Chapter 48: Trey: Just A Headache

TREY

My knuckles are still sore by the time I reach the clinic, thanks to the restraint it took not to punch Ezra.

The nurse at reception takes my complaint, checks my blood pressure, then shows me into Julian’s office. I’ve barely sat down when the door opens and he walks in. His face lights up when he sees me, which is a strange amount of enthusiasm for finding me in his office.

"We’ve met before, haven’t we?" he asks.

[Didn’t like him the first time. Don’t see that changing. Why are we here?]

Trex is still pissed about Ezra, so he’s not exactly judging anyone fairly right now. I let him growl in the background and wait for him to get tired of hating the world.

"Trey Mercer." Julian drops into his chair and checks his screen. His eyes return to me, one brow lifting. "Sadie didn’t come with you?"

"Why?" I rest an ankle over my knee and make my shoulders relax. "I can’t have my own problems?"

He snorts. "You were with her last time. I assumed she’d return the favor. Sadie’s always eager to help."

"Sounds like you know her well." I look him over. "You two close? Friends? How long have you known her?"

"Easy." He lifts a hand and wheels himself closer, fighting a smile. "I’m the one who asks the questions in this room."

The smile stays until he realizes I’m not joking. He eases back, looking at me a little differently now.

"And in case you haven’t noticed, this is the school clinic. Any relationship I have with a student starts and ends here." He shrugs. "Flattering as this misunderstanding is, I’m in my early forties. Happily taken."

Good for him. Neither age nor a mate has ever been much of a deterrent to the kind of man who goes after naive girls. If he thinks either one earns him my trust around Sadie, he’s wrong.

"I was just asking." I stretch out a little more. "You’re the one making it weird."

He starts to respond, catches himself, then presses his lips together for a second.

"You can drop the intimidation act, Trey," he says. "Your wolf is already doing an excellent job."

Trex rumbles, pleased to have his hostility acknowledged.

Julian’s mouth twitches. "Your Alpha pheromones are strong too. Very strong. Between those and the glaring, your message is coming through."

Most men would sooner swallow their own teeth than admit another man intimidates them, but Julian seems more amused than uncomfortable. He’s a strange guy.

I don’t trust him any more than I did five minutes ago. At this point, I can’t tell whether coming here was a decent idea or Ezra annoyed me enough to temporarily ruin my judgment.

He looks back at the screen. "You complained of a headache?"

"Yes."

His fingers hover over the keyboard. "Anything else?"

"Yeah. How long have you known Sadie, and what’s the deal between you two?"

He turns his head toward me, a grin slowly tugging at his mouth. I don’t know what he thinks he’s figured out, but I can tell I’m not going to enjoy it. "I meant any other medical complaints, Mercer."

It takes another second for me to hear the question the way he intended it.

For fuck’s sake.

My fingers curl against my thigh, and his grin widens like he heard that thought. He’s messing with me for his own amusement now. What does he think this is? We both know Sadie, so suddenly we’re friends?

[Fool.] Trex sounds disgusted with me. [You misunderstood the question. Maybe you and Ezra are more alike than I thought.]

I press my tongue against the inside of my cheek and ignore him. "No other complaints."

Julian takes off his glasses and places them on the desk, looking less entertained when his attention returns to me.

"The headache was an excuse." His eyes narrow slightly. "Why are you really here?"

"If I tell you, can you handle it?"

He gives me a tired look. "We can keep going back and forth, but I doubt you planned to spend your entire afternoon here."

"You already know what this is about."

"I have an idea. What I don’t understand is why you came to me when Sadie and your brother are—"

"They’re not together."

His mouth closes, and a crease appears between his brows.

I give him a second to catch up. "You were going to say she’s with Ezra, weren’t you?"

He searches my face, probably checking whether I’m joking. When I don’t take it back, he gives a small nod.

"Sadie must not have filled you in." I settle back. "She’s single now. Are you sure you two are even close?"

He laughs. "Like I said, Mercer, it’s professional. Most of what I know comes from occasional gossip."

[He’s being friendly. Tell him why you’re here.]

This wolf of mine changes sides too fast. I can’t trust him to stay loyal for five minutes.

