by SM Olivier
“Okay,” Jace said with a nod of agreement. “Let’s do this.”
“Time out,” Rachel protested finally. “Did you just freeze me and put a pencil in my mouth?”
Kade tried to cover his smile unsuccessfully. “I froze you, but I did not put the pencil in your mouth.”
Rachel glared at him for a moment before looking at all of us. “Jaxson James,” she growled. “I will get you back for this!”
Jaxson really didn’t have a good poker face.
Jaxson laughed before running out of the room. “You can try,” he called over his shoulder.
Gifted attacks seemed to cover a broad spectrum of injuries. We had a few people that had been hit by ice. These people looked like they were suffering from a severe case of frostbite. Then there were others that had been hit by fire. It was slightly overwhelming dealing with all the patients that were coming in.
They were coming in marked according to the severity of their injuries thanks to Remy and Noah’s ingenious thinking. We had a few patients unable to continue fighting but not critically injured enough to require immediate medical attention.
We had already worked through our critically injured, and now we were dealing with the minor injuries. I was relieved to realize only a trickle of patients were now coming in.
Noah was in a separate clinic I wasn’t even aware of. He was ‘healing’ some of the adversaries’ patients. Will instructed Remy to take them and begin their medical care. He might not like them and even secretly wished their death, but he wasn’t a monster. Also, if they were going to be transferred to our holding cells, he wanted them in good health beforehand.
I lost all track of time as I ran around helping the hospital staff grab bandages, change bedding, transport patients, and anything else I could do. I wished I had my gift of healing, especially for the patients that came in with excruciating pain. Instead, I had to rely on my training in SABC (Self Aid Budd Care) that I had received here.
I was helping Paula hold down a guy as Dr. Wyatt set his broken arm, when both doors swung open, and a group of people came in at once with another small group of injured people.
“It’s over,” Remy informed us as he dropped a barely recognizable person onto the bed beside ours. “Back up has arrived and our relief.”
I sighed in satisfaction. I wasn’t ashamed to admit I needed a break, a shower, and food. I was glad that Will and Paul had decided to keep the healers and medical staff from Knightstown and South Carolina away from the battle and called them in when the fight was over.
“We need Yaris,” I said immediately when I saw the softball-sized welts on one of the injured. I shuddered remembering what I went through and how the poison felt when it had spread through me.
“I got this,” a detached feminine voice stated, stepping forward from the group of people that had just entered.
I tensed up, recognizing Stacey, Noah’s ex-girlfriend. She was still as beautiful as ever with her flawless skin, long red hair, and bright hazel eyes. She looked like she belonged on the cover of magazines or walking the runway with her long legs and beautiful body.
Her beauty only reminded me of my current visual appearance. We had all been busting our tails off. I could feel my damp curls clinging to my forehead and neck, having escaped from my messy bun. I could feel the rivulets of sweat dripping down my back and in my cleavage. In short, I was a hot mess.
“Excuse me, I got this,” Stacey said to one of the Nons that had been helping us all day and who started to check the vitals of the new patient.
I really didn’t want to be quarrelsome or get into a confrontation with her, but she was making it hard. In less than three seconds after running into her again, she was already treating me like I was too young and inexperienced to understand what was going on. She always had a way of acting superior towards me, like the four years she had on me lent her more understanding and knowledge. That and all her schooling, made her believe her intelligence was higher than mine. She was the stupidest smart girl I had ever met…well, one of them.
“You won’t be able to heal him,” I explained to her patiently. “He’s been hit with poison, and you can’t remove it.” I looked over at Kade who looked exhausted. “Please get Yaris for me and ask him to get here ASAP. I have a feeling this patient isn’t the only one poisoned.”
“Okay,” Kade said with a new pep to his step. He ran off without questioning me.
“How do you know it’s poison?” Dr. Wyatt asked quietly. He respected me enough not to question me in front of others. With his medical training, I’m sure he saw some of the symptoms of poison as well.
