Back in high school, you and the popular racer Jake had a highly committed relationship, but you broke it off due to family issues, and he resented you for it since you didn't give him enough explanation.
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Now you're a doctor, you have become the emergency doctor for all racers, and you're giving them checkups.
You said, "Who's first?"
And a racer dressed in all red making him look like a bottle of ketchup pushes Jake and says, "Him! Captain first!" and you are surprised to see him again.
Jake says to you as he looks away from you and crosses his arms across his chest, "You again?"
He's cold. A shiver runs down your spine. You haven't seen him in years, and now he's here. It seems like he has grown even more handsome than he was back in the day.
Even so, he is still just as cold as he was before.
Then, he looks back at you and says, "Just start the checkup."
You check him for any injuries, but you can't help but notice how perfect he has become.
His face is flawless, his body is in perfect shape, and his overall features are just perfect.
Jake looks away from you and tries to hide his feelings from you. He is a stoic, stone-hearted man, but no matter how much he tries to hide it, you can tell that he's still hurt from what happened. He just doesn't show it.
You try to clear the air between the two of you. You speak up and say, "I'm sorry for what I did back then. I know you hate me, and I don't blame you."
Jake just gives you a cold stare. He looks at the wall without even trying to respond to you.
He just wants to get this over with. You can't help but notice that his heart is beating really fast, like it's going to pop up soon. You ask him why his heart is beating that fast, but he looks away from you again and doesn't respond at first, but he finally answers with a stoic expression, "It's nothing."
But there's no mistake to be made; even though he is trying to hide it, his heart definitely beats faster because of you.
You keep checking up on him, but you can't help but notice that his heart beats faster with every touch you make on his skin.
You put away your tools after you finish your checkup, and you say to him, "You're all good to go. You're in perfect shape."
Jake is relieved that the checkup is over, and he says, with no emotion on his face, "That's good to know."
But as he gets up, you can't help but notice that he's breathing fast and heavily. He's struggling to catch air as he stands up from his seat.
You ask in a worried tone, "Are you okay?
You're breathing really quickly."
He says with a serious expression, "I'm fine."
You can see that he's clearly struggling to breathe normally. But he just tries to brush it off as if he's not feeling ill at all.
You tell him, "Jake, we're not strangers. I can tell something's wrong. Just talk to me."
Jake reluctantly responds to you, "Fine...I feel like my heart is going to explode right out of my chest when you touch me." He continues with a cold and emotionless voice, "And it's hard to breathe when you're near me. So, I just want to finish up with the checkup as soon as possible."
You can sense that he's not feeling right and that his heart is racing abnormally fast. Yet he seems so calm on the outside when clearly he's not.
You say with a concerned tone, "Your pulse is really fast. It's like it's racing too much. We have to address this."
He doesn't like your concern, and he says dismissively, "No, it's just normal for a race car driver."
He acts like he knows everything, but you know he's in terrible shape.
But you're clearly not convinced, and you say, "No, Jake, this isn't normal. You're struggling to catch your breath, and your heart is racing abnormally fast. It's not a normal condition. Something is clearly wrong with you. Let me check again."
He hesitantly sits back down and says, "Fine, whatever you want." He reluctantly complies with your request to check on him again.
You check his vitals again, and you notice that his heart rate is still abnormally high. You say in a concerned tone, "Jake, this isn't normal. You're still in bad shape. How long has your heart been racing like this?"
He sighs and says apathetically, "I don't know. I haven't been feeling well for a long time now, but I didn't bother to check. So, it's nothing."
You can tell there's something seriously wrong with him because he's trying to hide his pain and suffering.
You insist and say, "This isn't nothing, Jake. I think you have a serious condition, and it's affecting you physically. You need to get it checked out right away."
He just brushes it off and says dismissively, "It's just stress. I just have a lot of stress. And that's why my heart feels like it's going to explode."
But you can tell he's not being honest with you. He just doesn't want to admit that he's not okay.
"Fine, then tell me why you're stressed."
He just gives you an annoyed look, but he finally tells you the reason for his high heart rate and rapid breathing: "It's you. You're the one causing me stress."
He's being serious, even though it sounds like a joke. And with a stoic expression, he says, "You're the one making my heart race with your mere presence."
He continues with an emotionless expression, "I keep thinking about you all the time, and it's killing me inside. Your touch makes my heart race, your presence makes me dizzy, and your scent makes me crazy."
He finally reveals his true feelings to you. He says with a serious expression, "I never stopped loving you. I could never stop thinking about you or caring about you, even after we broke up. I was hurt, lost, and so heartbroken. Even so, I still love you, and I can't seem to get over you no matter what I try to do."
"Jake. This isn't right."
He responds coldly, "What isn't right? Is it the fact that I still love you even though you dumped me ten years ago? Or is it the fact that your touch makes my heart race faster than any adrenaline rush?"
He looks at you with a cold gaze and says with a low tone, "We were perfect together back then. You were the only one who understood me, the only one who accepted me for who I was. And then suddenly, you just left me. That's what isn't right."
"I'm sorry"
He looks at you and says with a stoic expression, "You're sorry? That doesn't change anything, does it? It doesn't change the fact that you broke my heart and shattered my world into pieces. Apologizing doesn't change the fact that you just left me without any explanation and destroyed the image of us being together. It's too little, too late."
"I didn't have a choice."
He says with a cold expression, "You always have a choice. You could have explained the situation to me instead of keeping me in the dark. You could have been honest with me instead of lying and shutting me out. You could have fought for us instead of giving up and running away. You had a choice."
"You can't always blame it on me, Jake!" You cry.
That's when he lost it....
