One More Day

by Hadley, Auryn

  Chapter 13

  "You know he was fucking me just three weeks ago?" Hailey stormed into the office.

  "What?" Mack muttered, pulling her eyes open.

  "Was it you?" she asked a little too loudly. "I can't believe he'd dump me for some ugly fuck like you."

  Mack sighed and pulled herself up, sinking into the back of the couch. The noxious odor still wafted from the stupid dingbat screaming at her.

  "He hired me last week," she said, pressing the side of her finger against her septum, again. It worked before.

  "And how the hell did you manage to steal him from me? What the fuck do you have that I don't?"

  Mack chuckled. "A personality?" She felt her stomach flip once and took a long, deep breath. "I'm not sleeping with my boss."

  "You're fucking moving in!" Hailey yelled.

  "Leave her alone," Colby snapped, storming up the hall. "Get the fuck out of the office, Hailey."

  "I can't take it," Mack said softly, her eyes looking up as Colby walked in. "I - " she sucked in another long breath. "It's her."

  Colby just grabbed Hailey's shoulder and pulled her back into the hall. "Out!" he warned her again.

  But the smell lingered, and Mack couldn't stop it. She surged forward, grabbing a trash can. She tried to turn her back, but the smell. It was too much. She started heaving, barely able to hear what was going on over the blood pounding in her head. She didn't have the strength for this, and her body was protesting.

  "Fuck," Colby said. "Your perfume. Get out, Hailey!" He steered her back to the lobby.

  "What the fuck?" she yelled. "She's fucking pregnant or something?"

  Colby didn't answer. He was already moving to Mack's side, whispering support to her. She heaved over and over again, but the water hadn't been enough. Her body wanted to rid itself of the chemo, and there was nothing left in her to expel.

  "Did Ryan knock her up?!" Hailey screamed.

  "Shit," Ryan said, jogging down the hall. "Again?"

  "It's Hailey," Colby said. "It's got to be her perfume."

  "Get out," Ryan told her, moving into the office. "Fuck. You ok, Mack?"

  Mack just shook her head, never lifting it from the trash.

  "You knocked her up?" Hailey snarled again.

  Finally, Ryan turned to her, his eyes unforgiving. "She has cancer. It's the chemo. Now go in the other room, so your perfume doesn't make her any worse."

  "What?" Hailey's face was stunned.

  Ryan glared at her, his jaw set. "I will be back to finish the tattoo in a second. Go wait in the other room, or is that too fucking hard?"

  "K." That's all she said. Her heels clicked solidly as she did what she'd been told, for the first time, ever.

  "She's overdue on her meds," Ryan said, dropping the bottles on his desk. "C'mon sweetie. We got ya."

  "I fucking hate this," Mack whispered, one arm braced against the edge of the trash, her forehead resting on it.

  "I know," he said, moving to her other side.

  "Go finish the tattoo," Mack said. "I'm just going to sit here for a bit."

  "They can wait."

  She shook her head. "They stink. Just..." She took a deep breath, flailing her arm at the door, never looking up. "For me?"

  "Yeah," Ryan muttered, rubbing her back. "I'll get them out of here. Stay with her?" he asked Colby.

  "Yeah, man," Colby agreed. "And get her meds in."

  When Ryan left, he closed the door. Colby rubbed at her shoulder again, convincing Mack to lean back. She did, wiping the tears from her eyes, no longer even trying to hide her weakness.

  "Oh baby," Colby whispered, pulling her against his chest. "No more forgetting your meds again, ok?"

  "I'm trying. I just can't keep track of the time. It's like my mind can't focus."

  "Probably all the shit they're putting in you. Can we get you back on the couch?"

  "Yeah," Mack nodded, "But I'll need help."

  "Always," he said. "Pukin' ain't easy. I remember that part."

  Together, she managed to make it off the floor. Colby passed her the water, again, and while she took a small sip, he read the bottles Ryan had left. He opened each one and pulled out a tablet, then moved back to her side, gesturing for her to drink again.

  "You pissed at Ryan?" he asked.

  Mack looked up, completely confused. "No. Why?"

  "His ex chewing you out?"

