The Obsidian Collection Read online

  “I’ll come back on my lunch break and we’ll do this, okay?”

  “Okay. Make sure you bring my mars bars,” he giggled.

  I shook my head as I left the room. He was a cheeky thing.

  I dropped the bloods off at the lab and went to the cafeteria to grab a coffee and sandwich. On my way out, I ran into Erin. She grinned at me, her eyes darting down to my lunch.

  “Not hanging around?” she asked, her face dropping.

  “I have an important meeting with a Nintendo DS,” I replied with a laugh. She raised her eyebrows as she reached up to push a stray strand of hair from her face.

  “Sounds ominous,” she giggled. “How is your day going, anyway?”

  “Okay.” I made a face. “Fraser is a bit of a hard ass, but I guess that’s good in a way. You?”

  “Yeah, about the same. I’m hoping things get better,” she sighed, a forced smile hitting her lips. “And I’m sure it will. It’s only the first day. Firsts are supposed to suck, right?”

  “Right,” I replied. I held up my sandwich. “I better get going. Hope your day improves.”

  Noah glanced up as I walked into his room, his eyes lighting up.

  “You’re here,” he exclaimed happily.

  “Of course I am. What, were you hoping I wouldn’t show? Getting scared, huh?” I teased, sitting down on the edge of his bed.

  “No,” he scoffed, shaking his head violently. “Just when adults tell me they’ll do something, they don’t always do it.” Poor kid. I bet he got that a lot. It was easy to forget that even though they were sick, they were still just kids. I reached across and grabbed the Nintendo.

  “Prepare to lose, Noah. Level six?” I rolled my eyes. “Easy.”

  Noah giggled as I rolled my eyes. It had been years since I’d played a video game. I turned the small console in my hands, trying to figure out how to turn it on. Yep, I rocked at this.

  “How many goes do I get?”

  “Three if you can actually figure out how to switch it on,” he laughed. I glowered at him. “The blue button on the side,” he finally added, still smiling.

  “Three?” I repeated.

  “If you don’t think you can do it, you can back out,” he offered sweetly. I narrowed my eyes. This kid was good.

  “Three it is, then.”

  My first go I died on the first screen. Five seconds into the game. Noah hooted with laughter as I restarted it.

  “Yeah, laugh it up,” I grumbled, playing up my annoyance. “You wont be laughing when I kick your ass.”

  The second time, I actually managed to get through the first two levels before a stealth ninja put an axe through my head. At least I didn’t have to pretend to lose. Turned out I was pretty shit at this game.

  “One more go,” Noah said gleefully, clapping his hands.

  “This game sucks,” I retorted, tossing him back the console. “Here.” I pulled two mars bars out of my pocket and threw them onto his bed.

  “You still have another go,” he protested, trying to hide his grin.

  “Somehow, I don’t think I’ll need it,” I said dryly. “But next time, I wont let you win.”

  “Let me win?” he sputtered. “You didn’t even know how to turn it on!”

  I winked at him. “Shut up and eat your chocolate.”

  After lunch, it took me nearly half an hour to find Eric.

  Eventually, I saw him holed up outside one of the x-ray rooms, laughing with two other surgeons. The laughing stopped abruptly as I approached.

  “You need something?” Eric smirked. God, that smirk. The way his eyes lit up when he smiled. It was too much.

  “You told me to find you.” Annoyance bubbled inside me as I saw him roll his eyes at his friends. Why did this guy have to be such an ass? It wasn’t that long ago he was in the same position I was.

  His arm clasped on my back, and he marched me down the hallway back toward the children’s ward. I forced myself to ignore the tingles that his touch sent shooting through my body.

  Fuck, Cam. Forget it.

  Ignoring the fact that I was so far in the closet it would take me days to find my way out, it was obvious what a player this guy was and totally into women. I was setting myself up to be hurt. Every second nurse blushed as we walked past. And I could guarantee it wasn’t me that was flustering them. It was his sexy grin. The way his green eyes sparkled…

  “Am I talking to myself?” Eric’s voice boomed through me, causing me to jump. I cringed, just wanting this day to be over already. “The tests, Fletcher. Go and see if the results are back for Noah. If they are not, then I want you to stand outside the lab and hassle them until they are, okay?”

