against the boy who did this to you? It would go home with his parents and another copy would go to yours. If your nose is broken and requires surgery, it’s a mandatory process.”
“No,” I say. “I don’t want to file a report against him. It was an accident.”
Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t, but I don’t need any more excuses to have anything to do with my dad and Sandra or with Sutton.
NINE – LAURYN
Present
I wake in a dark room – my living room – with a cold, melted baggie of ice over my ankle. The underside of my ankle is warm. My body is warm. There’s a blanket covering me. The second my eyes adjust, I see the outline of a man at the foot of my couch.
I pull my ankle from his lap. “Sutton, why are you still here?”
He stirs from his light slumber and clears his throat as he faces me. His eyelids are vaguely parted, giving him an impossibly dreamy expression, and I hate myself for noticing. “Just taking care of you, Lauryn. Like I said I would.”
My ankle has stopped throbbing. I think I can walk on it now if I try. I drag my feet to the ground and brace my hands against the seat cushions.
“Don’t,” he says, springing up. “If you need something tell me.”
“You’re acting like I have a broken foot,” I huff. “It feels better.”
“Let me see.” He clicks on the lamp on the side table and crouches down to examine me. His hands are warm and soft and his touch is gentle and light. When he’s in doctor mode, it makes me forget how much I want to punch him. “Fine. But let me help you stand. We’ll go from there.”
His hands are outstretched, and I place mine in his. He hoists me up, holding me as I put pressure on my right foot.
“See? I’m fine,” I assure him. I wait as he stares, glancing from my ankle to my face and back.
“All right. Fine.” He releases my hands, and I do my best not to hobble as I walk away.
“What time is it?”
He glances at his watch. “Time for me to head to the hospital.”
He’s going to work a 24-hour shift after taking a catnap in a seated position on my sofa, all so he could take care of me. That says something.
I grip onto the edge of the kitchen counter as I watch Sut slip his shoes on. He tugs his white lab coat over his shoulders and pulls a badge from his pocket, clipping it on. Never in a million years did I ever think Sutton Pierce, ladies man extraordinaire with a wild, obnoxious streak and a cock piercing, would ever be a doctor.
Never mind that he’s a doctor who delivers babies and tends to medical issues of the womanly variety.
Sutton reaches for the doorknob; turning and flashing me a close-lipped smile that almost makes me forget how angry I’ve been.
“Have a good night at work.” I say it like we’re friends, and then I promptly remind myself that we are most definitely not friends. My lips purse in case I say something else I shouldn’t.
He nods and vanishes behind the door within seconds. His void fills the small space of my apartment. It’s noticeable. I can feel it in my bones. I breathe in the nothingness and miss his presence instantaneously. It’s unsettling and confusing, so I shake my head to rattle my thoughts before heading back to my room to change.
I need to call James.
My boyfriend .
I need to stop thinking about Sutton.
TEN – SUTTON
“Dr. Pierce, thank God you’re here.” A plump nurse in Winnie the Pooh scrubs grabs me by the elbow the second I walk through the door of the delivery floor and pulls me down the south corridor. “I’ve got a patient in twenty-six who’s ready to push. I’ve been paging Dr. Cardwell but she’s not responding. She needs to deliver now.”
“Where’s Dr. Brunswick?”
“He’s with another patient,” she sighs. “Full moon, Dr. Pierce. I swear that’s it. We’ve been delivering one after another all day.”
I head into twenty-six, wash and sanitize my hands, and wheel my stool over to where a
“No,” I say. “I don’t want to file a report against him. It was an accident.”
Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t, but I don’t need any more excuses to have anything to do with my dad and Sandra or with Sutton.
NINE – LAURYN
Present
I wake in a dark room – my living room – with a cold, melted baggie of ice over my ankle. The underside of my ankle is warm. My body is warm. There’s a blanket covering me. The second my eyes adjust, I see the outline of a man at the foot of my couch.
I pull my ankle from his lap. “Sutton, why are you still here?”
He stirs from his light slumber and clears his throat as he faces me. His eyelids are vaguely parted, giving him an impossibly dreamy expression, and I hate myself for noticing. “Just taking care of you, Lauryn. Like I said I would.”
My ankle has stopped throbbing. I think I can walk on it now if I try. I drag my feet to the ground and brace my hands against the seat cushions.
“Don’t,” he says, springing up. “If you need something tell me.”
“You’re acting like I have a broken foot,” I huff. “It feels better.”
“Let me see.” He clicks on the lamp on the side table and crouches down to examine me. His hands are warm and soft and his touch is gentle and light. When he’s in doctor mode, it makes me forget how much I want to punch him. “Fine. But let me help you stand. We’ll go from there.”
His hands are outstretched, and I place mine in his. He hoists me up, holding me as I put pressure on my right foot.
“See? I’m fine,” I assure him. I wait as he stares, glancing from my ankle to my face and back.
“All right. Fine.” He releases my hands, and I do my best not to hobble as I walk away.
“What time is it?”
He glances at his watch. “Time for me to head to the hospital.”
He’s going to work a 24-hour shift after taking a catnap in a seated position on my sofa, all so he could take care of me. That says something.
I grip onto the edge of the kitchen counter as I watch Sut slip his shoes on. He tugs his white lab coat over his shoulders and pulls a badge from his pocket, clipping it on. Never in a million years did I ever think Sutton Pierce, ladies man extraordinaire with a wild, obnoxious streak and a cock piercing, would ever be a doctor.
Never mind that he’s a doctor who delivers babies and tends to medical issues of the womanly variety.
Sutton reaches for the doorknob; turning and flashing me a close-lipped smile that almost makes me forget how angry I’ve been.
“Have a good night at work.” I say it like we’re friends, and then I promptly remind myself that we are most definitely not friends. My lips purse in case I say something else I shouldn’t.
He nods and vanishes behind the door within seconds. His void fills the small space of my apartment. It’s noticeable. I can feel it in my bones. I breathe in the nothingness and miss his presence instantaneously. It’s unsettling and confusing, so I shake my head to rattle my thoughts before heading back to my room to change.
I need to call James.
My boyfriend .
I need to stop thinking about Sutton.
TEN – SUTTON
“Dr. Pierce, thank God you’re here.” A plump nurse in Winnie the Pooh scrubs grabs me by the elbow the second I walk through the door of the delivery floor and pulls me down the south corridor. “I’ve got a patient in twenty-six who’s ready to push. I’ve been paging Dr. Cardwell but she’s not responding. She needs to deliver now.”
“Where’s Dr. Brunswick?”
“He’s with another patient,” she sighs. “Full moon, Dr. Pierce. I swear that’s it. We’ve been delivering one after another all day.”
I head into twenty-six, wash and sanitize my hands, and wheel my stool over to where a
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