“I recognized the boils,” I stated just as quietly as I handed him a sling without him asking me too. This wasn’t the first limb we had set today, and until we had more time, Dr. Wyatt wouldn’t be taking another x-ray or determining the final course of treatment. “I was hit with the same…poisoned darts.”
I didn’t know any other way to describe the dart-like quills that I had removed from myself almost a month ago when retrieving Hazel.
He nodded with a smile. “I concur with your diagnosis. What is your major? Have you thought about the medical field? You’re a quick thinker, have a great bedside manner, and don’t cave under pressure.”
I smiled at him. “Thanks. I’m studying for general studies right now.” There was no point in explaining that I carried a college workload but never graduated high school. “I may consider it eventually, but I have to say my heart lies in music.”
“Oh yeah?” he asked in interest. “I play the piano myself. You?”
I really liked Dr. Wyatt. He was sweet and never treated me like a child. When he gave me medical care, he never dumbed it down or treated me like I didn’t have the right to know what may be wrong with me. He showed me respect, and I respected that.
I just wished he had more contact with his own daughter. He had all the qualities of a good father.
“Piano, guitar, and violin,” I answered him. “Piano was my first love, though, and I’m still trying to become proficient in the violin.”
“I would like to hear you play one day,” he said with a smile. He had a faraway look in his eyes, and I had a feeling he was thinking about his daughter. If he had a love for the piano, maybe he had taught his daughter, too.
“We can arrange that,” I said brightly.
I heard Stacey muttering behind me, and I almost felt satisfaction at her frustration. She suffered from an overinflated ego, and I really hope she learned how to become humble before she graduated from med school. I guess she finally realized that she was unable to heal him.
“Hey, Blake. You called?” Yaris asked moments later. He stopped short when he saw the patient on the bed beside ours. “Oooh poison,” he immediately saw it.
“We have a few over here too,” Lincoln called across from the beds we were near.
“As I live and breathe,” a cute brunette sighed as she looked over at Lincoln. Her South Carolina accent was thick. She had her hands clasped to her chest. “Are you Lincoln Hudgens?” she asked practically preening under his steady gaze.
He gave her one of his trademarked crooked grins showing off his bright white, straight teeth. “I am.”
“What in the world are you doing here?” she asked breathlessly.
It was kind of cute. And she annoyed me immediately.
I was sure she was used to batting her big blue eyes and talking all breathy to get her way. I tried to tell myself that I wasn’t jealous. I tried to convince myself that I was just aggravated by the constant attention he was getting. It was exhausting.
He continued to smile as he wiped a forearm over his brow. A subtle sheen of sweat was on his forehead. The black scrub top he had slipped on raised slightly, showing off a sliver of his bronzed skin, perfect abs, and his prominent hip bones jutting from the top of his low-slung scrub bottoms. He almost had the same slim and fit build of Drake but not quite.
He was sweating as well. He had hit the ground r
unning as much as we had. He wasn’t lazy, that was for sure, and he shattered all my illusions of him being a pampered prince. It pleased me and displeased me in one fell swoop. I didn’t want to find any desirable traits in him. I tried to continually cling on to all my previous misconceptions of him.
“I’m studying for a possible upcoming role,” he said, twisting the truth slightly. I barely noticed as his eyes swung my way. His eyes were filled with sarcastic humor.
“I feel like the director will still find your performance… wanting, Lincoln,” I said sardonically. “I mean, you have great people skills and aren’t afraid to jump in feet first, but you lack a lot of other required qualities.”
He absolutely, positively incensed me. He made me feel like I was left wanting. Like I wasn’t desirable enough. Not that I wanted to be sought by him, but I didn’t want to feel like I wasn’t either. He made it sound like it would be a favor to me if he made our connection, like he wasn’t getting anything out of it.
