The Heart System

Chapter 408: Chapter 408

I sat in the waiting room with one leg crossed over the other, my phone resting loosely in my hand as I stared at the screen for the third time in the last minute. Still nothing from Carrie. No new messages, no half-assed "?" or passive-aggressive emoji. Guess she actually listened when I told her to take a break from everything. Good for her. Or maybe she was just pissed enough to actually go silent. Either way, the quiet was loud.

Chase Belling’s office door stood right in front of me, closed, sterile-looking, the little plaque beside it catching the fluorescent light. Beside me sat a man I didn’t know, maybe mid-thirties, decent jacket, nervous posture, hands clasped like he was praying for good news or bad news to hurry up and get over with. We’d been sitting like this for fifteen minutes now. Too long. Appointments with Chase usually didn’t drag unless something was off, or unless the patient just wouldn’t shut up.

I was about to check the time again when the door finally opened.

And of course, it was Ivy.

Uh-oh.

She stepped out first, pulling the door shut behind her, her expression already halfway between annoyed and suspicious before she even fully registered me. Then her eyes landed on my face and narrowed immediately.

"Wait... Evan?" she asked, arching one eyebrow. "What are you doing here?"

Before I could answer, the man beside me stood up, cleared his throat politely, knocked once on the door, and slipped inside Chase’s office. The door closed again, leaving just the two of us in the waiting room with that awful buzzing silence.

I got up from the couch and coughed lightly. "Oh. Ivy. Hey. What’s up?"

She didn’t return the greeting. Not even close. Her posture shifted, shoulders squaring, arms folding over her chest as realization clicked into place. I could practically see the gears turning in her head.

"My mother sent you, didn’t she?" she said flatly.

I sighed. "She didn’t send me. She just... mentioned she was worried."

"Uh-huh." Ivy stepped closer, stopping right in front of me. "And you just happened to be free enough to sit outside my boyfriend’s appointment like a fucking watchdog?"

"Boyfriend?" I repeated. "Is that official now?"

Her jaw tightened. "Don’t do that."

"Do what?"

"Act like you’re clueless," she snapped. "You know exactly what you’re doing."

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Look, Ivy, I wasn’t spying. I just wanted to make sure he wasn’t—"

"Wasn’t what?" she shot back. "A criminal? A junkie? Another ’mistake’?"

I didn’t answer immediately, which was answer enough.

She scoffed. "Unbelievable. You and my mother are unbelievable."

"Hey," I said, keeping my voice low but firm. "Your past boyfriends weren’t exactly nothing to write home about. You gotta give Delilah that. First one was a cousin-fucker, the other one couldn’t stay clean longer than a week."

Her eyes flashed. "Don’t you dare bring that up like it’s a punchline."

"I’m not joking," I said. "I’m saying she’s worried because history isn’t exactly on your side."

"And whose fault is that?" Ivy fired back. "Mine? Or the fact that she never trusted my judgment to begin with?"

A couple sitting across the room glanced our way. I lowered my voice. "God, you’re loud."

She laughed sharply. "No. Fuck no. I’m not loud. You don’t get to tail me and then tell me to keep my voice down."

"Come on," I said, gesturing toward the hallway. "Let’s talk outside."

"No," she said immediately. "How dare you pry into my personal life, Evan? You’re not my father. You’re not my keeper."

"I’m not trying to be," I said. "But someone has to look out for you when you keep walking into the same wall."

Her hands clenched into fists. "You know what I did before I met Chase? I talked to my mother. I told her I knew she had a boyfriend. I told her I’d be understanding, that I respected her personal life. And you know what she did?"

I didn’t answer.

"She smiled," Ivy continued bitterly. "She said thank you. And then she turned around and sent you to interrogate mine."

"That’s not—"

"It is exactly that," she cut in. "If she wants me to respect her boundaries, she should respect mine too."

"Ivy," I said, trying to keep the edge out of my voice, "this isn’t about control. It’s about safety."

"Oh, spare me," she snapped. "Chase is a therapist, Evan. A licensed one. Not a dealer, not some creep I met at a bar."

"I know what he is on paper," I said. "That doesn’t mean I trust him automatically."

She shook her head, incredulous. "You’re... god. Stop. You really think you’re some kind of moral compass now?"

