Chapter 2

"Miss Robson," Dennis said, waving the medical file in his hand. His voice was so gentle that it made my skin crawl.

He said, "Looks like I'm obligated to spend the next fourteen days right here on this bed with you, getting up close and personal to fix your condition."

"In your dreams!" I screamed, grabbing a folder from the desk and hurling it at him.

Dennis dodged to the side, and the folder smacked against the wall, sending papers flying everywhere.

"Noelle, after five years, you still blow up so easily," he said calmly.

He calmly adjusted his white coat, a gleam of amusement in his eyes behind those glasses, like he was enjoying the drama.

"Who wants to get tangled up with you? Back off!" I snapped, bristling like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

I bolted to the door, yanking at the handle and pounding on it. "Open up. Let me out. There's a creep in here!"

But there was no response from outside. The hollow echo of my voice bounced down the empty hallway.

Dennis called out, his voice cold as ice, "Don't waste your breath. This is a quarantine ward. The door's locked from the outside.

"Unless the power system crashes, nobody's opening it."

My hand dropped limply, and I slid down to the floor against the cold door. I knew that I was screwed.

I hugged my knees and buried my face, wishing I could drop dead right here.

The consultation room was eerily quiet. I could hear my heart hammering in my chest, and Dennis's steady, unhurried breathing.

I believed that he must be cracking up inside. I dumped him for money back then, but now I was trapped like a helpless, pathetic fish in a glass bowl, completely at his mercy.

"The floor's cold. You're a patient now. Sitting there too long will only make things worse," Dennis said from above.

I looked up suddenly. He was standing right in front of me, holding a box of meds.

"These are nitroglycerin suppositories. Pop one in before you sleep, it'll ease the pain," he said, handing me the box.

His tone sounded like he was being professional, but his expression showed that he seemed to be enjoying a game.

I swatted his hand away, and the box hit the floor, sending a few white, bullet-shaped suppositories rolling out.

"I don't need your fake kindness!" I snapped.

Dennis crouched down, taking his sweet time picking up the scattered meds one by one. He held the last one between his fingers, turning it in the light.

"Miss Robson, you need to get it straight. I'm the doctor, and you're the patient. In this room, what I say goes," he said, standing up and placing the box on the floor right next to me.

"You can do it yourself, or..." Dennis paused, tilting his head, his gaze behind those glasses sharp as a scalpel.

He continued, "I could help you out. You know, I've got plenty of experience with that part of your body already."

I froze, every muscle locked up, my blood turning to ice. I felt that he was a real devil. He was actually using something like this to threaten me.

"You are disgusting!" I spat, my lips trembling with fury.

"Right back at you," Dennis shot back, kicking back in his chair and grabbing a book like he had all the time in the world.

He said, "Remember when you waved the car keys you got from that trust fund kid in my face and said, 'Dennis, we are worlds apart.'?

"Don't act like you are some saint."

He ripped open that old scar, and I went pale as a sheet. He remembered everything.

I balled my fists so tight my nails bit into my skin. I screwed up back then. My mom pushed me. I wanted to have a bright future.

So I broke up with Dennis in the cruelest way possible. But there was a twist in this story.

Dennis said, not even bothering to look up as he pointed toward the little cubicle behind the curtain, "Bathroom's over there.

"You want to take care of it yourself, or do you need my help?"

I gritted my teeth, snatched the box of meds off the floor like I was picking up the pieces of my shattered pride.

Then I marched into the bathroom and slammed the door hard behind me.

The bathroom was tiny. There was only a toilet and a sink. I pressed my back against the door, trembling from head to toe.

Shame, anger, regret, and a lot of emotions tangled up inside me, like they were about to eat me alive.

I stared at the meds in my hand, closed my eyes tight, and took a deep breath. I told myself that this was just medicine. There was nothing to freak out about.

I clumsily followed the instructions on the box. When I finally did it, the cold, bullet-shaped thing felt so weird and uncomfortable in my private part that I almost jumped.

As I was making faces from the discomfort, Dennis's voice came from outside the door. It was just loud enough to cut through.

"Need some help? It's your first time, so you might not be too sure about it. I can guide you from out here," he offered.

I jerked, almost dropping the meds right out of my hands.

"Get lost!" I growled.

There was a quiet laugh outside, then the sound of footsteps walking away.