Page 13 of Undeniably Enemies

“You’re the one who chose to go to medical school in Boston, Cinderella. Whether you like it or not, your last name is how people will know you.”

Ihatethat he still calls me that. He only does it when no one else is around, and I’m positive he does it just to get a rise out of me. I could storm and rant and tell him to go fuck himself for being such a condescending bastard, but I can’t. At least not here in the hospital.

Instead, I saunter over to him and give him a saccharine-sweet smile. “Thank you, Dr. Kincaid. I’ll be sure to remember that. If you’ll excuse me, I have scut to attend to.”

He stares down at me for a very long moment, so long my pulse thrums faster in my veins and the air crackles between us. His eyes flitter about my face, taking in every slope and line I’m comprised of, and something I can’t name flickers across his features. Something that makes my insides squirm. Finally, he pushes himself away from the door, but he doesn’t go far as he stands over me, closer than I’d like him to be.

“Show up on time, do your job well, stay out of my way, and we won’t have a problem. Act like a spoiled little brat again, and I’ll make you regret it until you hate me even more than you already do.”

“I’m not sure such a thing is possible, but it’s good to know what I’m working with. If you’ll excuse me.”

He steps to the side, and I pass by him, holding my breath as I go. I can already tell this is going to be the longest four weeks of my life. With any luck, he’ll pass me off to my intern and leave me the hell alone.

5

The sterile smell of the emergency department hits me, and I force out a sigh. He followed me into the freaking women’s locker room, and if I stand here a second longer, he’ll exit, and we’ll have to face each other again. No thanks.

My hair and feet are still wet, but the rest of me is dry, and I’ll take that as a win.

I’m on scut, which means the dregs of medicine, especially as a medical student, but it’ll still be good for me since I’ve already decided that emergency medicine is what I want for my specialty. I apply for which residencies I want in the next few weeks and will be matched in early March. But I’ve already decided I want to stay in Boston, and with that, I want a level I trauma center that does both pediatrics and adult medicine, so my choices are limited.

And unfortunately, my top choice is this hospital, which means I’d be stuck with Jack. I’m not thinking about that yet. That’s a March Wren problem. Not an October, fourth-yearmedical student one.

I’m not sure where to go. I don’t even know who my intern is, but I’ll be damned if I ask Jack.

“Hey, Wren,” someone behind me calls out, and I turn to find my cousin Layla. She works as a part-time doctor here, and her husband, Callan, is the chief. “You look a little lost.”

“I got in late, and I don’t know who my intern is.”

Her head tilts. “Didn’t Jack tell you?”

I shake my head. I don’t want to get into the particulars of this. Not with her. Layla is great and a lot of fun, but she’s also my friend Katy’s adoptive mom and, therefore, quite a bit older than me. Plus, she works with Jack, and I know they’re friendly.

“Huh. Strange. I think I saw on the board you’re with Daffy.”

“Daffy?” I thought everyone here went by the formality of doctor. Hell, I was already Miss Fritz.

“You’ll understand what I mean when you meet her. She’s doing fast-tracks and is probably waiting for you.” Layla turns my shoulders so I’m facing the other way. “Come on. I’ll show you.”

I follow her, scanning the large space as I go. My stomach churns as I remember the last time I was in this ER. I didn’t have time to focus on it this morning because I was so late. A fierce pang of nerves hits me square in the chest. The ER is no joke. It’s life or death here. I should know.

“You get used to it,” Layla comments as if reading my thoughts. “The ER is a lot. I worked down here the summer before my fourth year, and I both loved it and hated it. That’s the ER. You both love it and hate it. But it grows on you like an incurable rash, and pretty soon, you can’t help but crave the high it gives you.”

“I’m starting to learn that,” I muse as we pass the nurse’s station and various patient beds. Layla gives me a quick, abbreviated tour—since I missed mine this morning—and with it,I’m finally starting to feel better after being late and my run-in with Jack.

“Dr. Blooms, this is Wren Fritz, your fourth-year.”

A short, curvy Black woman with shoulder-length, tight black curls and deep, dark-brown eyes smiles at me. “Hi!” she chirps, reaching out and shaking my hand. “I’m Daffodil, but everyone calls me Daffy. Dr. Blooms in front of the patients, though.” She winks at me. “I was wondering about you. It’s great to meet you.”

“Thanks. You too!” Wow. So not what I was expecting for an ER intern. I always thought they werebite your head off, no fucking around, we eat our youngpeople. She seems like the best intern to be assigned to ever, and I can’t imagine Jack did that intentionally. It had to be random.

“I’ll leave you in Daffy’s capable hands,” Layla says to me, her hand on my shoulder. “It’s good to have you here, Wren. I’ll check in on you later.”

“Bye. Thanks.” I give her a grateful smile and turn back to Daffy, who’s already talking again.

“I got a text from Dr. Kincaid telling me you’re on scut today.” She grimaces, though I notice she blushes when she says Dr. Kincaid. “Whoops. Probably not a great way to start, huh?” She waves that away before I can respond. “Don’t worry about it. We’re doing fast-tracks, which is more of a glorified urgent care. We do things like minor injuries, colds, flus, strep throats, things like that. Anything that isn’t ‘emergent.’” She puts air quotes around the word. “It’s actually one of my faves, so we’ll have a great day together.”

“Sounds wonderful.” I smile, more of my nerves ebbing.

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