Page 55 of The Heart We Guard
“Understood,” Vex says. “Leave it with me. Later.”
With that, he hangs up the phone, and until I find her, I plan to do what Greer’s neighbor suggested.
From this moment on, I’m gonna try to be the man worth the two of them and the rest of my family.
16
GREER
Morning sickness falls under ‘things I never knew as a doctor 101’.
It’s grim, because mine stretches way beyond morning. It’s spontaneous and can be brought on by the scent of specific things, like the fried chicken that just got delivered to the room across the hall for someone’s late-night snack.
I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand and flush the toilet, before closing the lid and sitting on it.
“You’re gonna have to cool your heels at some point, Pooks,” I say, looking down at my stomach.
Resting my elbows on my knees, I lean forward, wishing I’d paid a little more attention in my OB-GYN rotation. At least then I wouldn’t be boning up using dubious online resources that compare my child’s growth to various types of fruits and vegetables.
I bought a book to read, but the author talks to readers like they need to be coddled. Lots of,You’re probably feeling mixed emotions about your pending bundle of joy.
It’s currently in the trash, because I refuse to be patronized and talked to like I’m an overwhelmed toddler. I just wantstraight facts without homespun wisdom, old wives’ tales, and fearmongering about the occasional bite of sushi.
My flight to Las Vegas is tomorrow afternoon and I’ll be in Vegas this time tomorrow, which based on my current state, does not bode well for the trip.
I can see myself in the mirror above the sink, and I look like death served cold. Dark blue circles rim my eyes from lack of sleep.
“You survived residency, and it lastedwaylonger than nine months. You can survive this.”
It takes effort to stand up, brush my teeth, and rinse my mouth. But I feel so much better when I do. In fact, my stomach has the audacity to rumble, like I haven’t given it food in days.
As I’m used to the routine, there’s a packet of crackers on the desk, and I carry it to the bed with me. No sooner does my butt sink into the cushiony surface than there’s a knock at my door.
The clock tells me it’s eleven p.m. I haven’t ordered anything. Urgh, maybe I forgot to hang the Do Not Disturb sign on my door.
Then, I hear the kerfuffle. “Put your fucking hands on me, and you’ll wish you hadn’t.”
Butcher.
I jump to my feet and hurry to the door, swinging it open without glancing through the peephole.
“I’m sorry, Dr. Hansen, we tried to stop him,” a security guard says.
Butcher looks at me. “Let me in, Greer.”
I step to one side but he doesn’t pass by. “It’s okay. He’s a friend. An over-zealous friend, perhaps. But a friend nonetheless.”
The security guard takes one last glance at Butcher’s thick leather jacket with the huge Iron Outlaws patch on the back and raises a judgmental eyebrow. “You get into trouble, here, just letus know. The cops can be here in five minutes,” he says before turning away.
“That the best threat you got?” Butcher asks, laughter in his voice. “The fucking cops?”
“Just get inside,” I say to Butcher, like you would an errant child who has just been delivered to you by an angry teacher. I turn back to the security guard. “Thank you, and I’m sorry.”
He mouths the wordsbe careful, before heading back to the elevator.
The door clicks shut after I let it go, and I turn to face him. “How did you find me?”
He pivots and looks at me. He’s too big in the fancy hotel room. I wish I had a suite with more space and no bed so I wouldn’t be forced to reconcile him and the things we’ve done and where it got us.
