Page 23 of Doctor Enemy

It’s the fear finally hitting you. No one talks about that. How emotions can come as a delayed thing if your body wasn’t awake to feel them. Everything happened too fast for me to process during the accident and now, even though it’s all done with, the fear that grips me is like a vice.

I can practically hear the tires still, a constant squeal.

Rationally, I know that my head injury has just given me a case of tinnitus. It will pass, eventually. But even a resident can’t always be rational. Sometimes the fear and the pain and the overwhelming sorrow at being stuck in bed with a neck brace on are just too much.

And did I mention that I was thirsty? Because I’m seriously thirsty. I wish that Olivia would offer me something to drink. I can’t seem to make myselfaskher to do it. The request is trapped in my throat.

“Come on, Lori. You have to tell me what hurts,” Olivia insists. “You know this.”

“Everything,” I say, the tears finally spilling over. “Everything hurts!”

Once I start crying for real, it just won’t stop. My face is wet and hot. I can feel the way that the swelling makes my eyes push shut. The way that even my lips feel puffy from the drainage that my surgery has caused.

The crying instantly gives me a headache. That, ironically enough, just makes me cry even harder. I lift up a hand and make to wipe my face, but my fingers are trembling, and I’m not coordinated enough to do it carefully.

“Hey, don’t do that.” Olivia is partway to grabbing a tissue when her pager goes off. The shrill sound makes me jump, which has me gasping in pain.

She spins toward me.

Olivia insists, “Are you okay?” And then, looking at the pager, “I’m really, seriously sorry, but I’ve got to go.”

“It’s okay,” I tell her, trying to fight back the tears.

“Kurt should be in here any minute now though, okay? And you’re in—” Olivia is interrupted, yet again. This time, by a knock on the door.

It swings open and in steps Kurt Lockwood himself, tall and handsome, his honey brown hair perfectly in place.

He glances up from the chart that he’s going over, expression serious. “Good to see you awake.”

Olivia leans forward and gives me another one of those glass-figure hugs. “You’re in good hands, I promise.” And then, as she pulls away, “I’ll come back when my shift is up, okay? I’ll even bring you one of those bears from the gift shop that you like so much.”

Kurt clears his throat. “I believe that Costas is looking for you.” He nods at Olivia. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure she is taken care of.”

I don’t want to be taken care of. Not by him.

And then she’s gone, and I’m alone with my least favorite doctor in Mercy General.

Even worse, I’m inhishands and I’mcrying.

Like, even though I hate the idea of it, I just can’t stop. And unlike my usually young patients, I can’t be distracted with the gift of bright, colorful scrunchies.

My misery? Yeah, it definitely reaches an all-time high.

Chapter nine

Kurt

I’lladmit,Iwasexpecting to step into this room and have Lori bare teeth and start fighting back against me the same way that she does when we work together.

I wasn’t expecting to come in and find her in the middle of a breakdown.

Alright.

Revamp.

“Lori,” I say, giving her a slight nod. “Did Olivia bring you up to date?”

“No.” Lori sounds positively pathetic. She looks rough, too. Her face is swollen from the surgery, but now her eyes are red from the crying, too, and her cheeks have turned ruddy and bright.

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