I heard some of the girls gasp as if they couldn’t believe I would talk to him that way. Little did they know I wasn’t star struck by him. The more I got to know him, the more I realized he was just a man. I had to grudgingly admit he was a talented man on the screen, but nevertheless, he was still just a man. From what I gathered, he preferred to be treated like just a man, too. All the staff and the volunteers tonight had been doing just that, and it had been a breath of fresh air. No one fawned over him or gave him the ‘easier’ task.
I moved over to the next bed with Dr. Wyatt. This patient looked like she had minor abrasions that needed to be cleaned up and a wicked looking gash that probably required stitches. I immediately slipped on another pair of gloves and started to clean up the minor abrasions as Paula and Dr. Wyatt got to work on the gash.
“Is that what you think, mon trésor?” He tsked with a dramatic pout. “Little do you know, I’m really the only one perfect for the role. The director knows that, and if I decide to take the role, I will blow her mind figuratively and literally.”
I turned around and looked at him with a raised brow, feeling my cheeks warm from all his hidden innuendos. His piercing eyes were unsettling as they slowly scrutinized my body pausing on my hips, stomach, and breasts. He was biting his bottom lip, and I nearly cried out in frustration. I kept having to tell myself that it didn’t matter how sexy he was (no, I wasn’t oblivious) but my heart belonged elsewhere.
“Don’t flatter yourself. Maybe the director has all the main roles filled, and they are the perfect ones, and you’re merely the…understudy.” I snapped at him. I was angry at myself for letting him get under my skin. I heard more gasps and noticed we had gathered a bigger audience.
I turned with my hands on my hips. “Seriously people! Do you not realize there’s work to be done? While you all are busy gawking at Lincoln Hudgens, some patients need you! Yes, Lincoln Hudgens is here. Yes, he’s an actor. But guess what? That doesn’t matter, because you have a job to do that doesn’t include ogling him!”
Lincoln, Dr. Wyatt, and Paula started chuckling. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.” Dr. Wyatt grinned.
Lincoln waited for most of his fan club to leave before he grinned at me. “Oh, mon trésor.” He shook his head with that sardonic gleam in his eyes once more. “The director knows she needs me, and she hates the fact that she knows that I will fulfill the role better than she thinks I will.”
I chose to ignore his comment. I had to stop letting him get under my skin. I wasn’t a fiddle and he wasn’t a bow. I needed to stop allowing him to play me. He got entirely too much joy in it.
“Whew, girl,” Paula sucked her teeth after a period of silence. I had been silently seething. “There’s only one way to take care of that.”
I finished putting on my last bandage. “Of what?” I asked in confusion looking over the patient once more. I thought I did an excellent job of patching her up.
“Of all that sexual tension,” she said knowingly as she winked at me. “Might as well get it over with before ya’ll explode.”
I nearly choked on my own spit. Paula wasn’t privy to my entire situation, but she wasn’t dense. I’m sure she had already connected all the dots with the information she was able to glean by watching and listening.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I mumbled as I ducked my head. I’m sure I matched the red scrub top I was wearing.
Chapter 18
Comfort was the name of the game as I exited the locker room. I had pulled on a white racerback tank top, a pair of Troy’s black sweatpants rolled up at my waist, and flip-flops.
I was going to be terribly underdressed if the locker room was any indication. Several girls had showered and were now busy getting ready, although it was close to midnight. Many of the girls were wearing their club attire once again. I assumed they had sneaked back up to their rooms at one point, although it was prohibited. Now they were busy in the mirrors, straightening their hair, curling it, blow drying it, and putting on their makeup.
Don’t get me wrong, I had put on a dash of mascara and some lip gloss. I also threw some product in my hair to tame the curls, but that’s where my primping ended.
I was marveling at the fact that I was physically tired but not mentally. I felt wired and capable of staying up for hours. I was riding an adrenaline high. Something was satisfying about our accomplishments today. I had helped people without my gift, and I found joy in it. Of course, I still wished I had my abilities, but I could still make a difference without it. Maybe I would consider being a doctor as a backup plan.
