My Forbidden Doctor - Stephanie Brother Page 0,34
on the wheel. "I wonder what's so important that Mom couldn't say on the phone..."
"Whatever it is, I'm sure we're not gonna like it." Pulling up on the curb, I ducked to peer up at the apartment complex warily. Smack on the edge of town, I didn't know such a nice place existed, otherwise I would've put in an inquiry. "I hope this chick's not trying to be my best friend."
"I hope she's not anything like her father." There was so much uncertainty around this 'get together', and I turned off my car to sit back and sigh heavily. "Let's get this over with. I don't want to stay forever. I have a panel meeting tomorrow that I have to prepare for."
"You're telling me. I'm not gonna make my morning class tomorrow, I don't think. But— hey, better Mom's relationship drama than your own. You're not the least bit worried about that Mel girl ghosting you?"
Frowning thinly, I shook my head as I twirled my keys against my palm. Melissa wasn't the kind of girl to ghost someone, and the air quality had tanked so hard I expected to see her in the ER at some point. My sister shrugged lightly, her thin, pale green shirt sliding off her slender shoulder out of the corner of my eye.
"I'm just sayin'— it seems kinda fishy."
"I'd bet all the money in my bank account that she's been taking the blooming season really hard."
"That's still not an excuse not to text you, but whatever."
My lips twisted at that, and I climbed out of my car to lock the doors. This area was nice, surrounded by fields, the smell of the ocean very faint. The apartment building had small balconies overlooking the street, and the light blue paint looked fresh.
"It's a nice place, at least. At least it's not some gaudy McMansion."
"Yeah." Straightening my shoulders, I held out my arm for my sister as her heels clicked on the pristine sidewalk. Dread clawed at my gut as we walked for the double doors, and I pried one open to gesture Laurie through. I'd rather be anywhere but here right now— preferably, I wanted to see Mel again.
Despite what Laurie said, I didn't find it the least bit suspicious that Melissa hadn't texted me. She got so wiped out by her allergies alone, and the added threat of her asthma... Hopefully, she had a friend or two that helped her out.
"Speaking of gaudy McMansions... I'm taking the bar in three months, and I was thinking it would be nice to move back to Rhode Island." Speaking up slowly, Laurie grabbed my attention as we took the stairs, and she glanced back at me with a quizzical arch of her slender brow. "In two weeks, I'll be taking my finals, and I was wondering if you could talk to that guy— Eric Dane."
"You want to go into corporate law?" Again, she shrugged, and a smile tilted my lips as I nodded. "Sure, I can give him a call. I'm sure he'd be open to talking to you."
"Thanks. I appreciate it."
Eric had asked me specifically if Laurie wanted to go into corporate law, but she'd been staunch about doing criminal prosecution. At least, until she found a fondness for corporate. My sister wasn't some justice monger, but she loved proving herself right.
That's basically the same thing, anyway.
When we reached the third floor, I knocked on the door numbered four, about halfway down the long hallway. My nerves shot through the roof, and goosebumps swept under my starched shirt. Beside me, my sister jutted out her chin and fixed a smile on her face that didn't reach her eyes. The soft click of the doorknob sent a shiver between my shoulder blades, and I sucked in a sharp breath and held it.
Bright, almost fevered green eyes locked on me, and my brows nearly flew off my face when Melissa herself opened the door. She paled, her freckles standing out on her near translucent cheeks, but her frozen, birdlike features only lasted a second or two. My sister looked between us in surprise, and I only managed to blink a few times before Melissa reached to pinch the bridge of her nose.
"I've been meaning to call you." I almost winced at how raw and nasally Mel sounded, and no amount of makeup could stop her eyes from watering. She stepped to the side, her cute, off-the-shoulder dress shimmering slightly. "I thought this couldn't get worse."
"You sound like shit, Mel.