Lie with Me by Stephanie Tyler

didn’t reply to messages.
    She tried to keep her tone light as she answered. “Hey, Liv, how are you?”
    “You haven’t answered any of my texts.” Olivia herself sounded slightly out of breath, which meant that she was no doubt moving through the halls of the hospital at top speed. She had no other speed.
    “Sorry—I’ve been working.”
    “You know, you might be a great liar to others. But never to me.”
    “I’m okay. Trust me,” Sky lied. “And before you ask, yes, I’ve been taking all my meds and eating right.”
    The doctor was thirty-three, seven years older than she had been when Sky had her first kidney failure. The women had gotten close—as close as one could get to the doctor, Sky supposed, because the woman worked twenty-four seven, and Sky could appreciate why. It was Liv’s tenacity that kept Sky alive, and her generous nature and wide smile that kept Sky from spiraling into depression when she was most lonely. Olivia came at her patients full-force, nursing them back to health with an urgency that made them feel well cared for.
    “I hope you’re at least trying to have a life,” her friend teased, and Sky thought about last night and was glad she didn’t have to face Olivia right now.
    Liv always prodded her to get out there, have some fun. Sky would remind her that she worked too hard to have any fun of her own either, but Liv would shrug and say there would be plenty of time for that later.
    Sky wanted to tell her friend not to waste any time, that it was all so damned precious, but Liv knew that as well as Sky did. And so Sky just told her, “I’m trying. I’ll check in soon, and if not, I’ll see you next week for sure.”
    “You bet you will—you can’t miss that appointment. Speaking of which, your dad missed his last checkup. I’m assuming he’s feeling all right?”
    “He’s feeling great,” Sky lied. “Talk soon, okay?”
    With that, Liv hung up the phone and Sky did the same. She began to pack without really noticing what she was doing, her mind once again focused on her father.
    They’d had private nurses watching out for both of them for the first few weeks post-surgery, although her dad insisted on doing a lot of the work for Skylar himself. He cooked for her, kept track of her meds. Talked with her about her books and played Trivial Pursuit and Scrabble with her.
    He grumbled that she won every game, even when he tried to cheat. Somehow, he could never get one past her.
    She’d missed all of that time together doing regular things—hadn’t realized how much until her father had sprawled across the bottom of her bed, playing Wii … and laughing.
    But then there were times during the recovery she’d find him alone, looking pensive. Planning mode, for sure, especially during that second month. She’d seen it too many times not to recognize it.
    It was because of the time spent together that her hatred of competing with his job was brought into sharp relief. She knew what she’d missed.
    It was also why she didn’t trust that she could have happiness for the long term. No, happiness was only for short bursts, moments in time she clung to during the long stretches when the loneliness was palpable, when she literally threw herself into her work and didn’t look up for days on end.
    “No matter what, Skylar, this is the best thing I’ve ever done, second only to having you in the first place,” he’d told her.
    The next morning, he’d been gone. Left a letter for her, a simple note that reminded her to eat well, take her pills, stay in touch.
    I’ll be there whenever you need me .
    But this time, he wasn’t.
    Cam, however, was. And with that thought to comfort her, she began to pack.
    T he next morning, Dylan was still outside, by the pool.
    Did the man not have a hotel room of his own? Had he seriously spent the night here? It didn’t bode well for Riley, meant that he would no doubt remain until he got what he was looking for.
    Riley should’ve