Not What I Expected

Part 10

"Nicole and Chad," Dr. Mason called as she walked out of her office, "Come on in."

Dr. Mason looked at Nicole and raised an eyebrow in curiosity. Nicole stood up, put her purse over her shoulder and gave her a shrug.

"He's not coming," Nicole stated with a frustrated tone, "I can reschedule again if you want."

"Actually, I think it might be good if you and I just talked today," Dr. Mason said with a sad smile, "It would have been nice for Chad to be here, but why waste an appointment. I'm sure you have lots on your mind that could be talked about."

"I'm just so confused," Nicole replied as she sat down in her chair, "I thought he wanted to work this out. I thought we were on the same page..."

"Nicole, what made you think that?" Dr. Mason asked her as she closed the door and sat down across from Nicole.

"We talked on the phone about a week and a half after our last attempted appointment," Nicole replied, "He took Hudson for the weekend. I missed him. He came over a couple weeks ago and one thing led to another and we well...we slept together. I'm thinking now that that maybe wasn't a great idea..."

Nicole looked down at her hands for a moment and then looked over at Dr. Mason who was staring at her and waiting for her to continue. Nicole had wondered if getting that close to Chad right off the bat was a good idea, but Dr. Mason hadn't let on either way what her opinion was.

"That night right before he left, he asked to take me out for dinner that Friday and I was excited that he had asked," Nicole continued on, "But he never showed. He stood me up and then everything we had planned, whether it was taking me on a date or spending weekends with Hudson or taking him swimming. In two weeks he hasn't showed up for anything that he has promised me or our child. And then he calls ten minutes ago to say he won't be coming to this appointment."

"Does he have something coming up at work? Does he seem more stressed out than usual?" Dr. Mason questioned nicely, "Maybe after your evening together, Chad feels even more ashamed of what he did to you and how much he hurt you."

Nicole had never thought of that, but there was just something about this whole situation that didn't add up to her. She just felt off about the whole situation and she felt that Chad wasn't being completely honest with her.

"He does have a big trial coming up in a week," Nicole stated as she looked over at Dr. Mason, "He has been preparing for this trial for weeks and he has been stressed out about it. But something just feels off. I feel like he isn't being completely honest. I don't know what about, but it just feels bad."

Nicole had an unsettling feeling in her stomach as Dr. Mason wrote down some notes and then looked over at Nicole with concern on her face. She just knew there was more to the story than she knew, but she had no idea where to begin to figure it out.

Nicole left Dr. Mason's a little while later feeling even more discouraged than when she got there. Dr. Mason had mentioned that maybe Chad was keeping something from her, but maybe he wasn't. She also had to talk Nicole off the ledge about going to Trevor, Chad's best friend, to see if he knew anything. Dr. Mason had expressly told Nicole not to go looking or digging for information. If Chad was keeping anything from her, it was sure to come out eventually. They had made arrangements for her and Chad to come in for their appointment in three weeks, which should be enough time for him to prepare for it.

We have an appointment three weeks from Thursday - Nicole texted to Chad - I hope this works for you and I really hope you show up this time.

Nicole had started walking to her car when she decided she just wanted to go for a walk and clear her head. She quickly dialled a number and waited as it rang.