Page 1 of Hearts Clash

1

Scarlett

All her life, Scarlett had done the right thing. In high school, she had been class president and captain of the volleyball team. She graduated from medical school with top marks and a prestigious internship ready for her. In her thirties, she had established herself as one of the best cardiac surgeons in the country and had never set a foot wrong in the operating room. She was the good girl, the pristine doctor, the daughter every parent wished they had.

Tonight, as she sank down onto the sleek sofa in her dimly lit living room, a sense of guilt swelled up inside her. This wasn’t the sort of thing women like her did. This was everything she had spent her whole life repressing and denying. But here she was, curled up in her silk pajamas, laptop perched on the coffee table, fingertips gently tapping away at the keyboard.

Seconds later, the familiar splash screen of her secret online sanctuary appeared, illuminating her pale face in the darkness. Immediately, a small chat window popped up in the corner. Despite her usual composure, her heart did a cartwheel in her chest.

The woman on the other side of that screen was a stranger. Scarlett had never even seen a photo. Still, since they first started talking a few weeks ago, those messages had become the highlight of her hectic days.

EmergencyKisses: Is the doctor in? ;)

Scarlett let out a giggle, blushing a little despite knowing there was no one around to see her. The chat room was called WomenConnect, and it advertised itself as a place for “lonely sapphic women to find support and company.”

She had never considered herself one of those women. At thirty-seven years old, all her relationships had been with men. That was what everyone expected, after all, and that was what she wanted, too... right?

Ever since she’d started questioning that, the itch had become insatiable, and one night, after a few glasses of wine, she had taken the plunge and signed up to the site.

DrHeart: Hi! I just got home. Had a crazy busy day.

Three dots appeared almost immediately, indicating that her pen pal was typing back already. Her pulse quickened in anticipation, her fingers dancing excitedly along the smooth fabric of her blanket. For weeks, they had exchanged light-hearted messages almost daily. The other woman was also a surgeon, but beyond that, Scarlett didn’t know anything about her.

It was so much easier to talk like this, free from judgment or assumptions. It was liberating, really, like wearing a mask to a party. Suddenly, all your pre-existing labels and barriers crumbled away, and you were free to do and say anything.

EmergencyKisses: You always do. Are you actually alive underneath that white coat??

DrHeart: Haha... Sometimes I wonder. I’ve been in the OR nonstop since Monday.

EmergencyKisses: Ugh same! My brain is officially fried. Thank God it’s Friday, right?

DrHeart: It’s Thursday, actually.

EmergencyKisses: What?! Noooooo!! Are you kidding me!?

A grin tugged at her lips as she stared down at the screen. She leaned over to pour herself a glass of orange juice and then settled back against the pillows. It was almost ten o’clock and she was rigid about her sleep schedule, so she wouldn’t be able to stay online much longer tonight. In fact, that familiar tug in her stomach reminded her that she shouldn’t be doing this at all.

Before she could linger on it, though, her phone lit up. Her shoulders stiffened. Her parents were the only people who called this late. They were both retired now after many decades of prestigious careers—her mother was the former Chief of Surgery at a hospital in Seattle, her father a neurologist who used to serve as an advisor to the National Health Service. Now that they were no longer working, they seemed to have forgotten all about how exhausting and demanding working at a hospital was, calling and texting whenever they felt like it.

Scarlett sighed and hit the speakerphone button.

“Hi, Mom. It’s a bit late. Is everything alright?” she asked, trying to keep her voice calm despite the spike of anxiety twisting her gut. On the screen in front of her, another message flashed.

EmergencyKisses: Any fun plans for the weekend?

Scarlett bit her lip and reached up to tuck a strand of red hair behind her ear.

DrHeart: Sorry, got a call. Gotta go.

EmergencyKisses: Aww... bummer. Ok talk soon!

Swallowing the guilt, Scarlett tapped the X at the top of the window. Her parents had no idea that she was questioning her sexuality, and she didn’t know how they would react. The thought of losing their support terrified her. All her life, she had done everything she could to make them proud, and even now, their approval meant more to her than anything else. The secret weighed heavy in her chest as her mother’s voice pierced the silence of the dark apartment.

“Is everything alright?” Scarlett repeated. “I have to get to bed soon.”

“It’s barely nine-thirty!” the older woman tutted, not sounding remotely remorseful. She paused, perhaps expecting Scarlett to challenge her. When she didn’t, however, her mother continued, “How’s work going? We haven’t heard from you in weeks.”

Scarlett shifted on the couch, leaning back and reaching up to rub at the tense muscles in her neck.

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