Hearts Out |H.S|

Chapter 13

Shit

Shit, shit, shit, shit.

If the world decided to open its grounds and swallow me, I'd be grateful.

If I had the power to become invisible by any chance, I'd take it in a blink of an eye.

Maybe if I kept my eyes closed, I'd turn invisible to the voice behind my back.

"Well?" The voice prompted after a couple of minutes, my body froze as if I belonged to a wax museum.

Slowly, I turned my head over my shoulder, the frame of Dr. Armstrong standing there, her arms crossed over her chest and her shoulder against the door frame. She was impeccable with her cotton black turtle neck, jeans, heels, and white coat covering her body.

My pulse was beating so hard I couldn't even hear the words I wanted to let out, so I just came up with a shaky, "Hi."

Her eyebrows perked up, her gaze lacking from amusement as her eyes shifted between my face and the supplies I was holding in both of my hands.

"Please tell me you're not stealing," she said.

"I'm not stealing," I lied, getting a low chuckle from her lips as an answer. I turned around fully, wondering if she had already seen the red stains on my scrubs and hoping she wouldn't ask any questions.

Of all people, she had to be the one who caught me. The fact that she had already seen me treating my wounds in the past made my throat go tight. I knew she was a smart woman, so it wouldn't take her long before she put two and two together.

"I'm grabbing these for the house call we have," was the first thing that I could come up with.

Her brown eyes narrowed as they made their way up and down my body, lingering a bit on my face.

"Dr. Styles's house call?" She inquired.

I nodded fervently, "Yes! He asked me to get some of these because... you know... we're visiting a patient."

Squinting her cat-shaped eyes, she parted her lips. "Uh-huh."

Why did I have the feeling she knew I was lying? I didn't think she would have any knowledge of Harry's patients.

"So, yeah," hiding my trembling hands, I stuffed the materials into my backpack and picked it up. "I better get going. He's waiting for me."

"Sure," she gave me a small smile. "Don't let me stop you."

She took a step aside and waved her hand, showing my way out. "After you."

I strapped the backpack on my good shoulder and quickly made my exit, walking fast to the first corner I could see so I could hide. When I was out of her reach, I paused and took a deep breath. Even though I was alone, I could still feel her gaze lingering on my back.

She knew. She definitely knew.

***

"You're being quiet."

Harry's deep voice was heard in the small space we were sharing. We were on our way to this house call, the streets still wet from yesterday's rain, the sky covered by grey clouds.

Of course, Harry could afford a Jag. Sitting on the leather seats and smelling the scent of a new car, I felt so out of place, but I didn't comment on it.

"You brought your textbooks," he noted, glancing over my lap.

I got so nervous after my run-in with Dr. Armstrong that I didn't make it to the locker room to put them away before getting into Harry's luxurious car.