  She tried to smile, but it was tired and weak. "Nah. Don't know why she'd think he would leave her for me, but what ever. She's a bitch."

  "Always was," Colby agreed.

  "Worst part is," Mack muttered, resting the side of her head against his shoulder, "she's exactly what I expect him to date. Super pretty and willing to take advantage of him."

  Colby nodded. "Yeah. He used to have shit taste in girls. Granted, usually it was the ones that picked him up, so maybe he just didn't know how to say no?"

  "Probably."

  "Glad he's changed his ways."

  Mack looked up at him. "He said he didn't have a girlfriend."

  Colby pressed his lips together, but couldn't hide the smirk. "Yet," he said with a wink. "You'll give in eventually."

  "Me?" She laughed. It wasn't much of one, but it was still a laugh. "Let me see if I have this right. The chick with a flat top and cancer, who does nothing but puke everywhere, and needs you both to not just pick me up off the ground, but take care of all my shit? Right."

  He just rubbed at her flat top. "You, the girl with a sense of humor, who isn't afraid of a joke, is willing to say thank you instead of hiding your embarrassment by lashing out. Oh, yeah, and he likes your ass."

  "What?"

  Colby laughed. "Remember when I said I was checking out your ass that first day?"

  She nodded, vaguely recalling hitching her shirt up.

  "Yeah, it's because he'd been telling me that you had a nice ass just before you walked in."

  "You're just trying to make me feel better," Mack said.

  Colby shook his head. "Nope. Honest to god that's what he said. I can prove it too."

  Mack sighed, and lifted her hands in defeat. "Ok, prove it."

  With a sly wink, Colby pulled open the bottom drawer of the desk, removing a small sketch book. He passed it over, then sat at Ryan's chair, propping his feet up while Mack slowly opened the cover.

  The first image was of a girl, sitting at a round table, one hand holding back her hair as it cascaded down, obscuring most of her body. She held a pen against a piece of paper, and there was a paper cup positioned perfectly to hide what she worked on. The next was the same, but her clothes and hair were different.

  Some were rough, looking like he'd drawn them quickly, but others were detailed and vivid. A few pages in, the position changed. It was her face, looking off to the side, the end of her pen resting against her lip. Her face. She flipped through page after page, seeing nothing but her face and body repeated over and over.

  "He drew me?"

  Colby nodded. "Every day. He'd open the shop and sit down, drawing the 'girl from the coffee shop'. It was like a ritual for him. Look at the last one."

  She flipped to the back, finding three blank pages, then her face again. This time it was different. The complete anguish was there in her eyes, but nowhere else. She held her chin defiant, her face serene, but he'd carefully drawn the tears ready to spill.

  "Why?" Mack asked. "Why would someone like Ryan spend," she flipped to the cover, looking at the page count, "one hundred and ninety seven pages, on drawing me?"

  "Because he was too scared to talk to you." Colby took the book from her and slid it back in the drawer. "He's actually pretty shy. He covers it up with work, but yeah. I can't count the number of times he mentioned you."

  "And Hailey?"

  Colby sighed. "She got her belly button pierced a while back. Gave him a sob story about how she always wanted to learn to pierce, so he tried to give her a job. She had no interest in the work, she just spent all her time
trying to pick him up. He finally gave in. I think it lasted about two weeks?"

  "Gotcha."

  "Not really," Colby said. "You don't really get Ryan yet. Pretty sure he fucked her a few times, but who wouldn't? Not when she's throwing that shit in your face, you know?"

  Mack giggled. "Right."

  "You not pissed at that?"

  She shrugged. "She's the kinda girl you expect to snag a guy like that."

  "Yeah, maybe on the outside. But he keeps a part of himself locked up. Took me almost two years to become his friend, Mack. I work with him five days a week, and took me fucking two years before he let me see the side of him you are already getting. He's into you big time."

  "I've known him a week, and most of that, I've been puking."

  Colby just shrugged. "Learn a lot about a person when they're at their weakest, girl. Speaking of that, you feeling any better?"

  "I think so."

  "Well, we got your paintings. When you're up to it, want to help me pick a few for the lobby?"

  "You two are serious about that?"

  Colby just nodded.

