Selfless Hero

I focused on organizing Mr. Wayland’s files, oblivious to everything around me until a particular sentence caught my attention.

“Child Protective Services are on their way.”

I came to a screeching halt, overhearing one of the nurses speaking to an intern that was shadowing her for the week.

Up until that point, my thoughts had been thoroughly preoccupied with Max. I’d seen him almost immediately upon starting the shift, and butterflies had floated through my stomach as if I was a teenager, laying eyes on my first crush. But he had ignored me completely. To say I was taken aback was an understatement. But I tried to brush it off, telling myself it was no big deal. After all, we both needed to stay professional; it’s not like we could spend the day holed up in the on-call room. But damn if I didn’t want to be.

My pussy ached as flashes of yesterday filled my mind. His hands on my skin, our scrubs on the floor, the chance that someone could need us at any moment and come barreling in. It was all too much.

Once I found out that I’d been assigned to another doctor for the day, my reservations were further soothed. I knew that it would look suspicious if Max went out of his way to talk to me when I wasn’t even working with him. So as we passed each other in the halls, I kept my brave face on and was determined to not be bothered by the lack of contact between us.

The only thing that had managed to take him off my mind was overhearing a fellow nurse mention CPS. I strained my ears to hear more, but she resumed speaking in a pitch too low for me to make out anything. An uncomfortable knot started forming in my stomach. Unable to stop myself, I took several steps in her direction. “Excuse me, what’s the name of that patient? The one CPS is coming for?”

She glanced down at the chart she held. “Raya Michaelson. Female. Seven years old.”

The blood drained from my face.

It’s not like I hadn’t known this was going to happen; I had even been expecting it. Yet, no matter how many times I witnessed situations like this, it always felt like a punch to the gut.

“Where is she now?” I asked.

“She’ll be in shortly to see Dr. Lewis.”

I nodded, my mind racing. The doctor I’d been assigned to was on break at the time, which meant I was as well. But knowing Raya was on the way, I knew I wouldn’t be able to bring myself to leave the area. Her face drifted through my mind. I could so vividly recall her big green doe eyes, chubby cheeks, and long curly hair. I could also recall the sadness that lurked beneath her expression when I last saw her, as well as the hope that had begun to seep through as I told her the story about the little princess who’d had a spell cast on her.

My heart ached, and I wondered if I would be able to stick around to witness what was about to unfold. After forming a connection with the girl, there was no way I could stand the thought of not being there for her at a time like this.

It all happened so fast though. The time I desperately needed to mentally prepare for the situation was not available, and within seconds, Max appeared. He briefly locked eyes with me—the longest he had looked at me all day. I felt like my heart was going to shatter into a million pieces right then and there. There was no smoldering expression in his dark eyes—only coldness and detachment. What the hell had changed?

“Good afternoon, Dr. Lewis. Anything we can do for you?” the nurse who’d been speaking with the intern asked. She was obviously assigned to his rotation for the day.

“No,” he said, his voice short and clipped. “Thank you,” he then added, perhaps realizing he sounded rude.

Another nurse appeared in the doorway. “Dr. Lewis, Raya and Mrs. Michaelson are here to see you.”

He nodded. “Yes, send them in.”

I stood frozen on the spot and having no idea what to do. The ball of dread in the pit of my stomach grew.

The seconds ticked by, each of them feeling like an hour until Raya and her mother were escorted in. Suddenly, everything felt like it was once again moving too fast because I just wasn’t ready to witness this.

Raya immediately smiled upon seeing me. Although my jaws quivered, I forced a smile back at her in return.

“Hi Kylie!” she said excited.

“Hi Raya,” I said, pleased that my voice was at least steady, and that I had managed to make it at least sound cheerful.

Max turned in my direction, staring me right in the eye. He slowly moved toward me, and I thought he was about to ask for my assistance. But instead, he drew the curtain closed, dividing us.

It wasn’t until then that I remembered technically, I wasn’t even supposed to be there. I was on break.

I closed my eyes for an instant, exasperated. But instead of taking the cue and leaving, I pulled out a chair and took a seat, listening.

“Hello, Mrs. Michaelson,” Max’s voice droned.

“Yeah, hi,” she responded.

A heavy pause permeated the air before Max spoke again. This time, his voice was directed at Raya. “So, how are you feeling today?”