Against The Odds: Guarded

6

MAYA POV

It’s been five weeks and I feel as if I’ve been in a marathon since the first time I’ve stepped foot into Dr. Koch’s office. His approach to his patients is completely different to that of Dr. Bakers. It seems harsh to me, but patients wouldn’t keep coming to him if he wasn’t any good, and he has a lot of them. I have to sit through every session, answer the phones, run his errands and still be sure to learn methods and terminology for vocal test that he gives me at the end of my ten to fourteen hour day. I’m exhausted but it’s all worth it. Every night for the past four weeks when I get home and into bed, I’ve counted down the days until I get back to London again. I’m in week five and I only have a day and a Half left, two more days if I include flight time, two more days until I see my love.

I wake up the next morning at six thirty more tired than usual. I work so much that I dreamed about work and my dream actually made me feel as if I weren’t sleeping at all. I ran my shower and walked to the kitchen to make myself a coffee, dead on my feet. When I went back into the bathroom steam fogged over the mirror and as I got in and allowed the water’s sting to relax my muscles and give me energy for the day, I remembered the time that Lucas showered with me. I closed my eyes and reveled in the memory. It hasn’t been that long ago, but it certainly does feel like it.

I let my hands explore my body briefly as I bathed myself in the shower and got out more frustrated than when I got in. There’s more than one reason why I miss Lucas and though this particular reason is not the main one it’s definitely top three.

I checked my phone for Dr. Koch’s usual seven o’clock coffee demand and this time instead of just getting one for him, I was apparently picking up for the entire office. I let out a sigh of frustration as I quickly got dressed then made my way to Starbucks.

I stood annoyed in line. Dr. Baker would never do this to me. Dr. Koch is rude, arrogant as all hell, and as Victoria nicely put it, an asshole, but he knows his shit. He’s almost as good as Dr. Baker and judging from all of the plaques on his wall in his office, I would say that it would be a toss-up of who has more between the two of them.

When I left the building and headed back for my car with coffees in hand, I froze momentarily where I stood. I could have sworn I saw Peyton crossing the street and heading into an office building not far from where I worked and if it is him, he’s too close for comfort. I took a second to myself before I proceeded to the car. I’m tired and I wouldn’t put it past my brain to play tricks on me. I couldn’t have been him. I know he said he would be in California, but I doubt that we would be in the same place.

I made it to the office just before 8 a.m. rolled around and quickly set the coffees on the break room table. When I took my seat behind my desk, I took my medication for anxiety out of my purse. That was a close call, too close of a call and I was almost late. I can’t take the risk of getting fired and putting my chances of getting back to London on the line. I set the medicine absentmindedly on my desk contemplating if I needed to take a pill or not when Dr. Koch emerged from his office and picked up the bottle.

“Ativan? You have anxiety attacks Miss Hart?” I looked at him utterly embarrassed. Why did he have to pick it up?

“I was just recently diagnosed with it.”

“Hmm. Did the doctor who gave you these tell you that they’re highly addictive?” He looked at me with an accusatory glance as if I had prescribed them for myself. I shook my head no and he continued. “You shouldn’t be taking these. There’s a way to deal with your anxiousness without popping a pill for it. How bad are your attacks normally?”

How much more meddling can he get?

“I’ve only had one so far, but I fainted from it.” Dr. Koch scoffed and then put the pill bottle in his pocket.