“I get it. I get it.” Dev taps the counter and heads off. “I wish I had a family like yours.”
Staring after him I feel my pulse raging.
I’ll find a way to get back at Dr. Janet Gilroy.
Don’t know how it’ll come about.
But I can’t wait to find out.
CHAPTER 2
C ADEN
A fter seventy-two hours, my attending finds me on the Oncology floor in the room of a patient that isn’t mine in a section of the hospital where I am also not supposed to be.
“Why do I have to keep dealing with this….” Dr. Myers pauses so as not to swear in front of a witness. “…stuff?!”
She didn’t mean to even ask me that in front of the twenty-four-year-old who is suffering from osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer.
Myers is tired of my boundary-pushing. I can’t blame her…except I do.
Turning back around, I smile, “Cilla, is there anything else we can do to make you more comfortable today?”
Her gaze flits to Myers, before settling on me. Nobody likes to be scolded. Quietly she answers, “The chocolates are more than enough to make me happy, Dr. Cocker.”
I open the gift I brought her, pick one tasty square out, throw it and catch it in my mouth. “Mmm. Caramels are my favorite. My mom’s, too.”
Cilla’s tired eyes dance. “I love them, too! But…cherry-filled are my favorite.”
“No way! Gross!”
She laughs, “They’re the best ones!”
“They’re nasty!”
“You don’t know anything!”
“Next time I’ll have to bring cherry. And they’ll be safe from me. You can have ‘em!”
Myers clears her throat and I glance over my shoulder to gauge her temperament. From her calm expression, I don’t think she meant that as a signal—probably an unconscious reaction at processing the scene.
Heading for the door, I reassure Cilla, “I’ll come check on you again soon.”
“Thank you!”
I motion for Myers to go first, a gesture of chivalry. She shakes her head, dark ponytail pulled tight and low. I shrug, chuckling under my breath as I pass her. The door closes and I wait in the corridor knowing I’m about to get a dramatic tongue-lashing, and not the kind I’d like.
Dr. Elizabeth Myers is a force. Only two years older than I am, she’s years ahead of me in the field because she graduated at sixteen and was on the Med School track. For me that choice took time.
Lowering her chin, Myers stares at me from beneath befuddled eyebrows. “You’re making this very hard, Cocker.”
“What did you think I was doing?”
“Working past your legal hours. But you already know that.” Stuffing her fingers into the deep pockets of her white physician’s coat, Myers gazes into the distance as she considers what to do with me. “Why are you up here?”
I scratch my chin, drop my hand. “Not sure I understand the question.”
Exasperated, she reminds me, “These patients aren’t yours. Oncology isn’t even your department! It’s infuriating. Can you not just go home when you’re supposed to?! Is it really that hard to follow the rules? I am so tired of this!”
Crossing my arms, I glare at her, “Like I said, doing my job.”
She tilts her head. “And what do you think that is, exactly?”
“Taking care of patients. Helping people. Saving lives whenever I can. And when I can’t, making them as comfortable as possible for as long as they’re in this shit-hole. Now don’t give me that look. I love it here and so do you. But to these people it’s the last place they want to be. Don’t you know that? Or have you forgotten what it’s like to be on the other side of that clipboard?”
Her nostrils flare. “What makes you think it’s okay to talk to me like that?!”
“Because you’re a grown woman who can handle honesty! And if you’re referring to the cuss word, give it a rest. On more than one occasion I’ve heard you swearing like a sailor with a stubbed toe.”
“Go home, Cocker!” She passes me, making it clear we are finished with our conversation.
I smirk, “Why don’t you come with me?”
Walking backwards, she warns, “If I hear that you’re on any floor in this hospital again in the next twenty-four hours, you won’t return.”
Staring until she’s gone, I consider whether or not I should actually obey this order. She’s given it before and I’ve ignored it. I need to show them I’m meant to be here. This is my life. I’m better than Janet. I can stay up for days fueled by my sense of purpose alone.
But she looked pretty pissed.
Underlying her aggravation, however…did I see pride staring back at me? Can’t be sure. What I do reflects on her, and it is possible she appreciated my chocolates.
Huffing and confused, I look around the Oncology floor, lock eyes with a male nurse named Ray who’s watching me from behind his counter, a floating head.
“What’re you looking at?”
“Someone stupid,” he chuckles. “Your eyes are red. Get some rest.”
“You give it a rest!”
“You missed a good baseball game.”
“Yeah yeah.” Checking my watch, I imagine him with Dev and all the others on a baseball diamond under what turned out to be a warm, southern night. The image makes me grumble as I walk to the elevator, “Gotta make sacrifices if you want to achieve greatness.”
A well-used call button gets a quick jab.
I look up.
It’s on the seventh floor.
Construction is up there.
Total renovation.
This place is going to be even better.
And I love how it already is.
Imagine improving on