He has a point, though. I came here because Julian seemed close to Sadie during our last visit, and I need answers from someone who isn’t Lola. There’s no point hiding behind the headache now.

"What does she like?" I ask. "You’re her doctor, and she seems to trust you."

His demeanor shifts. "This better not be some kind of bet between you and your brother."

"What the hell makes you think that?"

"I’ve seen stranger things, and I was your age once too." He gives me a pointed look. "You just told me she’s single. If this is some competition with your brother, or Sadie’s caught between the—"

"She isn’t." My voice comes out sharper than I intend, stopping the rest of his sentence. I rein it in before adding, "This has nothing to do with Ezra."

"Then what does it have to do with?" he asks. "Are you asking as her friend, or because you have feelings for her?"

"That’s my personal business. But I’m not here to play games with her. I came because she seems to consider you a friend."

He doesn’t push for an answer, which makes it easier to keep talking.

"I can read her fine. I know when she’s happy or upset because her face gives her away." I pause, trying to put the rest into words. "But there’s still a wall between us. I don’t know whether she doesn’t trust me or I make her nervous."

Julian is quiet for a second. "You understand I’m not going to tell you anything she shared with me privately."

"I didn’t ask you to."

"And if she doesn’t want whatever this is?"

"Then she doesn’t want it." My jaw tightens. "I’m trying to understand her, not corner her."

"Does she know you’re here?" he asks. "Asking me this."

"No."

"Would she want you to be?"

I don’t have a clean answer for that, and he watches me long enough to notice.

He exhales. "I’ll say what I’d say to anyone, if you want to know her, ask her. Not me."

"I’m asking you because she won’t tell me."

"That might be your answer right there, Mercer."

I don’t have a comeback for that, and the silence stretches long enough to make it worse.

"I’m not trying to skip past her," I finally say. "I know how this looks but she’ll shut me out if I try."

That earns me another long look before some of the tension leaves his face.

"I assume you want to be her friend and she needs more friends in her life. But why wouldn’t she be nervous?"

The question catches me off guard. "Around me?"

He gestures vaguely at all of me. "Yes, Mercer. Look at you."

"What’s that supposed to mean?"

"You’re big. Sadie isn’t, and I don’t only mean physically." His hand rises before I can say anything. "She apologizes for needing help. She comes in here sick and still worries that she’s wasting our time. Making herself small is normal to her."

His hand drops toward me. "You’re the opposite. There’s nothing subtle about your life. You fill every room you enter without even trying, so yes, you probably make her nervous."

I can’t tell if that was advice or an insult. I know I’m not exactly easy to miss, but he makes it sound like I spend my days looming over innocent people. Do I need to wear a permanent smile before everyone realizes I’m cool?

"I can’t change who I am because of her." I rub a hand over my nose. "She needs to realize she doesn’t have to be small either."

"Exactly." Julian points at me. "You don’t need to change, but neither does she. She just needs to believe there’s room for both of you."

He leans forward and rests his arms on the desk.

"That means meeting her halfway. You can’t show up, take over, and expect her to adjust." His face grows more serious. "You said she’s not with her true mate anymore so something tragic happened there, and now she’s careful. You’re going to have to give her time."

I hear him, but none of that answers what I’m actually asking. How do I show her there’s room for both of us? I’m not a poet or a magician.

I rub my forehead. "So what you’re saying is..."

His mouth curves before the rest comes out. "You’ve never tried to do this before."

"Do what?"

"Bond with someone."

My lips press into a line, and Julian laughs like that confirms everything.

"Start small," he says. "Sadie loves tulips. She was upset for my missus when she found out she doesn’t like them, which I still don’t understand. She likes attention too, but only when it feels genuine."

Tulips and attention. That’s more useful than everything else he’s told me since I walked in.

He lifts a shoulder. "That’s all I’ve got, and probably more than I should’ve given you."

I let the information settle before rising from the chair. "Nice talk."

Julian looks at me expectantly.

I sigh. "Thank you." 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

"There we go. Your manners survived." He turns back to the computer. "Grab some painkillers from the pharmacy before you leave."

A few taps on the keyboard bring the printer behind his desk to life.

"You’re seriously giving me a prescription?"

"You claimed to have a headache." He reaches for the page. "Might as well get some medical care out of the visit."