  I sighed and nodded. I ran my fingers through my dark hair.

  Why couldn’t I have been paired with anyone else? The attitude I could handle. It sucked, but I was an intern; it was expected that I’d be treated like shit. What I couldn’t handle was being so close to him. And if that were a problem after half a day, what the fuck was I going to be like in a week, or a month?

  I walked into the hospital, almost half an hour early, my way of making sure I was never late. The traffic was so unpredictable; it could take anywhere between five and thirty minutes to get here from my apartment. It would be just my luck to turn up late and give Eric another reason to hate me.

  The first week had gone by pretty quickly; all things considered. I was getting used to the hospital, and I was even getting used to Eric. I’d been putting in such long hours that I’d barely done anything outside of work and sleep.

  That included clearing things up with Lucinda.

  I had a barrage of missed calls and messages from her that I just didn’t have the energy to go through. I’d deal with her later; though it surprised me that she hadn’t been back to the house since our fight, just not enough for me to actually do anything about it.

  And I knew why. Because deep down, I wanted her to realize that we just weren’t good together. It was cowardly; I know, but things would become so much easier if she just broke up with me.

  Erin sidled up to me in the locker room, a big smile on her face.

  “You know, every girl in this hospital is jealous that you get to work so closely with him,” she whispered, nudging her head toward Eric. I turned, just in time to see him lift his sweater off. I inhaled sharply as the hem of his white tee caught under the fabric of the sweater, giving me a glimpse of his ripped, tanned body.

  Fuck.

  “Gotta go,” I blurted out, making a beeline for the door, desperate to hide my growing erection. Think unsexy thoughts. Mom in lingerie. I cringed as the image filtered through my mind. Harsh, but it was doing the trick. I stood against the wall trying to catch my breath when Eric came stalking out of the locker room.

  “You ready, Fletcher?” He stalked past me, not bothering to stop for my response.

  “Yep,” I muttered, following him. As ready as I’ll ever be.

  We walked inside the elevator. Crossing my arms over my chest, I waited impatiently for the doors to close. Being in a small confined space with Eric was something I didn’t want to think too hard about.

  “So today you’re going to lead my rounds.”

  Huh?

  “What?” I asked, shocked. He was putting me in charge after a week?

  He chuckled and patted me on the back. “You’ll be fine. And if you’re not, I’ll be right there to fix your fuck ups.”

  Great. So not only did I have to worry about fucking things up, but I had to worry about doing it in front of him. Eric seemed to be enjoying my discomfort. He handed me a folder. I flipped it open and ran through our patients for the day. I’d met all but one already. I began to relax. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.

  Who knows, maybe I’ll impress him with my knowledge and wit.

  “Okay, so room three is Maria Sharpani, three years old with a congenital kidney disease who came in with an infection. She’s been on IV antibiotics and fluids, but her kidney funct
ion tests are still a little high,” I said, reading through her chart.

  “So what would you recommend?” Eric pressed as we walked into the room.

  “Continue the current treatment. It’s working, so monitor her urine output and perform more function tests tomorrow?”

  “Good,” Eric nodded. He smiled at Maria’s mother, but stood back, letting me lead.

  “Hi, Maria,” I said, approaching the bed. I bent down so my six-foot frame wasn’t so imposing for the little girl. She smiled up at me, her brown eyes wide. “How are you feeling today? From what I hear, you’re feeling heaps better. Look at all that color in your cheeks,” I teased. She giggled.

  “She’s been much better today. Hopefully, I can take her home soon,” her mother said, smiling. I glanced up at her and nodded.

  “She’s responding to the treatment really well. At this rate, I think she’ll be discharged in a few days. We just want to be sure we get her levels down to normal before we let her go.”

  Mom thanked me, and little Maria gave me another smile as we left the room.

