Chapter 2

I had just finished my last bite when I heard heels clicking from the entrance. Fast and urgent.

Chris dropped his fork. "Oh, crap."

I hadn't even had time to react. A woman in a pink nurse's uniform cut straight toward us, early twenties, long hair down, makeup perfect.

She looked at me, then turned to Chris. "Who?"

Chris stood up. "Jessica, just listen—"

"I said 'who'." Her voice had an edge now. People around us were starting to stare.

I put down my fork and stood up. "Hi, I'm—" The slap landed before I finished the sentence.

The cafeteria went quiet.

Heat flared across my face, my ears ringing.

Jessica planted her hands on her hips and pointed at my face. "Which department? Hitting on someone else's boyfriend? That's bold."

Chris grabbed her arm. "Jessica! Are you out of your mind? She's—"

"Stop!" Jessica shook him off, eyes wide. "I've been hearing things for weeks. Now I'm seeing it myself."

I pressed my hand to my cheek. "You've got the wrong idea. We're not like that."

"Not like that? You bought him lunch, you're sitting together, you're laughing, and you want me to believe that?"

"I'm his—"

"Stop. I don't want to hear it." Jessica cut me off.

The crowd was growing. Some people had their phones out.

A few nurses huddled around behind us.

"Did Jessica just slap her?"

"Who is that girl? Doesn't look like trouble."

"Gutsy though, standing up against Jessica."

"She's done."

Jessica stood taller. She grabbed my wrist, her nails digging in. "Let's go. We're seeing Dr. Lynn."

"Let go, please," I said evenly.

"Let go? Not until this is settled!" She dragged me toward the door.

Chris caught up and stepped in front of her. "Jessica! Just calm down. She's my sister!"

"Your sister? I've never seen her once. You told me you didn't have any family here."

Chris was struck dumb.

Apparently, that detail hadn't made the cut when he was trying to impress her.

I turned and gave him a look. He shrank back. "I-I meant I was the only one living here."

"There it is." Jessica scoffed. "Can't even keep your story straight, and you're still defending her."

She was strong enough to haul me out of the cafeteria, and the hallway parted around us, everyone stepping aside, watching me with something like pity.

A doctor muttered under his breath. "Poor girl. You don't mess with Jessica in this hospital."

She dragged me past the ER, where a few interns had stuck their heads out to watch. One of them recognized Jessica and pulled back fast.

At the elevator, I said, "Shouldn't you have your facts straight before you hit someone? What if you got the wrong person?"

She stopped with her hand on the button and turned to look at me. "Wrong person? Your face, your age, sitting with my boyfriend, how exactly did I get the wrong person?"

"Have you ever seen a thirty-two-year-old intern?"

"Thirty-two?" She looked me over. "With that face? Try again."

"I'm telling you, you've got this wrong."

"Save it for the director's office."

The elevator doors opened. Jessica shoved me in, and Chris followed, white-faced. Two doctors were already inside. They saw us and quietly backed into the corner.

The director's office was down the hall on the sixth floor. Jessica's heels hit the floor hard the whole way down, loud enough to carry through the entire floor. As we passed the admin office, heads appeared in the doorway.

"Here we go," one of the women murmured. "Jessica's at it again."

"Who is it this time?"

"No idea. Never seen her before."