on his shirt.
"I got married, and I want you to meet her. I offered to have it here because my house is a mess." That irritation that gripped me vanished— sizzled from my blood as my heart and lungs seized up in shock. My dad took a half step forward, looking a little desperate, and my eyes widened when he grabbed my shoulders gently. "Please, Mel. Just do this for me, and I'll leave you alone for the rest of my life. I really need this to go well. She's got two kids and neither of them like me— her daughter's your age. After today, you never have to worry about me anymore."
For a long moment, I was