  With each patient, my confidence grew. I was finally beginning to feel like I was doing things right. Next on my list was Noah. His white cell count had come back normal—well, normal for a child suffering from cancer, and the preliminary tests had shown the tumor hadn’t increased in size.

  Noah looked up and grinned at me. He looked pleased to see me.

  “Hey, Cam. You here for a rematch?” he teased. Eric turned to me and raised his eyebrows. He looked amused.

  “Yeah, you’re not getting any more chocolate out of me, kid. How are you? How’s the pain?” I asked. I walked up to the side of the bed and pulled down the blanket. He winced as I pressed lightly on his stomach. Dark bruising had begun to show through his skin around the sight of the pain, which worried me.

  “If I say it’s gone, can I go home?” he asked hopefully.

  “Noah,” his mom exclaimed, shooting me an apologetic look.

  “Do that, and you’ll end up back in here with more pain,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “Never lie about how you’re feeling, okay? If you do, then we cant do our best. Got it?”

  “Fine,” he sighed. “It’s still pretty bad.” I checked his chart. Pretty bad was right. In the last twenty-four hours, he’d had enough painkillers to kill a small animal.

  “I’ll come back and check on you later,” I said, winking at him. He smiled and settled back down with his iPod. I nodded to his mother, indicating that I wanted to speak to her outside.

  “We want to run a few more tests to make sure the cancer hasn’t spread to any of his other organs,” I explained to her. Her face fell, as tears welled in her eyes. “It could be that his stomach pain is unrelated to the cancer and just a side effect of the treatment, but we want to be sure. His bloods showed high levels of protein which suggests an infection somewhere, and his white cell count has dropped slightly, but not enough to concern me.”

  “Whatever you need to do,” she replied. Wiping her eyes, she smiled at both of us. “And thanks. For spending time with him. What you did yesterday meant the world to him.” I smiled and watched her walk back into the room.

  “Spending time with him?” Eric asked, cocking his head.

  “I stop by and chat to the kid sometimes. I find that it makes them trust me more, and takes away some of the fear,” I answered, making it out not to be a big deal. I didn’t care how often you’d been in and out of hospital. It didn’t make the experience any less daunting. Eric didn’t say anything for a moment.

  “Watch yourself, Fletcher. You don’t want to get too attached to some of these kids. That’s the worst part of working in pediatrics. It doesn’t always turn out the way we want it to.”

  “Yeah, but if I can make his stay in hospital a little easier, why not do it?” I shrugged. It didn’t sound like much of a choice to me.

  Wasn’t that part of why I became a doctor?

  Throwing my jacket over the hall table, I stopped in my tracks. Lucinda stood in front of me; arms crossed, her usual pained expression etched across her face. I sighed. All I’d wanted was a relaxing evening.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked, walking into the kitchen. She followed me as I grabbed a can of drink, shaking her head as I offered her one.

  “Don’t you think we need to talk?” she asked, throwing up her arms.

  “Probably. But every time we talk, we end up fighting and you storm off.”

  “I’m here now,” she said, perching herself on the edge of one of the stools behind the kitchen counter. “Ten years, Cam. I know we have our problems, but we can’t just throw ten years away, right?”

  “How much of that time have we spent not fighting? It’s always something, Lou. We don’t work together. You know it, and so do I. It’s just neither of us has had the guts to do anything about it.” This forwardness was so not me. Lucinda looked suitably shocked by my words. I guessed she assumed this would be just like all our other fights. We’d argue, spend a few days apart, and then make up. Not this time though.

  “But…” her voice trailed off. My heart dropped as tears spilled over her darkened lashes. I felt bad. This whole thing was my fault. If I’d been honest with her—honest with myself from the beginning—then, none of this would have happened.

  “Lou, I’m sorry. We should have ended things a long time ago. What we have, it shouldn’t be that hard. We’re comfortable with each other. That’s the only thing that’s kept us together this long.”

  “You really believe that?” she asked softly.

  “You don’t?”

  She wiped away her tears, pushing her shoulders back, as though she didn’t want me to see how hurt she was. I was hurting too, only I knew if I didn’t do this now, it would make things a thousand times worse.

