Beyond the glass in front of me lies a patient ready and waiting for the care I need to provide, but all thoughts of surgery fly out of my mind at the sound of fear in Snow’s voice.
It cuts through me like a blade of ice and I stare down at June, frozen.
“Is everything alright?” June asks, drowning out the faint conversation coming from the call. “Should I get someone?”
“…Just how priceless is that thing between your legs?”
My stomach drops like a rock and I snatch my phone from June’s hand.
“Xander! You’ll have to scrub in again!” June gasps.
“Call Fred. He’s free, I know he is. He’ll do this surgery, but I have to go.” I’m out the door with June’s yells following me, but her words don’t breach this sudden panicked fog that descends over me as I sprint down the hallway.
I can trust Fred to take my surgery, not out of the goodness of his heart but because he’ll enjoy having me in his debt.
It’ll be worth it.
Snow called me for a reason and she needs help. I just have no clue where to look for her.
Reaching the locker room, I skid inside and crash right into Fred who catches me by the shoulders to keep himself up and stop me from falling.
As we collide, my phone slips from my fingers and crashes to the ground. The impact shocks my device and the call ends.
“Fuck!”
“Xander? Fucking hell, you alright?”
“No!” Shoving him out of the way, I lunge for my phone just as the screen goes dark.
A few swipes of my thumb bring it back to life but it’s too late. The call’s definitely ended. “Fuck.”
“Dude.” Fred moves to stand next to me, staring down at my crouched form. “The fuck?”
“I need you to take my surgery,” I say just as the pager on Fred’s hip lights up. “That’ll be June. Patient’s already on the table.” I glance up at him and watch as his arrogant smirk suddenly melts into something almost like concern. “Please.”
“Sure. Alright. You good?” Fred holds out his hand to help me up and I take it, letting him haul me back to my feet.
“Yeah, fine, I just… I gotta go. Thanks.”
“Yeah, sure.” Fred squints at me for a moment as if he’s going to say something else, then he releases my hand. “You owe me.”
“A huge one, I know.”
Fred leaves with a wink while I try to call Snow over and over again, but the call doesn’t connect.
Those last distant words swirl around my mind like a virus and my hands shake as I change out of my scrubs and into a T-shirt and track pants stuffed at the back of my locker.
How do I find her? How do I know where to look?
Mrs. Rye answers her phone when I’m in the elevator. “Xander! How lovely to hear from you?—”
“Is Snow with you?” I bark, cutting her off.
“No, I left her at lunch maybe an hour ago. Is everything alright?”
“Did she say where she was going or what she was going to do for the rest of the day?” The elevator doors slide open and every single person that gets in my way as I weave through the crowd toward the hospital entrance amplifies the feverish itch crawling over my skin.
It’s like something inside me is about to burst out of my chest if I don’t get to Snow soon.
