Page 17 of Isabela

“My ribs, but they aren’t broken, and I am bruised all over. I have a headache…” I don’t want to get into this, and my vision is starting to fade and blur a little. Closing my eyes, I start to rub my forehead.

“Can you use cbd topically, or do you react to that as well?” Dr. Murphy asks. I hear him moving, but keep my eyes closed.

“I have no idea. I don’t like to feel fuzzy, and any kind of pain medication tends to do that,” I murmur. The pain makes me speak lower. It’s as if I do, so will others as well.

“Alright,” my professor says, mirroring my tone. “Let me fix your headache.”

“Fine,” I sigh. “I don’t know that it can get any worse right now.”

“I appreciate the vote of confidence, Miss Cohen,” he chuckles.

There’s something about being heard that helps me relax as he rubs lotion across my forehead. It feels a little minty as it absorbs, and I wait for the nausea to start up. I hate that my body is like this.

“You relaxed and then got tense, what’s going on?”

“I’m waiting to feel like I need to throw up,” I say honestly. “Fuzziness, nausea, those are the symptoms I end up having when I try taking anything.”

Dr. Murphy’s fingers brush my hair off my neck to rub some of the lotion where my neck meets my spine. It’s an innocent touch, making me start to melt into it.

I’ve gone from feeling turned on to just plain safe and comforted. I’m going to blame feeling a bit vulnerable to my swinging emotions.

I’m not crushing on my professor. Absolutely not.

“Open your eyes and tell me if you need to puke now,” he says, stepping back. Dr. Murphy pulls out a wet wipe from a package on his desk, and begins to clean his hand as I stare at him.

“Woah, no, I don’t. What is that stuff?” I ask. “I feel clearer, and my headache is gone. The rest of me hurts, but at least I can think now.”

“You’re killing me,” he groans. “Look, you should be at the hospital, but it doesn’t sound as if you’re going to go.”

“Nope,” I confirm. “I don’t have access to my trust fund, so you can stop with your nonsense about how I should have this, that, and the other. I work for everything I buy.”

“Why?!” Dr. Murphy scoffs as if this is the dumbest thing he’s ever heard. Well, yes, I think it is too.

Especially with all of the bullshit I have to deal with my uncle.

“I live in the real world, and it’s still rude to ask such a personal question,” I remind him. Now that the pain is beginning to subside, I’m finding my spark.

My uncle isn’t here, and my professor seems to dislike him, so he’s not going to run off to tell him I’ve found my spine.

Only here, otherwise I’m a quiet little mouse. I’ll only fight back if it’s worth it. There’s too much at stake.

“Most people love to talk about their money, but I suppose it’s difficult when you can’t touch it,” he muses. “My boss is part of a society of very powerful people. If you could have anything in the world, what would you want?”

“I can’t have what I want.” I shrug, standing. I wait for the dizziness to hit, and when it doesn’t I almost cry in relief. “I lied. I want your cbd lotion. Give it here.”

Holding out my hand, I take Dr. Murphy by surprise as he picks it up. “Really?”

“I want to be able to think without hurting,” I tell him. “You can’t give me any of the other things I want unless you can remove someone off the face of the earth.”

Swallowing hard, he holds the bottle just out of reach. “Who?” he rasps.

“Give it to me,” I complain. “Seriously, it’s not fair to help me and then hold the damn bottle hostage, Dr. Murphy. Don’t be mean.”

“I’m not a nice person,” he chuckles. “I always have an agenda. Tell me who. The Society could take care of that for you.”

“This is all very cloak and dagger,” I mutter, rolling my eyes. “Again, I live in the real world. Societies with endless power only exist in books.”

“There are thirty students at this school currently in the Eagna Society,” Dr. Murphy says softly. “We specialize in wisdom and information, because that’s where the power is. People will do anything to keep certain secrets under wraps, so we offer that for a price. The current President of the United States is an Eagna Society member.”

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