Possessive Doctor

It’s time to be less reliant on my asshole father. If I want to get out… I need to think. I need to be smart.Me: Cross Keys Diner at eleven.

Brent: See you then.I put my phone down and get up. I limp into my bathroom and stare at my reflection.

I’m not a victim. I won’t be a victim. And I won’t be bullied into this marriage. I don’t care if Michael doesn’t seem so awful. I don’t care if I’ll get filthy rich. I’m not doing it, not for anything.

My father can go fuck himself.* * *The Uber drops me off outside of a boring-looking diner. It’s a little rundown, a little dirty, but at least there’s a handicap ramp leading up to the big chromed doors. I’m lost in thought as I take the ramp, limping along slowly, before I feel a hand on my arm.

I nearly jump out of my skin.

“Sorry,” Brent says. “Shit, sorry. I did say your name.”

“God damn. Scared me.” I wince a little bit, putting weight on my leg.

“Sorry.” He laughs a little. “Come on. Let’s go inside and get you something to eat.”

I let him help me the rest of the way. I feel a little better now that his hands are on my body.

The diner isn’t crowded when we stop inside. We grab a seat in a corner booth and the waitress comes by with a watcher pitcher and menus.

Brent grins at me. “You’ll like this place. They have everything.”

“I didn’t know there were diners in Texas.”

“Diners are everywhere,” he says. “Although most diners in Texas also do barbecue.”

I open the menu. “Looks like this place is no different.”

“Still in Texas, after all.”

I smile a little bit but I don’t really look at the menu. I don’t feel hungry. I don’t really feel much of anything at all, other than a persistent anxiety buzzing in the back of my head.

Brent looks at me over his menu. “You okay?”

“I think so.” I sip the water and put the menu aside. “I just want eggs.”

“Then eggs you shall get.” He smiles and looks around until he waves down the waitress. He orders the brisket and I ask for scrambled eggs and toast. The waitress walks off with a nod.

“I like this place,” he says. “Quiet, you know? Never gets too crowded.”

I look around and sure enough, he’s right. There’s a nice-sized lunch crowd but it’s not packed. There’s nobody nearby.

“And it’s close to the clinic.”

“There’s that too.”

We sit in silence for a minute. He’s looking at me, sizing me up, and I know what he’s thinking. He’s wondering why this weird, crazy girl called him away from work and now is just sitting there like a moron.

Except I can’t help it. I want to tell him everything, but as soon as I think about opening my mouth, I just realize how crazy my story is.

I’m not sure he’ll believe me, and I think that’ll be the worst thing of all.

“I don’t want to pressure you,” he says finally, breaking the silence. “I know you called me here for a reason. And if that reason’s just to sit and talk and flirt a little bit, that’s fine by me.”

“Maye that’s all there is.”

“But,” he says, continuing, “I don’t think that’s really all. I think you want to tell me about what happened to that leg.” He leans closer. “I want you to know something.”

“What?”

“I’m protective, Amber. I take care of the people I care about. And if you need protecting…” He trails off. His gaze is serious and hard, and I believe him. A chill runs down my spine.

“I don’t know what I need,” I say.

“Why don’t you start with how you injured that leg.”

“I can’t start there. You have to know the whole story.”

He nods once. “Okay then. Start from the beginning.”

I shift in my seat. “You won’t believe me.”

“I will.” He stares at me and doesn’t look like he’s going to say more.

So I open my mouth and I talk.

“My father’s an oil man. He’s one of the few new oil men in the state. He got lucky, found some oil, and started drilling. The well was productive, really productive, so he started drilling more and more, and now… now he has a lot of wells, a lot of oil, and even more money.” I pause for a second. “But it’s not enough.”

“He wants more,” Brent says.

“Exactly. I think that’s common, right? You get successful, but it’s never enough.”

“It’s never enough,” he agrees. “Believe me. I know better than most.”

I let that comment pass. “So he does some research. Turns out, there’s a large cattle and horse ranch near where Dad drills. It’s a big ranch, not all that rich or anything, but really old. The land’s never been touched. And he’s sure there’s oil on that ranch. He’s absolutely sure of it.”