He Believed His Ex More Than He Believed Me Chapter 02
I held the bottle out, my throat raw. “Nolan, where is my medication?”
He did not look up. “We switched it.”
I gripped the back of the couch until my knuckles turned white. “My chest hurts, and my head hurts.
“Please give it back.”
Nolan finally raised his eyes, a crease forming between his brows. “Vanessa said your dosage was beyond the safe range.
“You’re dependent on the medication now.”
Vanessa appeared in the bedroom doorway. “Placebos are a common support tool, Noelle.
“You need to trust your own willpower.”
Nolan took the bottle from me and shook out one candy tablet. “Take this and get through tonight.
“Stop treating yourself like you’re helpless.”
My stomach lurched. I bent over the coffee table, gagging.
He got to his feet, his patience visibly gone. “I have an early meeting.
“Don’t drag this out all night.”
I collapsed onto the rug and clutched the edge of the table. “Nolan, please.”
His steps faltered.
“She’s testing your limits,” Vanessa reminded him softly.
His back stiffened before he pushed open the bedroom door. “Handle it yourself.”
The lock clicked. I curled up in the dark living room, each breath coming faster than the last, and stayed on the rug until morning.
Nolan came out and tossed a dress onto the coffee table. Looking down at my shaking body, he said, “Change.
“We’re taking Vanessa to lunch.”
I shook my head, unable to form a sound. Withdrawal pain still raked through me, and even the elevator doors down the hall made my ears ring.
Nolan bent down, seized my wrist, and hauled me up. “Exposure is the most effective treatment.
“You can’t hide in this condo forever.”
I stumbled, and an angry red band rose around my wrist. “I’m not going.
“I can’t today.”
Vanessa leaned around the doorway, speaking as though she were soothing a child. “Avoidance only makes fear grow.
“You need to show Nolan you’re willing to try.”
His eyes softened when he looked at her. When he turned back, his grip tightened.
“Cooperate. Don’t make this harder for me.”
The restaurant’s private room was painfully bright. More than a dozen friends sat around the table, all witnesses to Nolan’s care over the past three years.
One of them spotted me and joked, “Look who finally left the house. Nolan’s had a rough three years.”
I sat in the corner, twisting my hem while my chest tightened in waves. Vanessa brought warm water and spoke loudly enough for the whole table.
“Please don’t treat Noelle like a patient. Too much sympathy reinforces that identity.
“She’s actually quite healthy now, aren’t you?”
More than a dozen faces turned toward me. I opened my mouth, but only a breath came out.
Nolan sat beside Vanessa, tapping one finger against the rim of his glass. “Say something.
“Stop making everyone cover for you.”
Someone gave an awkward laugh. “Depression isn’t a terminal illness.
“At some point, you’ve got to move on.”
“Seriously,” another friend said. “Anyone would be exhausted after spending every day taking care of you.”
“Vanessa got you out in public after only a few tricks. That’s what professional training can do.”
Their words slipped into my ears like needles. I covered them, but my body began shaking beyond my control.
Vanessa bent over and rested a hand on my shoulder. “There’s the avoidance response.
“Don’t be afraid. We’re all trying to help.”
Her perfume surrounded me.
It was the same scent I had smelled on Nolan’s collar the night before.