"I think I’ve seen enough shit to recognize patterns."

"And I think you’re projecting," she shot back. "Just because your life is a mess doesn’t mean mine has to be."

That one landed.

I exhaled slowly. "I’m not saying you can’t date. I’m saying maybe letting your mother worry a little less wouldn’t kill you."

"She worries no matter what I do," Ivy said. "So maybe this time, I get to choose without being followed."

The office door opened again before I could respond.

Chase stepped out, adjusting his glasses, his expression polite but strained. "Mrs. Komb," he said calmly, "could you please be more quiet? I’ve got a patient here."

Ivy froze, then immediately straightened. "I’m sorry," she said, forcing a tight smile. "It won’t happen again."

Chase nodded once and closed the door. The silence that followed was thick.

I tried again, softer this time. "Come on. Let’s just talk outside."

"There’s nothing to talk about," Ivy said coldly. "Do whatever it is you do, Evan. I don’t fucking care. Bye."

"Ivy, wait—"

She didn’t. She turned on her heel, marched toward the elevator, and stabbed the button like it had personally offended her. The doors opened, she stepped in, and a second later she was gone.

I stood there for a moment, then dragged a hand down my face and walked back to the couch. I sat down heavily, staring at the floor.

Fuck. I got minus five points from her.

That was the worst.

╭───────────╮

WOMEN - INTERACTIONS

===============

Jasmine: Interest: 40 / 60★★

Kayla: Interest: 35 / 40★

Tessa: Interest: 40 / 60★★

Kim: Interest: 100 / 100★★★★★

Delilah: Interest: 75 / 80★★★

Cora: Interest: 100 / 100★★★★★

Mendy: Interest: 21 /40★

Nala: Interest: 100 /100★★★★★

Penelope: Interest: 5 /20

Minne: Interest: 38 /40★

Ivy: Interest: 7/20

Eleanor: Interest: 15/20

Amelia: Interest: 7/20

Esme: Interest: 25/40★

╰───────────╯

I shook my head, pushed myself up from the couch—and immediately groaned and dropped back down into it.

"Fuck," I muttered under my breath.

I leaned back, crossing my legs, staring at the ceiling tiles like they might offer me absolution. My chest felt tight in that annoying, lingering way, like the echo of a bad argument that refused to leave your body. I really hoped Chase hadn’t heard any of that. The walls here weren’t exactly thick, and Ivy’s voice carried when she was angry. Which was most of the time she was angry. Which, to be fair, was often.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Maybe Ivy was right.

That thought irritated me more than it should have. It settled in my head and refused to budge. Maybe this really was just me projecting. Why would Delilah even ask me to look into Chase Bellings in the first place? The guy was licensed, educated, well-spoken, respected enough to have a waiting room full of patients on a weekday afternoon. He wasn’t some back-alley quack. He wasn’t hiding behind fake certificates or operating out of a rented office with peeling wallpaper.

He knew his stuff.

I pulled my phone out again and hesitated for half a second before calling Ivy.

It rang. Once. Twice.

No answer.

I exhaled through my nose and leaned forward, elbows on my knees, then scrolled and tapped Delilah’s contact. The call went straight to voicemail. Of course it did. Perfect timing as always.

"Great," I muttered, ending the call before the beep.

I sat there for a few more minutes, staring at nothing in particular, watching people come and go through the frosted glass door at the end of the hallway. My leg bounced without me really noticing it. Every instinct told me to leave, to walk out, go home, light a smoke, and forget this whole mess. Ivy had made it very clear she didn’t want me here. Delilah wasn’t answering. There was no reason to keep pushing.

After nearly twenty minutes of stewing in my own head, I slapped my hands against my thighs and stood.

"Eh," I said to no one. "Fuck this."

I headed toward the elevator, already reaching into my pocket for my phone again, maybe to text Nala or just doom-scroll until my brain shut up.

That was when the world flickered.

The familiar translucent blue panel slid into view in front of me, sharp and undeniable, hovering just enough to block my path.

╭──────────────────────╮

NEW MAIN QUEST

==========================

Title: Dirty Closet

Task: Find the truth about Bellings.

Reward: +7900 EXP, 5000c

╰──────────────────────╯