“Blake,” Ben cried happily as I came into the dining room, bringing me out of my musings. He was just leaving the line as I walked in.
Ben was the main singer in the band I had sang and played with. I had liked him the most. I noticed he had changed his clothes and was wearing a pair of jeans and a white V-neck T-shirt. He was also sporting a pair of flip-flops. I saw a slight contusion under his eye. He was cute in that boy-next-door way. I remember that he happened to be one of Jemmy’s exes. Actually, she had been physical with all the guys in the band at one point or the other.
“Hey!” I waved back at him with a smile as I went through the line for some food.
It would appear like most of the people did what I had done and showered before searching for food. The kitchen staff were rock stars, in my opinion, having kept the kitchen open all day. Drake had asked them to split their shifts to cater to the needs of everyone, and they hadn’t even batted an eye. They had eagerly complied. They had soups, sandwiches, chips, salads, and fresh fruit for our selection, which was fine by me.
I grabbed a grilled cheese sandwich, tomato soup, a side salad, and some fruit before making my way to a table.
The guys had all beat me out here and had taken some of the rectangle tables and pushed them together. It almost felt like a mini-reunion. All the Knights were sitting at our table. I was familiar with most of them by looks. I didn’t know all of them by name, though.
There was an open seat between Remy and Troy across from Gavin, Sierra, Ben, and Tyler. I noticed Lincoln was on the other side of Tyler and, surprise, surprise, Jemmy was on his other side, despite the fact that Gavin had an open seat next to him.
She was dressed in one of the transparent gauzy material dresses that Anna and I had given her. I knew from when she tried it on in my room that it was extremely short on her and barely covered the bottom of her butt. I had offered to send it to Anna, but she told me Gavin would love it just the way it was. Somehow, I didn’t think the dress was for him tonight.
I looked up around our table as I ate my food
I was informed that most of the Knights would be staying with us for a little while. They had volunteered to help us clean.
Everything was quiet on the home front. They had spent the last few months ramping up for another attack or the possibility of an increase in missions. They trained a lot of people only to find out that there was barely anything f
or them to do. When people like Ben, Taylor, Rick, and Mike found out Beau was taking volunteers to come here, they had quickly jumped on it.
Just like us, they’d be taking remote classes and would be training alongside the rest of us. I had to admit I liked seeing them. They reminded me of the only home I had really ever known. Living with Pops had given me that. It was the only place I felt like I had belonged.
“You did great today,” Troy murmured to me as he kissed my temple.
“Um thanks, you too,” I said confused why he was praising me.
“Seriously,” Troy tugged on one of my errant curls. “You were in your element in the clinic. You didn’t even get squeamish when you saw all that blood.”
I shrugged. “I saw a lot of it growing up,” I said flippantly. I don’t know how many times I had to clean a bloody nose or bandage a wound left from Heidi, her mom, or Heidi’s friends. The worse had come from the men who carved the scar under my breast and the time when Heidi had hit me with the belt buckle and leather.
I saw Remy clench his fist on the table.
“Relax,” I teased before kissing his cheek. “I’m not angry about it.” I then lowered my voice by his ear. “If I pretend like it doesn’t bother me, it doesn’t have the power to hurt me anymore.”
He grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “I still don’t like to think about what you had to go through,” he said fiercely.
“That was the past, this is now, and I couldn’t be happier,” I told him. I grabbed his face and peered into his blue-grey eyes, so he knew how sincere I was.
“Oh, my great goodness,” Jaxson groaned as he looked over at the opening from the dorms. “Is there a club in here that I don’t know about? First Jemmy, now the others.”
I looked up and barely stifled my laughter. “That’s right, you slept-in this morning. They tried to show up to breakfast like that, too. Paul flipped his lid. He made them go change into their uniforms. The duty day is over, so they can wear their civvies now.”
“Does this happen to you all the time, man?” Ben asked as he leaned over to look at Lincoln. “Girls losing their minds?”