He is giving Luke a death stare.
“What did he do to you?” Luke asks as he looks back at me and walks closer.
“Nothing compared to what I will do to you if you step an inch closer to her.” Nick’s voice is full of anger. He looks like he wants to snap. The veins in his neck are bulging against his tanned skin.
“Don’t make me call security,” Luke responds in Nick’s direction.
“Lucas!” someone yells behind him. The three of us turn to the door. It’s Luke’s boss, Dr. Marc Thornton. I remember him introducing himself to me last year at a Christmas party for his staff. “Go check on the patient in exam room 4.” Luke hesitates and looks back at me.
“Now.” Dr. Thornton raises his voice. I don’t remember the man being this stern and assertive. He came off pleasant and nice during the short conversation I had with him. Luke huffs out a puff of air as he walks out of the door, and I’m left staring at the tall, lean man with a light chocolate complexion and deep brown eyes.
“What took you so long?” Nick asks him and I pull back eyeing Nick with confusion. Dr. Thornton closes the door behind him.
“I was in bed asleep when you called, Nicholas. I got here as quickly as I could.” He walks further into the room and turns his head to look at me. “It’s good to see you again, Shannon.” His smile is warm, but doesn’t reach his eyes. The more I look at him, the more I can see that his sleep was very much interrupted. He’s Luke’s boss, so I know he is the attending that normally covers the night shift staff.
“You know Marc?” Nick asks me, and I turn to look at him.
“He’s Luke’s boss, so yes we have met,” I answer. I really wish he would release me; I don’t know how much longer I can ignore the pain he’s causing by holding me so tight.
“Nicholas, why don’t you release her? She doesn’t look like she is enjoying it,” Dr. Thornton tells him as if reading my mind. He’s a doctor, so he’s probably good at noticing someone in pain.
“Fuck, baby, I’m sorry,” he says as he lets go of me and takes a step backward. Dr. Thornton raises his eyebrows at Nick. The word “baby” definitely didn’t slip by him, and I wonder if Luke has told anyone the two of us aren’t together anymore.
“I’m fine, Nick. Stop saying you’re sorry, please.” I’ve about had enough of that.
“Why don’t you let me be the judge of your health? Now Nicholas says you need x-rays. Care to tell me where and why?” He crosses his arms over his chest like he already knows he isn’t going to like what I tell him.
“The right side of my back to see if I have any broken ribs.” I keep my answer short and don’t plan on going into any details. Dr. Thornton cuts his eyes at Nick before looking back at me. Apparently, my short answer isn’t good enough for him.
“What happened that makes you think you might have broken ribs?” His voice is calm and not giving anything away. I take a deep breath that hurts like hell and give him an honest answer.
“Rough sex gone bad?” I smile at him hoping someone is going to laugh. They don’t.
“Shannon!” Nick shouts and looks at me in disbelief, like he can’t believe those words came out of my mouth.
“Well, he asked,” I say pointblank, crossing my own arms across my chest. Wow. That hurts. I wince in pain. Shit. Why the hell did I do that? I quickly drop my arms to my side.
“Yes, I did,” Dr. Thornton remarks, finally cracking a small smile. Nick rolls his eyes at me and I sigh.
“Remove your shirt, please,” he instructs, putting on a pair of blue latex gloves. Nick helps me out of my shirt. Changing clothes is going to be a bitch if my back doesn’t heal quickly.
Dr. Thornton comes to stand on my right side. He gently touches the area of my back that is bruised. He presses his fingers into my ribs feeling around. Even though he is only applying a small amount of pressure, it still hurts.
“So when did you learn about Lucas’ indiscretions?” he asks as he finishes touching my back.
“You knew?” I ask as my anger flairs.
“Darling, everyone knew. I’m just surprised it took you so long to figure it out.” He turns away from me, removing his gloves and tossing them in the trash. I wonder if he knows how long it went on, but then, honestly, I don’t care. That part of my life is over. I can’t change it, but I can move past it.
“Are you going to do the damn x-ray now?” Nick asks, changing the subject; clearly, not liking the topic of my conversation with the doctor. Dr. Thornton rolls his eyes this time.