Page 16 of Hello Dr. Christmas

He takes my hand gently, and shakes it with a look of amusement on his face. I swear that there is electricity in his touch. “You can call me Klaus. The pleasure is mine. Have you had any surgeries on the ankle, yet?”

“No, because all the doctors said it wouldn’t help anyway. And my life has kind of been ruined by this injury… so… yeah.”

“You should show him your x-ray and MRI, sweetie,” my mother encourages me. I didn’t even notice her walk into the room. “See if the nice doctor can help.”

“Ugh,” I say, shifting around uncomfortably, like I’ve been asked to send nudes. “I don’t want him to see all that. It’s personal.”

Klaus laughs. “Don’t worry, I’ve seen alot morethan your x-ray images, Clara.”

My face blushes red and hot. Oh my god. Is he announcing to my whole family that he’s seen me naked?

“I mean, I’ve seen worse,” he clarifies when he sees my facial expression. “I’ve seen hips and knees and all sorts of joints that have been way more smashed up than your ankle. I promise.”

“Oh, okay,” I say awkwardly. “That makes me feel better. I think.” But it still feels weird to be showing him my x-rays. It’s like a stepway deeperthan nudes. Lots of people get to see you naked, but not everyone gets your insides, right? Especially when your insides are totally destroyed. It’s embarrassing.

“Klaus will be staying in the guest house,” Mary explains. “He’ll spend Christmas with us.”

“The guest house?” I ask with surprise. “That’s above the barn with the horses. Wouldn’t he prefer to stay in his nice hotel room?” Then I clear my throat. “I mean, I’m assuming his hotel room is nice. With him being a doctor and all, and dressed so… fancy.” Kill me now.

“Hey!” Eve calls out to us, saving me from embarrassment. She bursts into the room with her laptop, with Adam on her heels. “You guys have to see what we found online. Regarding Clara’s understudy andThe Nutcrackerperformances.”

“I don’t want to see it,” I say, turning away and plugging my ears. “Please don’t, Eve. I can’t handle any bad news.”

“Don’t worry! I promise, it’s awesome,” she says, grabbing my hands out of my ears. “Just watch!” Eve hitsplayon video footage of a story that shows Amy Sanders causing me to get injured in slow motion. My jaw nearly drops when I see how obvious it was that she pushed me, and my mother exclaims in horror.

“The police are investigating her,” Eve says with excitement. “But wait, it gets better.”

“Did you do any blood work after the injury?” Klaus asks softly, moving to my side.

I nod.

“That’s good. I know a personal injury attorney for athletes who can really help,” he whispers.

“Help me sue her?” I ask him. “I don’t care about the money. I just want to be able to dance again.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” he promises, with that sincere look in his eyes. This time, it also has a certain gravity, and seriousness. Maybe a flash of protective anger, as he watches the video of me getting injured.

I feel a warmth begin in the pit of my stomach, and I just want to trust him and believe that he can make it better. Even in the harsh light of day, his face is so beautiful and his eyes are so blue. I thought that men were supposed to lookworsewhen you sober up enough to see them in full technicolor detail, but Klaus only looks better. Dammit. I’m in trouble.

“Look at this,” Eve says, pointing. “They refused to let her perform.”

“Who refused?” I ask with confusion.

“Thefans,” Eve says breathlessly. “This was Chicago.”

We all stare at the video as Amy Sanders gets on stage to perform my role. However, the crowd begins to chant, “We want Clara! We want Clara! We want Clara!” They chant this over and over, some of them holding signs, and some throwing tomatoes at Amy until she gets booed off stage.

My hand lifts to cover my mouth in amazement. I’ve never seen the audience act like this at theballet.Maybe for a rock concert. Maybe for a monster truck rally. But not the ballet.

“You didn’t know about this?” Mary asks me.

“No,” I whisper.

“They had to cancel all the remaining performances,” Eve says triumphantly. “Because no one wanted to see Amy Sanders perform, after what she did to you. They’re all standing with you, Clara. Your fansloveyou. I told you that you’ll always be the prima ballerina in our hearts.”

I stand there for a moment, feeling overwhelmed with emotion. My eyes meet with Klaus’ for a second before I realize that they are filling with tears.

“Excuse me,” I whisper to my family before rushing away to my room, to cry.

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