Free Exposure by Annie Jocoby Page A

right thing that you’ve said in awhile.”
    I looked out the window of the hospital. I was faced with a familiar dilemma. How to get home when I was, once again, terrified of leaving the building? I shuddered. I felt like I did when I was trapped in Asher’s building. I made it home that time because Asher was beside me, holding my hand. Now I apparently wouldn’t have that.
    How was I going to get home?
    He attempted to hold my hand, but I abruptly pulled it away. I couldn’t look at him. At his stricken face and sympathetic eyes. I knew that he felt badly for springing that whole proposition on me, and then telling me about how he wanted me for this whole charade because I was pathetic and broke. His other girlfriends were all wealthy, so he didn’t want them to be his charity bride. He wanted me to play that role because he figured that I would be so desperate for the cash that I would jump at his no-strings-attached bullshit proposal.
    He had another thing coming.
    I folded my arms in front of me. “You better go, Asher. I believe that tomorrow is a work day for you. Besides, at this point, I don’t think that I can stand the sight of you.”
    He shook his head. “I’m not leaving you, CJ.”
    Then I was really angry. “Oh, you’re not? And why is that? Because you have to rescue the pathetic princess? I’m not your fucking charity case, so please quit treating me like I am.”
    “No, CJ, it isn’t like that.”
    “It is like that, Asher. You know what kind of fucked-up thing happened to me. No, it didn’t happen to me. It happened to an innocent little 4-year-old boy. But it was certainly my fault. And, lo and behold, you know about my suicide attempt and my stay in the nut house. And, you know about my panic disorder and agoraphobia. What part of all of that says to you that I’m not some kind of special charity case for you, Mr. Spoiled Charmed Life guy?”
    He hung his head and contemplated his coffee cup. “Is that what you think about me? That I’m just some kind of spoiled asshole born with a silver spoon in my mouth? That I’ve never known tragedy like you have?”
    “That’s exactly what I think about you, so you need to get out of this hospital and leave me the fuck alone. I’ll call Scarlett. She genuinely loves me and cares about me. I’ll get home safely if she comes and gets me. But she might have to bring me a sedative, though.”
    “You aren’t a charity case, and I’m not at all what you think I am. You couldn’t be more wrong.”
    “Oh? What part of my analysis of you is wrong, Mr. Richy-Rich?”
    “All of it.” He shook his head again. “But you can think what you want. Call Scarlett, have her come and get you. I’m going to talk to your doctor and see if he can’t give you something to calm yourself down on the way home. And I’m at least sticking around until she comes to get you, CJ. I take full responsibility for you being here in the first place, and I’ll be goddamned if I just abandon you.”
    “No,” I said. “I’m calling Scarlett, and you’re leaving right this very second. As I said before, I can’t stand the sight of you.”
    He just shook his head. “I’m going to find your doctor and have him prescribe you something, because you’re going to need something to get you home without panicking. I’ll be right back.”
    At that, he disappeared, apparently to find my doctor.
    And I called Scarlett.
    “CJ,” she said when I called. “I’ve been worried about you again, but not as much as before. Where are you?”
    “At the hospital,” I said. “I need for you to come and get me.” I fought the tears that were threatening to break through the dam.
    “The hospital, oh my God,” she said.
    “Please, don’t ask me to talk about it right now. I can’t. But please come and get me.”
    “I’m on the elevator right now, and I’m going to hail a cab as soon as I get on the street. Do you need me to stay on the phone with you?”
    “Yes,” I