Compulsive (Liar #1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

toward the top. While he was clean shaven when I saw him in
the office, now he sported a light shadow of facial hair. His midnight blue
eyes, upon further inspection, were dotted with tiny flecks of warm light as if
some inner beam pulsed to escape, and I got lost in them before pulling the cup
from my lips.
    A chill skimmed across my skin, and I set the coffee
down onto the table to rub my arms. Damn hospitals were always so cold.
    “That tetanus shot acting up?” he said, deadpan.
    I stopped rubbing and froze for a second. I couldn’t
hold back a grin. “No, I’m just cold,” I said, challenging him.
    He nodded. “So, Gray Sky , what is the story
behind the name?”
    I ran my fingers through my hair and looked sideways
at him. “Who said there’s a story? It’s possible my parents were hippy freaks.”
    He gaped at me over his coffee cup, deciding. “Okay,
so what can I do for you, Miss, I mean, Gray?” He leaned back, his expression
wavering between interest and impatience.
    I wondered if he’d bought that answer, or he just
didn’t care, but I wanted to keep his interest. And, for some reason, I
suddenly felt the compulsion to tell him what he wanted to know. “My mom told
me this story about my name...and somehow it always stuck with me.”
    He narrowed his eyes in anticipation.
    “She said the day she went into labor a storm was
coming, the sky filled with dark brooding clouds. My father drove her in the
middle of the night to the hospital, and just as they were assigned a room, the
sky unloaded. Thunder and lightning boomed and collided with the moans and
cries of my mother in labor. When I was born, the storm had been moving away.
She said she thought the clouds brought me. Maybe she was a hippie freak, but
she was also a beautiful loving person.” I’d been looking at a spot on the wall
beyond his head while speaking that whole time. His fervent face came into
focus as he leaned forward and something plunged into my gut. That story had
spilled out of me exactly once in my life, when I told Nathan after a night of
margaritas. Now, my whole being had felt exposed and vulnerable. As I caught
his eyes connecting with mine, I blew out a breath and looked away. “Anyway…she
named me Gray Sky because she said…even a gray sky can bring you something
beautiful.”
    I grabbed my cup and looked down at it, away from his
penetrating gaze. After a moment, I glanced up. He smiled, turning his head to
the side once again. He may have been analyzing me, but I had this guy’s number.
He was already giving away his tell. I needed something to regain my footing.
    We sat staring at each other, comfortably, not in an
awkward way. Then, he said, “That’s really an incredible story. Very…telling.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    He pulled his eyes away and picked up his phone, concentrating
on the screen. “Uh…Listen, I’m going to need to—”
    “I’d like to ask you a question,” I said quickly. “As
you know, Dr. Wallace is leaving town, and I had previously been seeing her.”
As soon as I let that slip, I realized it wasn’t what I’d told him before. Another
disadvantage to being a liar: It wasn’t always easy to keep track. His eyebrows
rose as he tilted his head to the side. “Anyway,” I continued. “She gave me a
list of doctors I could choose from to continue my…to continue with. And I was
wondering why you weren’t on the list.”
    “Do you have the list with you?”
    “No, I don’t.”
    “What I can tell you is that I respect Dr. Wallace,
and I’m sure whomever she selected for that list must have been doctors she
felt would be best for you.”
    My eyes rolled, and I sipped my drink.
    “You don’t agree?”
    I tilted my head and shot him confirmation with my expression.
    “Are you saying you don’t trust Dr. Wallace’s judgment?”
    “What I’m saying is that Dr. Wallace and I just
didn’t…click. I can’t afford to end up with someone she thinks would be