  “Fine. I’ll go then.” Her voice wobbled as she spoke. I wanted to comfort her, but at the same time, I didn’t know how. If I were her, the last thing I’d want right now was my pity. “I’ll come past later and get my things,” she added sullenly.

  I nodded. She stood there for a moment, and then picked up her bag and walked to the door. With one last glance my way, she opened the door and left. Cradling my hands behind my head, I walked over to the window and flicked open the blinds. A few seconds later, I saw her walking to her car.

  Holy shit.

  I’d done it. It was over. I couldn’t believe I’d actually had the balls to finish it. Strangely, I felt a buzz inside of me, as well as some pretty extreme anxiety. I was excited—and shit scared—of what was next for me.

  Telling my parents.

  “You’re distracted. What’s going on?”

  Eric slapped a file full of test results against my chest and turned to face me.

  “Spit it out, Fletcher. I will not have you working on my patients while your mind is not fully on the job.”

  “It’s nothing. My girlfriend and I broke up,” I mumbled, embarrassed to be talking about it with him.

  Eric frowned, and then nodded. “Huh,” he said, as if he were surprised. About what? The fact that I’d had a girlfriend? “Look. Get it out of your head, okay? Leave your shit at home, and come in here with a clear head. I’m going to put you on paperwork today, and tomorrow, you’re going to give me your full attention. Are we clear?”

  I nodded. Something told me I didn’t have a choice.

  I knew the paperwork was necessary, but fuck it was monotonous. I’d just spent close to ten hours straight checking test results and updating patient records. Don’t they have like an IT person for this kind of shit? All the task had done was make me feel shittier. Boring, repetitive work left me nothing but time to think about the breakup.

  By five-thirty, I’d had enough. I stopped off at the cafeteria for a coffee, and then made my way to the lockerroom. I wasn’t sure if Eric was still at the hospital. Should I be finding him to tell him I was finished? I winced. I didn’t want to risk been lumped with another mundane task. Besides, he�
��d said he would see me tomorrow. That was as good as a dismissal to me.

  I shoved my clothes into my bag and checked the time. I’d agreed to stay clear of the apartment until eight to give Lucinda a chance to clear out some of her stuff. That gave me almost two hours to fill.

  I made my way across the street to the bar that was on the corner. Walking in, I recognized a few people from the hospital, but nobody I actually knew by name. I took a seat at the bar, and ordered a beer.

  “Thought I sent you home.”

  I looked up and saw Eric sliding into the seat next to me. I swallowed, licking my lips as I took a gulp of my beer to avoid staring at him. He was even hotter out of his scrubs. I felt my face heat up. God, I needed a life.

  “My girl…ex is clearing out some of her stuff, so I thought I’d give her some space,” I replied. My hands curled around the bottom of the glass, desperate for something to distract them with. God, I was shaking. And lightheaded. I didn’t drink often, but half a mouthful and I was tipsy? Come on. That was weak, even for me. I was sure it had more to do with the sexy, green-eyed, Adonis sitting next to me.

  “Beer thanks, sweetheart.” Eric winked at the blonde behind the bar. I rolled my eyes as she blushed. “See that? That right there is all the proof you need that there are plenty of other people out there. This girl whom you broke up with, were you together long?”

  “Ten years,” I muttered.

  Eric whistled, narrowing his eyes. He looked impressed.

  “Fuck me, my longest relationship was about two months. And that was only because of the sex,” he chuckled. I laughed. Somehow that didn’t surprise me. Eric was the type of guy to have a new girl in his bed every night.

  “I know you’re right. But it doesn’t make it any easier.” Breaking up with Lucinda did nothing when it came to solving the real problems in my life. I didn’t want another girlfriend, or a rebound. What I wanted was to have the guts to be who I was.

  “So how long have you been at the hospital?” I asked. I figured this was probably my only shot at learning a bit more about the elusive Eric Stanton. He certainly wasn’t approachable for questions that were non patient related at work. But here? He seemed like a normal guy.