Someone else? What was she talking about?
“And I just can’t,” she continued. “I’m sorry, Corban, but I can’t do this.”
She walked out, leaving me standing in the observation room. The sudden silence was somehow deafening. It felt like the ground would open up and swallow me whole.
I kind of wished it would.
Molly answered her door, holding a sleeping Kate in her arms. “Hey.”
“Hey. I know you have a newborn and the last thing you need is your idiot brother coming over, and I probably should have called first, but can I come in anyway?”
“Of course you can.”
“Mom and Dad aren’t here, are they?” I glanced over my shoulder, wondering if I’d missed their car again.
“No. Mom was here earlier, but she went home a while ago.”
I shuffled inside and went straight for her couch. “Where’s Martin?”
“He got called into work. Some kind of emergency.”
“Are you okay? Do you need anything?”
She gently lowered Kate into a bassinet next to her chair, then sat down. “We’re fine. He’ll only be gone a couple of hours. And I feel pretty good. He took her for a walk earlier so I could take a nap. But what’s wrong with you? You look awful.”
I didn’t even argue with her, just ran my fingers through my hair. She was probably right.
“The last few days have sucked balls.” I wasn’t sure if I was ready to talk about Hazel. What could I say? That the girl I hadn’t really been dating had basically broken up with me? Or had I broken up with her? Was this really a break-up? My thoughts were too scattered. “Paisley kind of tried to get me to sleep with her on Saturday.”
“She did what?”
“I got out of the shower and she was on my couch. In nothing but one of my shirts and her underwear.”
Molly’s mouth hung open and her eyes widened.
“That’s basically the face I made.” I gestured toward her. “She told me she’d been trying to drop hints so I’d ask her out, but I hadn’t picked up on it. And that she wanted me, and we should… you know. God, in high school I would have sold a kidney to hear her say that.”
“Oh my god. Please tell me you turned her down.”
“Why? I mean, yeah, I did. But she’s your best friend.”
“I know. And I love her because I’ve known her forever, but she’s a mess when it comes to men. She picks the worst guys and then can’t figure out why it never works.”
“The worst guys? Thanks.”
She laughed. “I don’t mean you. Oh my god, this makes so much sense. Not long after you moved in next to her, she started talking about how she needed to stop dating all these assholes just because they’re hot and drive nice cars. Then she said she’d met this guy and he was so different and maybe she should give him a chance even though he wasn’t her type. I was totally encouraging her and I had no idea she was talking about you.”
“Why wouldn’t she tell you it was me?”
“I don’t know. Maybe she thought she’d surprise me or something. You really told her no?”
“Yeah. I got over my crush on her a long time ago. I know she’s your friend, but I don’t know what I ever saw in her.”
“This is going to sound awful, but I wouldn’t wish her on you. I love her dearly—kind of like a sister you have to love even with all their faults—but she’d be terrible for you.”
“Yeah. I know.”
Molly tucked her legs beneath her. “So it must have pissed her off when you said no. I don’t think she’s used to being turned down.”
I winced. “She wasn’t happy. I guess I’ll just add her to the list of women who hate me.”
“Who else hates you?”
“Hazel.”
As soon as I said her name, I regretted it. The Paisley thing had been awkward, but it was Hazel who had my insides twisted into a knot.
“Since when does she hate you? You guys were so cute together.”
“We were?”
“Yeah. I know you said you weren’t dating, but when she was with you at the hospital it really seemed like there was something there. Maybe you should have done your questionnaire together.”
“We did.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Then how could she possibly hate you?”
I ran my fingers through my hair again. “I guess she doesn’t really hate me, although I think this is worse.”
“What’s worse than that?”
“She doesn’t want to be friends anymore.”
Molly looked incensed. “Why not?”
I blew out a breath, then explained what had happened last week. How I’d talked to her about our parents and she’d come back with a stack of research studies. How I’d told her I didn’t want to be her latest experiment. And that she’d told me today it had been a mistake to keep sleeping with me, and she couldn’t be friends anymore either.
“I know I shouldn’t have snapped at her. She was just trying to help. But now it’s like she doesn’t even want to see me.”
“That does seem really harsh. And I’m so surprised. You guys really went through your questionnaire?”
“Yeah.”
“The whole thing?”
“From start to finish.”
Her eyebrows drew in and she hesitated for a long moment. “But how is that possible? Your questionnaire brings people together. It really does create intimacy. It works.”
“Not on me.”
“What do you mean?”
I shrugged. “I’m the exception. It doesn’t work on me. That questionnaire is responsible for dozens of people falling in love, but for some reason, I’ve never been one of them.”
“Maybe you just haven’t done it with the right person.”
“I don’t think that’s the problem. I’m the problem.”
“How could you possibly be the problem?”
“Do you want something to eat?” I stood up. “I could go get takeout.”
She pointed at the couch. “Don’t even think about it. Why do you think you’re the problem?”
I sat down again. “I don’t know. Maybe all the numbers and calculations and stupid animal facts take up too much space in my brain. There isn’t room left for other skills.”
“That’s ridiculous. There’s room left to love someone.”
“Look, I don’t understand it either. I’m just not built for it, I guess.”
She tilted her head, her expression full of sympathy. “Corban, everyone is built to be loved.”
“Yeah, well…” I trailed off, glancing away.
“Why did you create that questionnaire?”
I was surprised by her question, but I answered anyway. “When we were testing the algorithms for the dating app, I saw people making snap decisions about potential matches. Passing on someone in an instant with almost no information about them. I wanted to see if there was a better way to bring people together.”
“Yeah, I know this story. You did that thing you do where you learn everything there is to know about something. You did a bunch of research and gathered data. You tested it and refined it and along the way, you became a cute little scientific matchmaker. I know all that. I’m one of your success stories. But that’s not what I’m asking. Why did this fascinate you so much that you poured everything you have into it?”