  "When the bimbos are gone," Mack agreed, then changed the subject. "You know he's offered free tattoos for cancer survivors?"

  Colby grinned. "Always has."

  "How the hell is he making any money like that?"

  "Pigment's cheap," Colby said. "It's the labor that is expensive. Granted, you helping with the designs on the weekends, it's brought in a lot more. Sterling Ink is doing fine."

  "Yeah. But I haven't been keeping up my end of the deal," she said. "He's still paying me, Colby, and I can barely work."

  "He paid me to go to rehab. You're part of the little family here. You're also his roommate."

  "Yeah, one floor up." She chuckled. "That's going to be awkward when he brings a new girl home."

  He groaned, and shook his head at her. "He won't. Look, you saw the book. He's got his eye set on one girl, and he's a stubborn fucker. Now let me see if those girls are gone then finish helping Tony."

  She nodded and sank lower on the sofa, thinking she'd close her eyes for just a moment, but after Colby walked out, Ryan walked in, opening the door softly and moving to her side.

  "I'm awake," she said.

  "Still tired?"

  "Yes, but not sleepy."

  "Then move over and let me sit." He tapped at the side of her hip, encouraging her to shift over.

  Mack turned on her side, leaving plenty of room for Ryan to share the couch. With a smile, he sank next to her, then palmed the short hair at the back of her head.

  "Sorry about that," he said. "Both the damned perfume and the bitch."

  "What are you sorry for?" she asked, smiling at him. "Just tell me she was a good lay, because there has to be something to make up for that attitude."

  He didn't rise to the teasing. Instead, his face sank. "Look," he started, but Mack didn't let him finish.

  "Ryan, you're a saint, ok? You really are, and I can't thank you enough for not making me feel like an ass about all of this. I thought I'd be able to do this alone, but I was wrong, and there aren't enough words to tell you how appreciative I am." She patted his leg and smiled at him weakly. "It still sucks for me, too. I hate this, and I hate being embarrassed all the time, and everything! Just, don't make me feel worse?"

  "Worse?" he asked.

  Mack nodded. "You're doing your good deed and taking care of the sick puppy you picked up on the side of the street. That doesn't mean you shouldn't have a life. I really can manage to puke without you. It's been three days, and you haven't done a thing but take care of me. You even closed the shop early. That's more than I can deal with."

  "Um." It seemed like he just didn't know what to say.

  "It has to be cramping your style to have your designer crashed in your bed. We can get my shit up on the third floor, and I'll learn to play loud music, deal?"

  "No," he said. "It's not like that, Mack. She wasn't a bitch until I dumped her. Well, ok, a little. But," he shook his head. "I dunno. Guess I figured you were pissed at me."

  Mack chuckled. "Why would I be pissed at you?"

  "Rubbing my ex in your face?"

  She just rolled her eyes. "I'm not stupid, Ryan. Guys like you? Girls like me?" She made a dismissive noise. "Doesn't happen. I just happen to have a really nice boss who's my friend. I am not about to start getting all up in your shit. Ok?"

  "I hate it when you do that," he said softly, but his tone was adamant. "Girls like you? I'm not even going to let you tell me what that means, Mack. Girls like you are the ones who don't work in a fucking tattoo parlor. Your shit hangs in the museums. You smile as you sip champagne with CEOs. You don't talk to guys at coffee shops."

  "I think you have me confused with someone else."

  He shook his head. "No. Mack, you're a brilliant artist, but that's not all there is. You're pretty, but not in a slutty way like Hailey. You're honestly pretty. You're the kind of pretty that doesn't need makeup or big hair, or those fucking padded bras to make men look. But you're so much more than just that. I don't know who told you that you're not the most fucking amazing thing in the world but," he paused, realizing what he was saying. "Shit," he breathed, closing his eyes and wincing away from the words.

  "What?"

  He stood up, and closed the office door, then came back. With a sigh, he sat down, clenching his hands together in his lap, refusing to look at her.

  "I tried to talk to you every day for a year, Mack," he whispered. "First I told myself that you had to be dating someone, so it wasn't worth trying. Then I talked myself out of it because girls like you don't talk to guys like me. I didn't get my high school diploma, and you're going to college. I'm fucking covered in ink, and you always looked like you belong in a corner office. I took too long," he said softly.

