Page 23 of Puck Me

He’s gone for a while, probably cleaning up the puke. When he returns, he pulls a chair up to my bed.

“Alright. Now tell me what happened.”

“Storm left,” I say simply.

“What do you mean, he left?”

“He gave up on me. Referred me to another doctor.” Tears start leaking out of the corners of my eyes. “I’m never going to get better, Noah. Storm knows it and I know it. What hope is there for me if even my own psychiatrist doesn’t believe in me?”

I’ve seen Noah angry before, but I don’t think I’ve ever glimpsed the look of molten rage that crosses his face as he listens to me. He takes several deep breaths through his nose, clearly trying to compose his expression.

“Okay. Okay, Chester. You just rest. Stay right here, you understand? I’m going to be right back. I need to make a phone call.”

8

Storm

Ijump as my phone rings. It’s already in my hand, so it’s a simple matter of glancing down to see the caller ID. My heart sinks as I don’t see Chester’s name on the screen. For the past half hour, I’ve been sitting here, pretending to work, while really just gripping my phone and hoping that Chester calls.

I almost lose interest when I don’t see Chester’s name, but then the name I’m seeing filters through to my brain.

Noah Hartington. Chester’s best friend. Surely, he’s calling about Chester.

I swipe to answer so quickly that the phone doesn’t pick it up. I frantically swipe again, and thankfully, my phone cooperates this time. “Hello? Noah? Is it Chester? Is he okay?”

“What the fuck did you do!”

“I… what?”

“You heard me! What the fuck did you do to Chester?”

Oh. Chester must have told him. “I don’t know how much Chester told you—”

“He told me enough,” Noah snarls. “I don’t know who the hell you think you are, to play with people’s minds like that, but I can tell you one thing for sure. I’m complaining to the medical board about you. Your irresponsible behavior has set Chester back who knows how long in his recovery! How dare you just give up on him? Youknewthat he’d take it badly, and yet, you did it anyway!”

I somehow don’t think that explaining my reasons to Noah right now will help my cause any, so I let him continue to rant.

No-one could feel worse than me about moving Chester on to another new doctor, but I know deep down that it is 100% the right thing to do. It is impossible and entirely morally wrong to go on treating someone once you know you are developing feelings beyond the professional for them. It has never happened to me with a patient before. But now, with him, it is most certainly happening. I feel affected by him in a way I never have before. I can’t get his deep angry blue eyes out of my mind.

“I did my research on you, and everything I saw seemed to imply that you cared about your patients. What a fucking lie! You’re a fucking piece of shit, you know that? And I’m going to make sure the entire world knows it! But first, you are going tofix this.”

“What’s wrong with Chester?” I demand. “What did he do?”

“He came home and drank himself sick. I found him lying in a puddle of his own vomit, barely able to move.”

My free hand clutches at the desk. “Alcohol poisoning?”

“It doesn’t look like it, but that’s hardly the point! This isyourmess, andyouare going to clean it up. I don’t care how you do it, but you got Chester into this state and you are going to get him out of it—and I mean right now.”

“I’m on my way. Send me a pin and I’ll be right over.”

“You’d better have a plan when you get here,” Noah snarls.

I have no idea what I’m going to do, but I do know that I have to get to Chester. I have to find some way to try to make this right. “I’ll see you soon,” I say shortly.

Noah hangs up. A moment later, my phone chimes with a location pin.

I’m not entirely sure that Noah isn’t going to deck me the moment he sees me, and honestly, I wouldn’t blame him. He’s worried for his friend and rightfully blames me. If I had just been able to maintain better control of my emotions and body, none of this would be happening.

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