He was right, and I hadn’t even thought about it. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m just going to have to work harder to make sure you see the clear difference between him and me.” He smirked, nodding to the drink in my hand. “It’s hot vanilla. Since you can’t drink coffee, I wasn’t sure what to bring you.”
“You didn’t have to bring anything, but thank you.”
“I know, but if I didn’t, what excuse was I going to use to come see you?”
Smiling, I took a sip, and my eyes about popped out of my head. “This is really good.”
“Good to know. I have to head back. See you later?” he said, partially turned.
Taking his arm, I stopped him from going any farther by kissing his cheek. “Thanks.”
“You're welcome. And I’m just going to be honest: your ex sounds like one hell of a douchebag.” He waved, walking away.
When he was gone, I sat again and couldn’t help but wonder if all guys were really like Eli. Sebastian was the only man I had ever seriously dated. When he got jealous over me speaking to other guys, I just thought he was worried about losing me. When he said he didn’t want people at work to know we were going out, I thought it was because he was worried I would be looked down on for dating the boss. The more I thought about the situation, the more it felt like I should have never stayed with him. But hindsight was always twenty-twenty, and it had been hard to see the flaws when I was always staring at him through rose-colored glasses.
Eli
Turning away from the room where Molly lay resting beside her father, I faced the interns in front of me, trying my best not to holler. “She ran away?” I asked softly.
“She’s been through so much chemo, we don’t even know how she got up,” Four Eyes said, and they all nodded along with him.
Bunhead stood straighter. “Besides, we were only gone for a second. We thought the nurses would watch out for her.”
Do not lose it, Eli. “Why didn’t you let me know? I had to find out from her father,” I managed to say through clenched teeth.
Dr. Stretch shrugged his skinny shoulders. “We didn’t want to bother you with something—”
“Stop talking!” I snapped. I’m going to kill them. “I’m going to go in order, so pay attention, because if I have to repeat myself, not only will you be off this service, you will be off this floor. Dr. Four Eyes, the reason why you must watch children who have received chemotherapy is because they are more resilient than adults. Some days can be horrible, even downright painful, but some days they feel well enough to get up and move. Dr. Bunhead, that is the reason why I asked you three to keep an eye on her. Unlike you, the nurses are not my interns. Unlike you, they have over a hundred patients to see to. Dr. Stretch, if you ever fail to inform me about my missing patient’s whereabouts, or anything of the sort, I swear you won’t just be off this floor, but you’ll never be able to practice medicine in this state again. Any questions?”
None of them spoke.
“I will ask again. Any questions?”
“No, Dr. Davenport,” they all replied.
“Great, which means you all will pull a night shift here to make sure that not only is Molly all right, but also that you get updated scans in the morning, along with any written thoughts you have on my procedure. For now, just check her blood work.”
Nodding, they ran as fast as they could the other way. In the wrong direction.
I didn’t even bother to stop them, just went to the station up front where Dr. Seo, who seemed to have a lot more free time, leaned back, shaking his head.
“You are so mean to the kids, honey.” He laughed.
“The kids need to stay in school,” I muttered, filling out my chart. “I’m not even sure how they got this far. Who doesn’t tell their attending that their patient is missing? Idiots.”
“So, you excited for your date tonight?” he asked.
“I am not talking about this with you.” I signed my name before putting the chart back and walking away.
He followed. “We’ve been friends since medical school—”
“No, we went to medical school together. You just kept telling people we were friends.”
He sighed. “What do women see in you? You're such an ass.”
“Handsome and successful, what more do they need to see?”
He muttered something under his breath. “Look,” he said when we stepped into the elevator. “I’m just shocked you’re seriously with someone after—”
“Stop.” I sighed. “I don’t completely know what Guinevere and I are yet. We like and are attracted to each other. I feel nice when she is around, and after the year I’ve had…the year we’ve both had, feeling nice isn’t something we take lightly. So yes, to answer your first question, I’m looking forward to tonight. I really hope it works out. But if it doesn’t, it doesn't.” Getting off, I turned back to him as he was about to go back up again. “Your hair better be dyed tomorrow.”