The Risks We Take Duet Box Set

34. Carys

CARYS

W hy are doctor’s offices so damn cold?

A December day in California is different from one back home in Kroydon Hills. Today, I’m wearing a hoodie I stole from Cooper’s closet a few weeks ago, paired with black leggings, and I’m fine. Or I would be if this office wasn’t set to a temperature equivalent to an arctic freeze.

I don’t have much time to focus on it, though, because luckily Dr. Cruz doesn’t keep me waiting long. She strolls through the door to her office in a beautiful cream silk suit. Her dark hair is styled to perfection, and her crisp white coat, with her name embroidered in it in blue, looks like it’s been perfectly pressed.

This woman looks badass.

My fingers are crossed that she can help me.

“Hello, Miss Murphy. How are you feeling today?” She takes a seat behind a large oak desk and opens a file before looking back up at me.

Oops. Guess she’s waiting for an answer. “Nice to meet you, Dr. Cruz. I’m good. How are you?”

My primary out here referred me to Dr. Cruz when she ran out of options last month, and Jessie may have called in a few favors at the hospital to get me to the front of her very long waitlist.

“Good?” she asks, clearly not believing me as she skims through my file.

“Sorry.” I blush. “Force of habit. Generally, people don’t want to hear that you’re twenty years old with a constant headache and bone-deep exhaustion. I feel a little like I’m going crazy.”

Her warm smile calms my nerves— slightly .

“Well, I do. I want to hear every single detail. Don’t leave anything out.”

“I go through bursts of feeling fine, then feeling like I have the flu. The bad symptoms—like the headaches, body aches, fever, and vomiting—can last for a few days and sometimes up to a week. But I feel the lingering effects for a few weeks at a time. I used to be a runner. I’ve run marathons, but now I barely have the energy to walk to class half the time.”

By the time I’ve regurgitated everything from the last six months of my life, I realize I must sound like a hypochondriac. I stuff my hands inside the pockets of the warm hoodie and sit back. Suddenly tired.

Dr. Cruz lays down the tablet she’s been using to take notes and takes out a form. She fills it out quickly and checks more boxes than one person should ever need. But when she’s done with that one, she grabs two more forms and fills them out as well.

“You’re not going crazy, Miss Murphy. We’re going to get to the bottom of this.” She hands me the papers. “I’d like you to have these scans and labs run here at the hospital, so I can get access to the results faster. Do you think you could get them scheduled for some time this week?”

“Sure.”

“Good. I’d like to see you back here in two weeks. We’re going to figure this out. In the meantime, keep doing what you’re doing, and call the office if you need anything.” She stands from her desk, then opens the office door. “Happy New Year, Miss Murphy.”

“Happy New Year, Dr. Cruz.”

I leave her office and head to the parking garage. Cooper gave me his Jeep while he was gone, so I didn’t have to ask for a ride or grab an Uber today. Once I’m heading home, I call my mom and fill her in. I cut my trip home for the holidays short, in part, because I didn’t want to miss the appointment. At least that’s what I shared with her. I didn’t want her to know that being there without Cooper was making me miserable.

Once we end our call, I message Coop.

Carys

Just got out of my doctor’s appointment. More tests. Then a follow-up with her.

Call me when you can.

I wait a minute to see if he responds, but nothing comes.

Twenty minutes later, I walk into my house and see the band sitting around the table, going over a playlist. They’ve had a few different singers front for them since September, but none have worked out. Jack’s done the past few weeks himself. I think he’s fantastic. But it’s not the sound he wants.

“Hey, CC. Come help us pick out the opener.” Theo twirls his drumsticks between his fingers with an easy smile.

I appreciate that he doesn’t ask me about my appointment.

Jack’s also definitely become a better friend since we all moved in here.

I move between Jack and Theo while Lucas sits there, strumming his guitar.

“What are your options?”

“What would you want to sing?” Jack asks me.

I shake my head, but he cuts me off before I can get any words out. “Just this once, CC. It’s New Year’s Eve. It’s a huge night for us. Come on, it’ll be fun.”

“Jack... seriously. I just want to hang out here and watch the ball drop. I’m exhausted.”

“Leave her be, man.” Theo drags the sheet of paper across the table with the tip of his stick. “We’ve got this, CC.”

Jack wraps an arm around my waist and tugs me over to him. “Sorry, CC. Promise me one day you’ll sing with us again, and I’ll shut up.”

“I promise.” Then I grab the sheet back from Theo and help them figure out their set.

“ A re you sure you don’t want to come with us, CC?” Emerson reapplies her red lipstick, then rolls her lips together with a pop. “Linc should be here any minute, and I think most of the team is going to be there. At least for a few hours.”

I tug my comfy blanket up around me on our couch and pick up the remote. “I’ve got Ryan Seacrest, popcorn, and sweet tea. I’m good. I promise.” She doesn’t need to know I’ve already popped two pain relievers because I feel a nasty headache coming on.

“Okay. Call me if you need anything.” She turns to leave but stops to lean down and kiss my cheek. “Love you, CC.”

“Happy New Year, Emerson.”

Finally, my phone rings with the incoming FaceTime from Cooper I’ve been waiting for.

“Hi.” My heart skips a beat at his handsome face. He’s let his usual scruff grow out a little longer, and I itch to run my fingers over it.

“Hey, baby. Happy New Year.”

Relief mixes with heartache. I want him next to me so damn badly, but I refuse to show him that. I can be strong for a few more months. “Happy New Year.”

A knock at the door makes me frown. I hold the phone steady as I get up.

Em must have forgotten something.

“Has the ball dropped yet?” I guess that’s a stupid question. It’s after ten p.m. here, so it’s after midnight there.

“Answer the door, Carys.”

“What?”

I yank open the door and then burst into tears as I drop my phone and throw my arms around Cooper. “How? Why?”

He wraps his arms around me and kicks the door shut behind him, then carries me to the couch. When he sits down, he holds me impossibly closer. My legs are locked behind his back, and my face is buried in his neck.

“I requested leave. It’s just for two days, and I flew commercial, not military. So I have to be on a red-eye tomorrow night. But baby, I needed to see you. To feel you.”

I finally pull back and look deep into those blue eyes I love to get lost in. “I love you.”

E ventually, we make our way upstairs and drag blankets and pillows outside to my balcony, nestling together under the moonlight. Filling each other in on everything and anything we haven’t had a chance to discuss. The mundane, everyday things that aren’t a big deal but you just want to share with your best friend.

“How much longer, Cooper? When are you coming home?”

“You are my home, Carys.” The words are everything I’ve ever wanted to hear, but the small crack in my heart that started when he left grows a little deeper.

I press my lips gently to his. “When are you coming back to me?”

“I’m not sure, yet. It could be next week. It could be the beginning of March.” He cradles me to him. “They’ve talked about offering me the position permanently.”

A million what ifs race through my mind. “You’d leave Charlie Team?”

“I’m not sure. But if I did, we could be closer to home.” His fingers lace with mine as he lifts them to his lips. “Once you’re done with school, we could live in Virginia. We’d only be a few hours from home. If Murphy moves to DC to be with Sabrina, you’d be just a few hours from him too.”

I sit up in shock. “But what about the guys? Your team? You love them. Why would you leave?”

“I love you more.”