Page 55 of Doctor Grump

There was silence on the other side, and I had a brief thought of what I would do if she decided to keep the door locked. I wasn’t above fetching a toolbox and removing every single nut and bolt on the door to get to her.

Because knowing she’s suffering in silence was slowly driving me crazy.

I didn’t know how the woman snuck past my defenses, but now that she had, she had to deal with the consequences. I was not an easy man to deal with, and I was certainly not the type to sit quietly while she suffered. There was no way I was letting her deal with anything on her own, even if the doctor had given her horrible news about some incurable disease she might have.

Although, even just the thought of it made my insides go cold. If anything happened to her, I wasn’t sure what I would do.

But for now, I will take care of it. I will take care of her.

“Open this damn door right now, Piper, before I do it for you.”

No sooner than I had said it, the door swung open, and Piper regarded me with an annoyed gaze.

“Really?” she snapped snarkily. “I can’t have five minutes to myself without you threatening to bust the door down. Are you five?”

“Sometimes,” I said, walking past her into her dark room. “At least you make me feel like that.”

Her anger faltered. “Ian—”

“What’s going on with you? Really.” I turned in time to watch the emotions cross her face one after another like a kaleidoscope.

Finally, she sighed. “I can’t tell you. Not yet.”

“Ah, I see.” I shrugged. “So all that stuff about relationships needing communication to thrive… that is all bullshit, right?”

“No, but…” She struggled with the decision and was probably feeling guilty. I wasn’t above taking advantage of that to get what I wanted. “It’s just…I haven’t figured out what I want to do about the news I received yet.”

I nodded. This information marked some progress. She was at least telling me that something had happened.

I leaned back, readying myself. “What was it?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“Are you dying?” I braced myself for the news, knowing it would shatter my world if it were true, but I would take it.

She gave me a shocked look. “No, of course not. Why would you even think—”

“You came out of that hospital room looking like a ghost but refused to talk about it, so of course, it was a thought that crossed my mind.”

Piper shook her head. “No, I’m not dying. At least not anytime soon, although with the way my luck has been going, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the next thing to happen.”

Relieved, I felt like I could finally take a breath. “So, how bad is it?”

“How bad is what?”

“The news the nurse gave you.”

“It’s…I’m not sure.”

“Is it about your dad?”

“No, it’s not about my dad.”

“Which means it was personal. And it likely has to do with the blood test you refuse to show me. What is it? A chronic illness?”

“Jeez, you’re like a dog with a bone, aren’t you?”

“Whatever it is, I’ll take care of you. I have enough funds to—”

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