Page 14 of Healing of the Heart

Why is her voice sexy?

The patient already has an IV in her arm and Amory prescribes some antibiotics to help before she leaves the small curtained-off area and heads to help another patient.

The day goes by like that and it’s mind numbing, treating the same thing over and over again, but Amory is happy to help. She can’t, however, stop thinking about Blake and their conversation last night. The repetitiveness of her work doesn’t help either. She already has an overactive brain and is easily able to overthink while she works.

She doesn’t want to forgive Blake. In her mind, what Blake did is unforgivable, but what she said last night has stuck in her mind. Blake is right, people do change, and they do stupid stuff when they’re younger. Amory can attest to that. She did some horrible things when she was younger, like leaving a friend at a party and sabotaging Blake’s notes.

But she’s a different person now. She would never dream of doing those things now. She’s learned and grown as she’s gotten older and lived more. She wonders if she’s being too harsh and if Blake has really changed. And if so, how much? Amory still knows Blake as the overly competitive, arrogant girlfriend stealer that she was when they were in their residency program together. She doesn’t know her as the insightful and apologetic person that she was last night. Maybe she really should give Blake a second chance, get to know her better.

Amory thinks about how she has changed. She used to be a lot more optimistic, hopeful for the future, and full of love. Now, however, she’s a lot more jaded, and she hasn’t tried to date since Natalie.

She’s still hurt, and Blake is partially responsible for that hurt, but now Amory’s confused and conflicted as well. Even though she said differently, Blake not knowing that Natalie was her girlfriend changes things.

Amory had always assumed that Blake had slept with Natalie to target her specifically. She thought that Blake knew, but now that Amory knows differently, she doesn’t know how to feel about that. Her idea that Blake was just vindictive has changed, and she feels like she doesn’t know anything anymore, especially not how to feel.

Amory continues working, despite the pain in her hip, the crick in her neck, and the confusion in her heart. She enjoys working, enjoys her job, and enjoys making a seven-year-old Cholera patient smile as she distracts him from the IV that she puts into him. However, when the next set of doctors arrives and it’s time to go back to the cabin, she is relieved.

The clinic is incredibly cramped and noisy and right now Amory needs some fresh air and quiet. Hopefully she can get some of that in the small cabin that she’s sharing with someone she hates.

When she puts up her things into the locker with her name on it, she walks to the front doors of the clinic where she sees that Blake is waiting for her. That definitely doesn’t help her confusion. She doesn’t know why Blake is trying so hard to make amends or build a relationship with her when she said that she hates her. But now, looking at the painfully handsome Blake, casually lounging against the wall in black slacks and a tank top that shows off her athletic build, she takes a deep breath. Blake’s brown eyes are enchanting and she has a smile on her face that looks seductive and Amory can’t decide if that is on purpose, and now she’s not so sure what she feels about her.

“Are you ready to go?” Blake asks, her white doctor’s coat already off and probably stashed away in her locker.

“So ready,” Amory says with an exhausted sigh.

“That bad, huh?” Blake asks, not even looking tired, and Amory feels jealous of her for that.

“I think I slept on my hip,” Amory admits. “It hurts.”

“Oh, poor baby,” Blake says with a smirk, one that Amory wants to wipe off her face. “It’s almost like there’s a bed that you could have slept on instead.”

Amory and Blake leave the clinic, letting the doors fall closed behind them.

“Oh fuck off,” Amory says, walking away from Blake.

Blake just laughs, loud and joyous, as she walks to catch up with Amory.

Amory frowns and her heart twinges. Since when did Blake become so easy going? She was definitely not like this the last time the two knew each other. She then realizes that Blake is right; she has changed, and Amory doesn’t know her at all anymore. She used to always be stressed and a huge flirt, saving her smiles for doctors or nurses that she thought she had a shot of sleeping with. Maybe she still uses that charming smile to get what she wants. Is that what she is trying to do with Amory?

When the two get to the cabin, Blake holds the door open for Amory, and Amory can’t help but think this is something a girlfriend would do. Maybe Blake is just that kind of person now. She definitely seems a lot more caring and kind.

It’s past five o’clock when they get inside the cabin and Amory is starving. The clinic had sandwiches for lunch, but they were honestly not that filling. And Amory wants real food. Fruits and vegetables. She also wants beans, but she knows that those will take hours to prepare.

“Tomorrow morning, before work,” Amory suggests, “we should set out a pot of beans so that we can come back to supper.”

“Oooh,” Blake says, “that sounds like a great idea. I want chili.”

Amory moans at the mention of her favorite food. “Chili sounds so good.”

“That settles it then,” Blake says. “I saw some canned tomatoes in the cabinets yesterday, so we’ll have chili tomorrow. How about fried chicken tonight?”

“That sounds great,” Amory says. “Except I have no clue how to make fried chicken.”

“I’ll show you,” Blake offers. “My fried chicken is the best.”

“You’re full of yourself,” Amory says.

“Maybe,” Blake says with a shrug, “but it’s true.”

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