  "What?" she asked again.

  He nodded. "Look, I offered you the job because you're good. Shit, I think you're better than me." He rubbed at his face, and swallowed a few times. "But I also wanted to have you around. I mean, you keep saying guys like me. Shit."

  He laughed softly, and glanced over at her. Mack lay with her head against the arm of the couch, pale, but watching him. She was trying to follow his every word, but not keeping up.

  "Mack, if I thought I had half a chance of anything between us, I'd jump on it. I don't care if you're sick. I love it that you don't look like some cheap whore. Hell, sweetie, every morning that I get to be your boyfriend for a few hours, I'm loving it. I hate the why, but I love being able to just hold your hand, and wake you up with a kiss."

  "You want to be some cancer patient's boyfriend?" Those had to be some amazing drugs they'd given her.

  He shook his head. "No. I want to be yours. Cancer, no cancer. Job, no job." He chuckled. "Yeah, the job thing makes it kinda weird, but it's none of that. It's that you get lost in a drawing, and taunt Colby." He smiled at her a bit.

  "Me?"

  Ryan nodded. "Yeah. You. The most beautiful girl I've seen."

  "But I can't, Ryan." She pressed her hands to her face. "I mean, no sex, not happening. Not for a long time."

  "So?"

  "Are you fucking serious?" she asked, daring to hope.

  He stood. "This is awkward. Look. I'm not pressuring you. This just came up because of Hailey. Forget I said anything. I mean, you're going to be crashing at my place for the next two months. I don't want to make you feel put out, or whatever. I'm still fucking taking care of you though, Mack."

  Chapter 14

  "Ryan?" she asked, stopping him before he could leave.

  "Yeah?" He refused to turn.

  "Did you slip something in my meds?"

  "No?" He finally looked at her - like she'd truly lost her mind. "Why?"

  "You want to date me? Not just," she gestured at the building, "this."

  "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

  She shook her head. "No. I'm trying to figure out if you're serious or just trying to mak
e me feel better."

  "I was serious," he said. "I can keep my hands to myself, Mack. Don't worry about it. We'll get you through this then move you up to the third floor."

  She waved that away. "You're fucking serious. You? And me? And you'd introduce me as your designer, still?"

  "No. Look, Mack, I thought things were going pretty well last night. I managed to steal a kiss and sleep with my arms around you."

  "Yeah, me, too," she said, softly. "But this is going to suck. I can't date, I can't have sex. I can basically puke, sleep, and talk."

  He nodded. "I know. Thing is, this is the chance I got with you. Yeah, I wish like hell you didn't have cancer, but that's for you, not me."

  "Colby talked to me earlier, too. He showed me the sketches."

  Ryan sighed, but nodded, moving to sit in the chair behind his desk. "Sorry."

  "Ryan, two weeks ago, I was the fat chick who could barely pay her bills. Now I'm the cancer chick living with my super hot boss who wants to date me."

  "You gonna tell me to fuck off, yet?"

  Mack just shook her head. "Nah. I can't wrap my mind around it, but if you want to call me your girlfriend, I sure as hell am not going to stop you. I'll have trouble believing it, but fuck." She laughed. "Maybe cancer was the best thing to ever happen to me."

  He looked up at her, his expression shocked. "No, it's not, but what?"

  "I said yes, Ryan."

  "Yeah," he breathed, standing. "That's what I thought I heard." He was smiling as he made his way to sit beside her again. "This mean I can stop hiding it when I'm checking you out?"

  "The chick with the flat top?" she teased.

  He nodded. "The hot babe with the soon to be purple flat top."

  Mack couldn't help it, she was blushing. "Quit." She shoved her hands over her pink face, giggling.

  Ryan reached up and grabbed her hands and pulled them lower, then kissed her gently. His lips just brushed hers, then he caught her eyes and smiled. "I like that look," he said.

  "The Super Hot Guy likes me," she said, half to herself, half to him. "This has to be a dream."

  "My dream, sweetie," he told her. "So does this mean I can stop wondering if I should sleep on the sofa?"