“I can do it,” Sarah offered. She stood at the edge of the kitchen.
“No, Page will do it.” Karson’s tone was abrupt to the point of being rude.
“Oh,” Sarah said, taken aback. “Okay.” She pulled a face and disappeared back into the kitchen.
I didn’t understand his reluctance. Maybe he thought if she touched me I’d know they’d been together and he didn’t want me to know. I was unsure, and at that moment I didn’t care even if they had been, all that mattered was getting warm.
It was four in the morning before I finally crawled into the warmth of my bed. I huddled down under the blankets, despite having a bath and the bed being heated by an electric blanket Icouldn’t seem to remove the chill from my bones. My body was still racked with endless shivers. Page didn’t come, he was in emergency surgery, apparently. Tom did.
Karson was standing at the end of the bed when he arrived. Tom threw him a sharp look.
“Amy,” Tom said, concern on his handsome face. He held a familiar large, black leather bag, the same bag I’d brought him as a gift after he passed his final exam. It had cost me half an arm and three parts of a leg. Inside, stitched to the leather was a small gold plate that said, ‘World’s best doctor.' Lucky it didn’t say world’s best boyfriend, or I might have had to cut it clean out of the lining. He sat the bag on the floor.
“What happened? Where was your gear?”
I was too tired to hold any angst. I pulled myself up to a sitting position, pulling the blankets with me, clutching them against my chest. “I lost it in the fires, I haven’t replaced it yet.”
He stared at me for a beat longer than necessary, cleared his throat, and said softly, “Let me get you checked out.” He reached into his bag and pulled out a stethoscope, placing it around his neck. “I need to check your heart. Could you lift your top please?”
I raised my eyebrows, reached up with a still trembling hand and, snapping the end of the stethoscope from his hand, slipped it into position against my chest myself with one hand.
“It’s not like I haven’t seen them before,” he muttered, placing the ear buds in.
Karson’s jaw clenched.
Tom listened for a few beats, then took the buds out. “I need to check your back, unless you want to pop that on yourself?” He attempted humor.
I shot him a look. I was in no mood for light-hearted banter. I just wanted to lie down and sleep.
“Just get it done, Tom.” I leant forward, still clutching the blankets to my chest. He moved my top up. He drew in a deep breath, like he was steeling himself against me, and placed the stethoscope on my back.
When he spoke, he spoke like any doctor would; professional, crisp and methodical.
“Take a deep breath.” I did. “And another. Good, lie down, please.” He clasped my wrist, located my pulse; a vision of him kissing me hit my mind. I drew a quick breath.
“Sorry, are my hands cold?”
“No,” I muttered, turning my head away from him toward the window. Scared of what he might see in my eyes.
He took my blood pressure and frowned. “Amy, it’s low, your heart rate is low, your blood pressure is low. You really should be in hospital where we can monitor you properly.”
“No, I feel okay, I want to stay here.”
“You don’t look okay,” he said as he brushed my hair, still damp, away from my face. I was annoyed with myself then, because, for reasons I couldn’t fathom, the familiar sensation of his silken touch still affected me. I stared like a mute dummy, barely blinking, barely breathing.
“If you are done, Doctor,” Karson said, an order, not a question. “She needs to rest.”
“Actually, I need a moment alone with my patient, if you don’t mind.” Tom turned, I couldn’t see the expression on his face, but I could see Karson’s face, it set into concrete. His eyes flickered to mine, seeking my approval. I nodded. He turned, striding out the door and closing it with a little more force than necessary.
Tom sat on the edge of the bed. His eyes soft, pleading. “Amy, what the hell are you doing with that guy? We had a kid in ER the other day with a broken arm. He said he fell, but later I heard him talking to a girl and he said Karson had broken it.” Hepaused and lowered his voice, darting his eyes toward the closed door. “They were talking about plans they had in place to make him pay.”
My brow furrowed. “Did he say what plans?”
Tom shook his head. “I didn’t get the details, they stopped talking when they heard me coming.”
“Who was he talking to?”
“I don’t know, when I opened the curtain she was gone. Amy, are you not hearing me? He broke his arm. When he threatened to break my arm the other night, I never actually thought he meant it. What kind of a man breaks people’s arms?” Tom frowned. He grabbed my hand. “He’s really bad news.”
