Arielle
Chase nearly had a conniption when he found out about my injury. Despite my reassurance that Trey had helped me remove the glass and bandage it before driving me home, he had insisted on coming over to check up on me.
My dad was also less than happy when Chase showed up and refused to let him in. When the yelling started, I came downstairs to ask Chase to leave. All of this yelling only made the throbbing pain in my foot worse.
The next day, I woke up with what I was sure was a fever. I decided to go visit the doctor on campus and just take some Tylenol until then. Celine came over to drive me to school this morning so that I wouldn't have to limp to the bus stop.
It was just my luck that the campus doctor was not in today. Judging by how increasingly ill I was feeling, I would have to cancel this weekend's plans and go to a clinic. I probably felt a little too disappointed about this. I had already told my mom that I would be staying with a female friend.
Celine insisted on coming to get me after every class so that she could help me through the hallways as I didn't have crutches. I realized that the next class was Dr. William's seminar and quickly ushered Celine away once we reached the door, as I knew that if I came into class limping, she would demand an explanation.
I tried to walk normally into the room, hiding my pained expression. She sent me a smile and I returned it with a shy smile of my own. I reached my seat and sat there silently until I heard her footsteps approach me. The chair next to me was adjusted so that she could sit down facing me. "How was your night, Miss Reagan?"
"G-good." I stuttered, slowly bringing my eyes to meet hers.
"I imagine you've been busy. You mentioned that you were when I messaged you. What were you up to?" Her tone while asking seemingly innocent questions contained a certain something that made them sound more like an interrogation.
"I was doing something for work." I vaguely answered, avoiding the subject.
"I see." She looked like she wanted to say more but the door opened and students began to file in. She cleared her throat and stood up to go retrieve her laptop before sitting back down beside me.
We silently waited for the remainder of the students to join us. She gently placed a hand on my thigh and I allowed it without protest this time.
She appeared to be in a very good mood during the seminar and when she caught Mira whispering to me, she didn't even embarrass me about it. I, on the other hand, was feeling progressively worse as my fever began to rise. Soon, my head began to spin as well and I started to sweat.
Luckily for me, I managed to get through the class without fainting, but I knew that I wouldn't be able to get home by myself so I would have to call Celine for a ride. I purposely packed my books extra slowly and waited until the rest of the students had left because I had to explain to Dr. Williams about why I would need to cancel our plans.
As the last student exited the door, Dr. Williams sent me a shy smile from where she sat at her desk. I forced myself to smile back weakly. I pushed myself into a standing position on my good foot and began to walk towards her. Suddenly, my head spun violently and my vision went black for a moment, causing me to stumble and fall to the ground.
"Arielle!" I heard her panicked voice through my hazy senses and her hurried footsteps approaching me. Her arms slipped underneath my back and legs, lifting me up. I gasped as she carried me over to her chair before gently setting me down.
I tried to sit up properly but she stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. "No, don't move." She gasped loudly as her hand accidentally made contact with my cheek. Immediately, her hand flew to my forehead. "You're burning up! What happened?!"
"I-I think I have an infection from a cut." I whispered. "I w-was going to go see the campus doctor today, but she isn't here and I was going to tell you that I couldn't come over because I should probably go see a doctor right now...I'm sorry for cancelling."
She looked at me with a mixture of worry, fear, and shock. "So you sat through my entire class feeling like this? Why didn't you say anything?" She began berating herself. "Why didn't I notice? Your face was really red, but I thought that was because..."
I placed a hand on her arm to stop her. "It certainly isn't your fault. I thought I'd be fine until after class. I think I should go now."
"You aren't going anywhere, Miss Reagan." I stared at her tiredly in confusion. "That was extremely irresponsible of you. You could've been seriously hurt! I'm taking you to the doctor."
"I can go by my-"
"Do you really want to argue with me right now?" I shut my mouth at this. "Let me see your cut."
"I-"
"This is not up for discussion. Where is it?" I pursed my lips and turned away from her. She raised an eyebrow at me before commenting. "You know, now that I think about it, I did notice you limping earlier..."
My eyes widened and she shot me a smirk. "You just confirmed my guess."
"No, wait-"
Before I could protest, she grabbed my ankle and began to pull my shoe and sock off to examine my left foot. When she didn't find anything, she began to pull at my right foot. "No, wait, I have a hole in my sock!" I lied horribly.
She looked at me with a hint of amusement in her eyes before she yanked my shoe and sock off, ignoring my protests. Lifting my foot, the gasp of horror that came from her mouth told me all that I needed to know. "I-is it really bad?"
"I am going to punish you so good after I take you to the doctor." She growled in anger. "How could you let it get this bad?!"
I flushed at the first half of her sentence. "What? You're not-I'm not-I can go to the doctor by myself! I'm not a baby!"
"Yet you were stupid enough to let it get this bad." She snapped. "If you don't do as I say, I'm going to ask your parents what you were up to last night and who you were with, because you obviously sustained this injury last night." She threatened and my jaw dropped.
"You-"
"So what's it going to be?"
I gaped at her for several moments before leaning back and groaning in resignation. "I don't want you to see me at the doctor." I said quickly with a blush.
"Why not?"
I blushed and looked away. "It-it kind of scares me."
"The procedure?" She frowned in confusion.
"Doctors offices and hospitals." I blushed harder, covering my face with my hands, not wanting to explain.
"Why is that?" She asked, clearly amused.
I sighed. "It-it reminds me of this movie I saw as a kid...where the doctor used his lab to perform experiments on patients..."
She burst out laughing and I scowled "Are you serious?" She continued to laugh, pinching my cheek teasingly.
"Well what if the doctor locks me in his office and turns me into a lab rat?!" I said defensively. At this, Dr. Williams looked like she was debating whether to keep laughing at me or roll her eyes.
"It's not funny!" I insisted.
She finally stopped and just grinned at me. "You are too cute sometimes."
I blushed even harder at this and looked away silently. She reached out to redirect my chin so that I was facing her again. "Look, if you're scared, I'll be there to make sure the doctor doesn't turn you into a lab rat, okay?" She teased. I bit my lip shyly. "Or..." she suddenly started. "I could take care of your injury myself at my house."
"I don't think a first aid kit will be enough." I couldn't hold my sarcasm.
She rolled her eyes at me. "I am aware of that, Miss Reagan, and I assure you that I have the proper medical training."
"Wait, what?" I frowned in confusion.
"So what's it going to be? My house or the doctor's office?" She ignored my question. I sighed, turning away again.
"My house it is."
Several minutes later, Dr. Williams had finished packing up all of her belongings. Despite my resistance, she insisted on carrying me to her car. "We'll exit directly from Stafford Hall to avoid being seen." She reassured me.
I shyly wrapped my arms around her neck as she carried me. She made her way down the hallway and out the exit. She had parked in a rather secluded spot, so we were the only ones there. Opening the passenger's side door with one hand, she gently slid me in and buckled my seatbelt for me before walking over to the other side.
As she got into the car and prepared to drive, I sent Celine a message informing her of the situation and laid my head back on the headrest, trying to ignore the burning pain in my foot. I hoped that this car ride wouldn't be too awkward.
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*edited*
Hey everyone:),
So medical experience...looks like Dr. Williams is hiding some things...
Enjoy the chapter.
-Cindy