Doctor's Fee Incident 41

THE NEXT day.

The laughter around me felt distant, muted somehow as if I were watching everything through a fog. Everyone had gathered for Uncle Nick’s birthday celebration, but I couldn’t focus on anything. My mind was elsewhere, spinning in circles as I stared at my phone.

I tried calling Laura again. But nothing, no answer.

“Where’s Laura?” Uncle Nick asked, his voice louder than it needed to be. Maybe it was the drinks, or maybe he was trying to keep the party mood alive. Either way, his question hit me like a punch.

“I don’t know,” I muttered, forcing a smile that didn’t reach my eyes. “Her phone’s been off since last night.”

Uncle Nick gave me a nod, but something in his expression didn’t sit right. He looked away too quickly, his eyes darting toward the others by the pool. It felt like a silent warning—a signal I wasn’t meant to catch. I had the sudden sense that I was the only one in the dark.

I tried to shake off the feeling, but it clung to me. I watched as Tejie and the others shared uneasy glances when they thought I wasn’t looking. My gut twisted, the unease growing stronger by the minute.

Three hours passed, and still nothing. Laura’s phone was dead. I couldn’t help but think of all the times I’d tried to brush off her absence or her vague excuses. But this time felt different. Something was wrong, and everyone seemed to know it—everyone but me.

Sitting alone in the living room, I stared at my phone, hoping it would buzz, ring, or anything. My mom’s voice broke through the silence, and I hadn’t even noticed her coming in. “Where’s Laura?” she asked softly, sitting next to me.

“I don’t know, Mom,” I admitted, feeling the weight of the words. “She said she had a gig, but…”

“But what?” she pressed gently, her eyes full of concern.

“I just… something doesn’t feel right,” I said, raking my hands through my hair.

Mom placed a hand on my shoulder. “Clyde, maybe you need to talk to her. Talk.”

I nodded, but I knew it wasn’t that simple. Talking wouldn’t change the growing knot in my stomach.

As the evening rolled in, the tension outside the house thickened. I could see Uncle Nick, Ben, Clint, and Tejie huddled together, their voices low. I caught glimpses of worried glances thrown my way. They knew something. They were all keeping something from me.

Just when I thought I couldn’t take it anymore, my phone buzzed. Laura’s name lit up the screen.

Finally, I answered quickly, “Laura?”

“Hey,” she said, her voice flat, distant. “My phone died last night. Just got home.”

“Where have you been?” I tried to keep my voice steady, but I couldn’t hide the frustration seeping through.

“Busy. I had a gig. I stayed out late.”

I wanted to believe her, but her tone… it wasn’t Laura. It wasn’t the woman I knew. “Are you coming over? I thought we’d spend the night together.”

There was a pause on the other end, long enough to make my heart race.

“I can’t. I’m too tired,” she finally said.

Something inside me broke. “Laura… is there something you’re not telling me?”

Another pause. Then, “No, Clyde. I’m just tired. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?”

And before I could push further, she hung up.

I stared at the phone in my hand, feeling the weight of everything crashing down on me. The silence between us had become deafening.

What is Laura hiding, and why does everyone around me seem to know the truth but won’t tell me?

EVENING FELL.

I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was happening right in front of me, and I was too blind to see it. The party continued around me, but I felt completely disconnected from it all. My mom found me again, this time by the pool, as I sat having a drink that did nothing to calm my nerves.

She sat down beside me, her voice low and hesitant. “Clyde… there’s something I need to tell you.”

I looked at her, dread filling my chest. Her eyes were sad, and that was when I knew. Whatever she was about to say, it was bad.

“What is it, Mom?” I asked though part of me didn’t want to hear it.

She hesitated, her voice trembling as she finally spoke. “It’s about Laura.”

My heart pounded in my chest, my hands gripping the edge of the chair. “What about her?”

“We found out… she’s been seeing someone else. Paul,” she said, her words like a punch to my gut.

Paul. The name was like a ghost from the past—one I thought was gone, buried. But he wasn’t. He was back, and Laura… she had chosen him over me, I knew it.

I could feel my world-shattering. All the plans I had made for us, the life we were supposed to build together—it was gone, ripped away in an instant. I pulled away from my mom, standing up, trying to breathe, but the weight of it was too much. I could feel the tears burning in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I choked out, my voice breaking. “But— it’s okay, I— I knew it!”

“We didn’t want to hurt you,” she said, her voice filled with guilt. “We thought maybe she’d come back to you. But now… it’s too late.”

I walked away from her, my mind spinning, my heart in pieces. I didn’t know what to do or where to go. Everything was a blur of pain and disbelief.

“I need to see her!” I rushed outside to my car.

“Clyde!” Mom called out.

“Chari?” Dad shouted.

Everyone freaked out when they saw me rushing to my car at the garage.

I DECIDED to go to her place. Maybe I was being irrational, maybe I was just grasping at straws, but I needed to see her. To look her in the eyes and hear the truth for myself.

When I got there, I parked a little distance away from her apartment building, close enough to see the front door but far enough that she wouldn’t notice me right away. My heart was racing, the dread building with every passing minute. I sat there, gripping the steering wheel, trying to steady my breathing, trying to convince myself that I wasn’t about to see what I feared most.

Then, the door opened.

Laura stepped out, and for a split second, I felt relieved. She looked just like she always did—like the Laura I loved, the one I thought I knew. But then he followed her out.

Paul.

It felt like my chest caved in. There he was, standing next to her as if he belonged there, as he had always been part of her life. And maybe, in some twisted way, he had. They were laughing softly, their bodies close, too close. She smiled at him, the kind of smile she used to give me. The one that made me feel like I was the only one who mattered.

I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. I just sat there, watching them from the shadows, my heart breaking all over again. Every second felt like a lifetime. They were so close I could almost hear their conversation, but I didn’t need to. The way she looked at him, the way her hand lingered on his arm—it told me everything I needed to know.

She was leaving with him.

I watched as Paul opened the passenger door for her, and she slid inside without hesitation. Without a second glance back at the life she was leaving behind. Without a second thought about me.

I wanted to scream, to run over there and demand to know why. Why had she lied to me? Why had she chosen him after everything we had been through? But I couldn’t move. All I could do was sit there and watch as they drove away together, fading into the night like a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from.

And in that moment, I knew. Laura was gone.

My heart has been shattered watching Laura choose Paul. Will I confront her, or is this the end of our story? How will I pick up the pieces of my broken heart again?

June_Thirteen