“Dr. Withermore,” I say, which earns me a raised eyebrow.
I sigh. “Marcus.”
“Better,” he says. “Hop up onto the table, please.”
The paper crinkles beneath me as I hop up and adjust my position without ripping the paper with very limited success.
Marcus takes a seat on a stool, much like the kind we have at the shop.
“Why didn’t you come see me sooner?”
“Hey, I attempted to set up an appointment, but you had no openings.”
He rolls his eyes. “You know, I only see a handful of clients these days. Plus, we’ve gone over this. You just have to tell them who you are. Or… I don’t know, maybe just pick up the phone and call me or… come home. You can’t keep doing this, Jasper,” he says in a gentle tone. “Jacob and I aren’t going anywhere and in case you still haven’t noticed, we don’t plan on it.”
“Okay, okay, I’ll call you next time.” No matter the number of times I have tried to push them away, they won’t let me.
Seemingly happy with my response, he switches on his professional Dr. Withermore voice. “Can you tell me what happened when you fainted a few weeks ago? Were you feeling funny leading up to it? Anything at all?”
I sigh. That was not my finest day.
“I was just exhausted. That’s all it was.”
“Why don’t you let me decide that?” he replies.
I roll my eyes. “Fine, I went out and had a few drinks the night before, but I’ve been feeling rundown lately because I haven’t been sleeping the greatest. The day I fell, I was cleaning up my station after a client. One minute I felt fine, and the next, it felt like my heart was beating a million miles a minute. I must have turned around too fast because I got dizzy and lost my balance, hitting my head when I fell.”
“Has it ever happened before?”
I shake my head. “No.”
“Has it happened since? Your heart feeling like it’s beating really fast?”
I blow out a long breath. “Yes.”
He gets up and walks to me, eyeing me like I’m a puzzle.
Marcus takes the stethoscope from around his neck. “How long did it last?”
“Around fifteen seconds? I don’t know. I wasn’t really timing it.”
He lifts my shirt and places the cold metal end to my chest.
I hiss, shooting him daggers and he chuckles. “Sorry.”
Funny guy.
Taking deep breaths, I follow his instructions and breathe in and out as he listens to my heartbeat.
My body feels like it’s vibrating with all the stress and anxiety I’ve been avoiding over the last few weeks. And every minute he’s silent, it ramps up a notch.
When he finally takes a step back, I see a small flicker of concern flash across his face.
“Jasper, when Mary took your blood pressure, it was high. Higher than I would like it to be. I’m going to put you on some medication to help lower it, but I need you to pay attention to your health. For starters, you need to quit smoking. It will not be easy. I won’t lie and say it is. You also need to eat better and lower the amount of sodium and processed food in your diet. I don’t want this to be your wake-up call, but it is. It’s time you started taking better care of yourself.”
I hang my head, all things I’ve heard before.
“Tell me about you not sleeping?” Marcus asks.
