Replaced By His Poor Mentee

When the acute stomach spasms hit in the dead of night, I called Galen, asking if he could take me to the ER.

His response was prompt, clipped, and devoid of warmth:

"Kendra’s running a fever. She just moved to Austin, lives alone, and has no one else. I need to drop off some medicine for her first. Just hang in there for a bit, okay?"

She was always his exception.

For three years, I had trained myself to step back. During dinners with my family and friends, he would duck out early because Kendra sent a text saying she was feeling down.