“Dr. Lewis?” an additional voice appeared.
“Yes?”
“Child Protective Services are here.”
“Okay. Please get Nurse Tyson and have her return with the patient.”
“Of course.”
Again, one of those weird moments when time moves simultaneously too fast and too slow occurred.
I heard the nurse and the intern return with Raya. I heard the voices of other men, trying to politely tell Raya that she would be coming with them for a little while instead of going to her mother. I heard Raya began to cry, and her mother began to yell in protest.
And when I couldn’t take it anymore, I stood up and pulled back the curtain, right in time to see a crying Raya being taken away.
I looked toward Max, seeing his crushed expression. His eyes met with mine for a moment and then he slowly shook his head.
CHAPTER 10
Max
I didn’t really want more coffee, but I needed something to do. I often found the process of making coffee more comforting than actually drinking it. And after what had just happened with Raya, I desperately needed some comforting.
The sound of the girl’s crying was something I would never forget as long as I lived. I knew it was for the best that CPS stepped in; the alternative of leaving her in an unsafe environment was completely out of the question. But it didn’t matter, I fucking hated dealing with CPS and kids’ cases. That’s why I had been on the night shift, where shit like that rarely happened.
I too easily understood what a child felt like in those kinds of circumstances; being taken away by complete strangers typically felt more frightening than staying in an unstable environment.
The devil you know is better than the devil you don’t. That saying rang all too true.
Distracted, I accidently burned my hand on the hot coffee mug.
“Fuck,” I swore, far louder than I meant.
Right that instant, the door to the on-call room swung open. I closed my eyes for a second, hoping that it was no one but Rick. But when I reopened them, I saw that it was Kylie.
With a heavy sigh, I reached for a couple packages of sweetener.
I needed a distraction, but I didn’t need it to be her. We had already been caught once; we didn’t need to make it twice.
I immediately thought back to the feel of her skin and practically felt myself harden on the spot. She had started out as just a pretty distraction, but now, she was already so much more. It scared me how strong of a connection I felt with her even though I’d only known her for just a short time, which was all the more reason I had to concentrate on keeping my distance from this point forward.
I couldn’t get attached.
I could feel her staring at me, and I was well aware that she realized I’d been ignoring her the whole day. I just couldn’t face her though—at least not without replaying the previous day in my head. My cock pulsed at the thought. At this rate I’d have to take care of myself soon. Damn.
I attempted to open several packets of sweetener at once, but with too much force. They spilled all over the counter and I swore again.
“Rough day?” Kylie asked, standing beside me with her own coffee mug.
“You think?” I said, reaching for more sweetener. I opened them carefully this time and poured them into my cup. I then searched the table for the coffee creamer, seeing that they were beside Kylie. “Hand me a pack of creamer, will you?”
She silently reached for a packet of cream and held it out to me. I took it from her hand, my fingertips brushing against her palm and reminding me once again how soft and delicious her skin was.
Stop it. Just fix your coffee, I chastised myself.
I clenched my jaw and turned away from her, carefully opening the creamer and pouring it into my coffee as well. Grabbing a plastic spoon, I began to stir, watching the black liquid lighten to a rich brown.
I set the spoon down and picked up my cup, realizing I suddenly didn’t know what to do or where to go. Kylie was still staring at me, and I so desperately wanted to meet her gaze. But I was afraid of the feelings those bright blue eyes would inspire in me. I was already feeling so down—so broken—that I knew it would be all too easy to seek comfort in her.