Longwood Medical Area

Sunday, 5:00 PM

“Cool.” Larry muted the television, which was playing an episode of Prodigy in the background. “I’m totally down for a road trip.”

Ethan glanced at the screen to see Callie, slow dancing with some shirtless guy who had the six-pack of a marine. Her hands massaged his muscular shoulders, while his hands disappeared up her shirt.

Shit. I really didn’t need to see that.

“Sorry, but I’m going alone.” He looked away. “And could you turn that crap off? It’s distracting.”

“I bet it is.” Larry stretched out on the living room couch. “Jealous much?”

“It’s not like that. She’s my patient, Larry. I’m partly responsible for her leaving Belmont against medical advice. That’s why I’ve got to find her.”

“What if she’s not in Providence?”

“Then at least I’ll have tried.”

“So that’s your plan? To drive up and down some random street looking for a pink house?”

Ethan shrugged. “I wanted to call her roommate first, but she’s not listed. And I couldn’t get her number through Belmont’s EMR because they’ve locked me out.”

Larry made a low whistle. “That doesn’t sound good.”

“No it doesn’t. But I can’t think about that now.”

“What’s the roommate’s name?”

“Maya Morales.”

“Hmm. Not the rarest name, but not exactly Jane Doe either. Did you check Brown’s student directory?”

“Dead end. You need a student ID to log in.”

“Huh.” Larry snorted and opened his laptop, which was on the coffee table. “Amateur. Watch and learn.”

“Wait.” Ethan grabbed his arm. “No hacking. I’m in enough shit already.”

“Fine. We’ll do it the hard way. What was the name of that street? Benevolent, right?” His fingers tap-danced over the keyboard. “Who needs to go anywhere when you’ve got Google Street View?”

Ethan watched over Larry’s shoulder as he took a virtual walk down Benevolent Street, panning from left to right to view the houses on both sides. After two blocks, he stopped in front of a Queen Anne Victorian that resembled a tiered cake with pink frosting.

Ethan instantly recognized the house from Callie’s photo. “That’s it.”

Larry zoomed in on the mailbox. “Number two forty-three. Now for my next magic trick.” He attacked the keyboard again. “Only one number listed for that address. Must be the landlord.”

He whipped out his cell and dialed. “Hi. I’m looking for Maya Morales. She’s listed at this address.”

A gruff male voice barked a reply.

“Oh… well, do you have her number? I found her wallet this afternoon and was hoping to drop it off. Yeah, I’m in the neighborhood right now.” After a few beats, he grinned and mouthed “He’s getting it.”

Ethan handed him a pen and paper.

“That’s her cell? Excellent. She’ll be psyched to get her wallet back. Thanks.” Larry ended the call by mike-dropping his cell onto the couch. “That’s how you do it, son.”

“Sometimes you scare me.”

“Don’t worry.” Larry flexed his biceps. “I only use my superpowers for good.”

“Right.” Ethan snatched the number out of his hand. “Wish me luck.”

Half an hour later, Ethan paced the living room. He’d left a voicemail message on Maya Morales’s cell, explaining who he was and asking for a call back to discuss Callie. His iPhone lay on the coffee table, taunting him with silence. With each passing second, he felt Callie slipping further away.

He flopped onto the couch next to Larry, who was gawking at another episode of Prodigy. At the moment, Callie was trying not to steal her best friend Violet’s professional surfer boyfriend. They faced each other in the shallow end of a swimming pool, tiki torches adding to the mood with low, intimate lighting. Callie’s tanned skin glowed, her eyes glistening with tears.

“I can’t do this,” she whispered. “Not to Vi.”

“Dude.” Larry nudged him. “What’re the odds they’re naked and sucking face in that hot tub in the next scene?”

“I’d say they’re pretty good.”

Now he understood where Jess’s opinion of Callie came from. It’s only acting, he reminded himself. Callie hates this show. But then why was she so good at playing the role?

His cell buzzed on the coffee table like a cicada and he snatched it up, cringing when he saw who was calling.

“Damn. It’s my mom. She must’ve seen the news.”

Seconds later, the apartment phone rang. Larry muted the TV and grinned at him. “Methinks it’s for you.”

“Of course it is.” Only Mom and telemarketers still used the land line.

He searched for the receiver, finally finding it beneath a pile of Larry’s dirty laundry. What the hell was he going to tell her?

He didn’t need to say much because Mom wouldn’t let him get a word in. He held the phone away from his ear as she prattled on about the shock of seeing his photo all over the internet, hand-in-hand with that screwed up celebrity girl.

“Yes, I saw the picture,” he interrupted, rolling his eyes at Larry. “It’s not what it looks like. I can’t give you details because I signed a non-disclosure agreement, but you need to trust me. I did nothing wrong.”

“But everyone’s saying –”

“Don’t listen to everyone. Listen to me. I was there. They’re fabricating a scandal out of thin air.”

He tapped the receiver to his skull as she kept perseverating on the incriminating photo. How shocking it had been to see him like that. How she didn’t know what to tell her concerned friends. How some nosy reporter had the nerve to call her home number asking for a comment.

“I hope you hung up on him.”

“You bet I did, after giving him a piece of my mind! What’s going on, Ethan? I’ve been trying to reach you all day. You never return my calls.”

Gee, he thought. I wonder why.

“Sorry I missed them.” He massaged his throbbing temples. “It’s been a crazy, non-stop weekend. I was with Jess in New York when the news broke.”

“I know,” Mom replied. “When I couldn’t reach you, I tried her.”

“You what?”

“I called Jess, an hour ago. She picked up after one ring.”

“Mom.” He groaned. “I wish you hadn’t done that.”

