The Girl Who Always Wins (Soulless 13)

“Look at me.”

I almost ignored the command, trying to be disobedient. But I caved and looked at him once more.

He leaned over my desk, his hands planted on the surface. “Without Darin, the world wouldn’t be different. Nothing would change. But if you died…it would impact a lot of people. Future patients wouldn’t get the care that they needed. Scientific breakthroughs wouldn’t be made. You appreciate every life like it matters. But you need to appreciate your own just as much.” He pulled his hands back and turned away.

“I’m still going to treat him.”

He halted and took a deep breath before he turned back around.

“And I could use some help.”

“Couldn’t care less what happens to him.”

“But I do. And the sooner I help him, the sooner he’s gone.”

He drew in a deep breath, annoyance flashing over his face. He considered the request, his jaw tight, his hands making fists like he was about to fight someone. But then he released them and dropped himself into the armchair. “Let’s get this shit over with.”

Dad sat across from me, the chessboard between us. He reached for his pawn and made his move. “I don’t know about this.”

“Dad, come on.” I made my move.

“I know him. He’ll be furious.”

I shrugged. “He’s always furious.”

“Daisy, this is different. We’re subjecting him to something that has already traumatized him.” He made his move.

I made mine. “He’ll suck it up.”

Dad paused to stare at me before he made another move. “I reached out to a few colleagues. Connected with a reproductive endocrinologist. We went to Harvard together. We were in the same class, but I doubt she remembers me. And then I connected with a physician here in Manhattan who specializes in blood disorders. Thought if we could team them up together, along with us, we might make some progress.”

I grabbed my chess piece, but I held on to it instead of moving it. I stared at my dad, feeling the gratitude flooding my entire body like anesthesia. “Thank you.”

Dad looked down as if he didn’t know what to say. “I have an empty lab we can use. Their time will also be compensated by the company as employees.”

“So, they agreed?”

“Not yet. But I’m sure they will.”

“That’s great. I’m so excited.”

“But this isn’t going to work without his cooperation. We need his specimens to test. Otherwise, we have nothing to do.”

“I know. I’ll talk to him. Just want to wait a bit… We’re kinda butting heads right now.”

Dad stared at me incredulously. “Already?”

“Yeah, we do it a lot.”

“I’ll say…”

“A couple days ago at work, there was this incident, and we had a disagreement, so we aren’t really talking right now.” I knew it was just a fight, not something that reflected the health of our relationship. He was stubborn, and so was I.

“What kind of incident?”

“I had this really combative patient, and I left the room to give him space to cool off, but he followed me and attacked me.”

The look on my dad’s face was maniacal. His eyes practically popped out of his head, and the red tint emerged instantly. His dark eyes became bullets, ready to kill the patient who dared to touch me.

“But don’t worry. I totally kicked his ass. He didn’t even get a chance to touch me.”

Dad immediately bowed his head into his hands and released the breath that he’d just sucked into his lungs. “Jesus fucking Christ…”

“My training was instinct. I tore him down without even thinking twice about it.”

He slowly dragged his hands down his face, still upset.

I pulled out my phone. “I have the footage from the security cameras.”

He grabbed it and turned it facedown and shook his head.

“Dad, I’m fine.”

“If I see his face, I’ll hunt him down and kill him. Literally.”

I pulled the phone back into my pocket. “I believe you, so…better put this away.”

His knuckles rested against his mouth and he looked down at the chessboard between us, but his mind was nowhere near the game. “This doesn’t explain the rift between you and Atlas.”

“Well, I wanted to keep this guy as a patient. Atlas disagreed.”

His eyes flicked up—and just the look showed that he held the same opinion.

“He’s been everywhere else with no answers. If we don’t figure it out, no one will—”

“Should have thought of that before he assaulted you.”

“Dad, he didn’t assault me. I kicked his ass. Everyone keeps forgetting that part of the story.”

“Doesn’t fucking matter.” He slammed his hand down. “This man should be ejected from the clinic and also thrown in jail. You should be pressing charges, Daisy.”

“Dad, he’s in a lot of pain, and he’s frustrated—”

“What kind of justification is that?”

“Well, when Mom had cancer, you turned into a mega asshole, so there’s that.”

He immediately winced at the insult, like a dog that just got smacked on the nose.

“He’s not himself, okay? He was married, but then his illness drove them apart. He was active, had a social life, but then his symptoms completely took control of everything. He was a regular person like you and me. But people change when they’re experiencing chronic pain, day in and day out. Yes, his behavior was unacceptable, but that wouldn’t have happened if he weren’t under such physical and mental duress. Think about how much better the world would be if everyone could improve their physical and mental health. I promise you, the prisons wouldn’t be full, there wouldn’t be as many mass shootings, there wouldn’t be so much aggression and violence. If I don’t fix him, he might lose his temper with someone else and hurt them. I’m not just saving him—but every other person he interacts with. I can think of myself in this situation, but medicine is broader than just me. It’s a cog in the wheel of life. It has ripple effects. I have to see this through.”