“Why? You could’ve been dead in a gutter for all I knew. At least Jess put my mind at ease, which is more than I can say for you. When did you become so selfish?”

Ethan’s shoulders slumped. He didn’t have the energy to deal with Mom’s passive aggressive bullshit. “I’m not selfish, Mom. Just stressed out. That gossip site is posting lies. You need to ignore them, but that doesn’t mean I can afford to. They’re trashing my reputation. If I don’t fight back, I could be suspended from med school or worse.”

His mother gasped. “I’ll call your father. He’ll –”

“No! Keep Dad out of this. I can handle things myself, but you need to chill.”

“I’m sorry, honey. It’s just that this is all so” – she sniffed – “frightening. What can I do to help?”

Stop nagging me, he wanted to scream. Stop being another burden. He squeezed the phone, waiting for the anger to pass like a stomach cramp.

“Ethan? Are you still there?”

“I’m still here, Mom. Just be supportive, like you always are. Things are going to be hectic this week, but I’ll try to answer your texts as soon as possible. No one died.” He shuddered as soon as the words left his lips. “It’s going to be all right.”

“Thanks, sweetheart.” She sniffed again. “Please just keep me in the loop.”

“Okay, Mom. Love you.” He raked a hand through his hair, which was knotted with partially rinsed shampoo from a rushed morning shower. “What did Jess tell you, by the way?”

“The same thing you did. Not to believe the gossip. She promised to check in on you tonight.”

She did? That was surprising news. He wondered if Jess really planned to call of if that was just another lie. Then again, who was he to judge?

“When did she –?”

His cell beeped to interrupt the thought. Area code 212. Manhattan. Callie’s roommate.

“Mom, that’s another call. Gotta go. Talk to you later.”

Heart racing, he clicked over to the other line. “Hi. Ethan Chase speaking. Is this Maya?”

Silence. One second stretched to ten.

“Hello?”

No reply. Shit. Is she gone? He was about to redial the incoming number when he heard a sharp intake of breath.

“I really shouldn’t be talking to you.” Maya’s voice was edgy, with a subtle New York accent.

“Please don’t hang up.”

“You’ve got a minute.”

“That’s all I need. Listen, Callie told me how much you mean to her. That’s why I called. I need your help.” He closed his eyes, knowing what he was about to say could get him into even more trouble. Fuck it. Callie’s life is at stake. “She left Belmont this morning against medical advice.”

“Yeah. I know.”

“Then you also know that’s the worst thing she could’ve done. She’s in terrible danger.”

Maya sighed. “She left because you assholes leaked her info to the press.”

“That’s true,” Ethan admitted. “Belmont was probably hacked, but I have no proof of that. And I’m sure you saw the picture too. I crossed all kinds of professional lines with Callie. I might get kicked out of med school because of it, but that’s not why I’m calling. I need to talk to her. If I can convince her to come back to Belmont –”

Maya laughed. “Good luck with that.”

“It doesn’t have to be Belmont. Just some place that can pick up her care where we left off. You’re her friend, Maya. You know what’ll happen if she spirals again. Each suicide attempt has been more serious than the last. The next time she…” His throat tightened. “There can’t be a next time. That’s why I need to see her.”

More silence stretched between them, ending with another sigh. “I’m sorry, but I can’t help you.”

“That’s bullshit!” He counted to three, reining in the frustration. “She needs you, Maya. If you turn your back on her now, you’ll never forgive yourself.”

“What the hell?” she shot back. “You know nothing about me.”

“You’re right. But I know Callie only brought one personal item with her to Belmont, and it wasn’t a photo of her father, or that superficial bitch Elin. It was a picture of you.”

“Goddamn it.”  Maya unleashed a stream of curses under her breath. “You don’t get it. There’s nothing I can do. She isn’t here.”

“Shit.” He nudged away Larry, who was trying to listen in over his shoulder. “Do you think she’s gone back to California with Elin?”

“I don’t know.” Maya’s voice cracked, like she was afraid something even worse had happened. “Whenever I call, her phone just goes straight to voicemail.”

An hour later, Ethan’s cell buzzed again, interrupting his sad dinner of ramen noodles. He glanced down to see a FaceTime request from Jess.

He rushed into his bedroom to take the call from his laptop. Jess sat on the same couch where they’d argued the night before, her eyes puffy and her nose red. She still looked beautiful, but his heart ached seeing her in distress like that. Knowing he was the reason.

“Jess, I’m so –”

“Don’t.” She held up her hand. “I’m not calling for some bullshit apology. I knew about the picture this morning, Ethan. Maddie warned me about it, right before you called.”

So that’s why she’d been so cold. He wondered what else her sister had told her.

“About that photo,” he blurted. “I know it looks bad, but the moment was taken out of context. I never should’ve crossed that line, but the hand-holding was innocent. Callie’s a friend. That’s all.”

“Whatever.” Jess sniffed and rubbed her eyes. “Listen, I didn’t call to debate a stupid photo. Who gives a damn? We’ve got a much bigger problem.”

Ethan gulped, eyes flicking to the engagement ring on his bedside table. So this was it. She was calling to break off their engagement. He took a deep breath, bracing himself for the blow.

“I just got off the phone with Maddie. Prime Dirt is going to post another story tonight. She tried to stop them, or at least get them to postpone. The source is anonymous. No decent media outlet would run the story without digging deeper, but her editors don’t give a shit.”

“What are you saying, Jess?”

She leaned closer to the camera, her face filling the screen. Worry lines bracketed her eyes. “I’m saying someone important at Belmont just identified the leak, Ethan. They’re blaming you.”

***

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