Chapter 5 Enveloped in Strong Arms
Hayden wrapped his stethoscope and slid it into his lab coat pocket. “I’d say you wanted to stay at her place.”
“Thinking of trading your MD for a tabloid job? You seem too interested in my personal affairs.”
“Come on, the stories you give me could fill a newspaper!”
“Buzz off!”
Damian, annoyed, accidentally tugged at his wound and winced in pain.
Seeing his friend's discomfort, Hayden dropped the teasing. “She’s just downstairs, room 406. Aren’t you going to check on her?”
“Why should I bother with someone who’s nothing to me?”
“If she’s nothing to you, why the heroics? Is it really that hard to admit you care?”
Damian changed into fresh clothes, thinking about where to sneak a smoke. “Who said anything about care? I’m not like you.”
Hayden chuckled. “Apparently, we’re both clueless about who was admitted last night.”
Damian glared at him.
Hayden glanced at his friend’s bruised knuckles. “Since when do you throw punches?”
“Are you here for a reason? If not, get lost.”
Hayden’s phone rang, saving him from further tension. “Dr. Sackler, the patient on the 4th floor’s condition is critical!”
The call was loud enough for Damian to catch every word.
4th floor? Room 406?
The next moment, Damian was out of bed, ready to run.
After the call, Hayden grabbed his arm. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Let go,” Damian said, urgency in his eyes.
“Leaving without your shoes or changing your clothes?”
Damian shook him off. “You’re one to talk, playing doctor here while someone might be dying.”
The patient's situation is indeed urgent, and Hayden also told the caller how to deal with it in time, while Damian, apparently, was too busy thinking about "the patient on the 4th floor" and did not hear.
Hayden teased, “Thought you needed a smoke?”
Damian shot a look his way.
Realizing he'd pushed enough, Hayden laughed. “Go on then, you’ve done your part, or is it more?”
Damian hesitated, then said, “I don’t want to go.”
Damian left, his face a mask of determination. At the elevator, he paused, feeling a weight in his chest, and turned towards the stairs instead. He reached for his cigarettes but found none; he was wearing Hayden’s clothes.
The disinfectant smell was thick.
Suddenly, Damian snapped out of it. Hayden seemed unconcerned, which meant Ashley wasn’t the one in danger.
He berated himself for panicking. Yesterday’s fire rescue seemed pointless now.
But the memory of her in his arms stirred something inside him.
“Anyway,” he thought, “I did a good deed.”
Frustrated about his indecisiveness, he hurried down the stairs, cursing under his breath.
He burst into the room 406, startling Ashley.
Their eyes met, tension in the air.
Ashley, confused, wondered if she was hallucinating.
Damian had run from his own floor, his face a mix of colors.
Ashley sat up, her forehead bruised, her hands bandaged.
He remembered carrying her, the worst injury was on her back.
The memory of her unprotected body in his arms haunted him.
Ashley blinked, still in disbelief.
Damian visiting her in the hospital? Unlikely.
She asked, “What's up, Mr. Hearst?”
Damian’s lips twitched. All this way for her indifference?
“The hearing is next week. Be ready. Don’t hold me back,” he said coldly.
So, it was just about the case.
Ashley, her hopes crushed, snapped back, “I’ll review the files, and try my best on your case, but no promises.”
Damian replied, “I’m paying for a win, not a try.”
Ashley’s frustration grew. “Then handle it yourself.”
Damian’s fist tightened. “Seems like you got three million dollars.”
Ashley’s fleeting empathy vanished. “I’ll work on the case.”
Damian’s voice was cold. “Remember the terms on the contract.”
Ashley considered her next move after the case. Maybe she’d cause him a little trouble.
“Ashley...”
Hannah entered, sensing the tension.
Ashley motioned for her to put down the files and get some food at her request.
Hannah, sensing the situation, quickly left.
Damian noticed the case file, “Hand it over.”
“Don’t you have a copy in your legal department?” Ashley wondered.
Damian grabbed the files and tossed them aside.
Ashley protested, “I need those for court!”
Damian retorted, “Isn’t your wit enough?”
“Are you suggesting I lie in court?”
Damian’s sarcasm was clear. “That would require some wit as well.”
Ashley realized his true nature. “Anything else? If not, please leave.”
Damian paused, then said, “Seems like you’ve garnered some nerves in the past few years?”
Ashly replied, "Aren't you the one who knows my nerve best?"
"Where have you been all these while?" asked Damian.
She glanced at the IV, “Somewhere away from you.”
The nurse entered, medication in hand, “Time for your meds.”
Seeing Damian, the nurse was starstruck, “Is he your boyfriend?”
Ashley started to explain, but the nurse, excited, asked Damian to carry her so that she could apply meds on her back.
Ashley tried to lift herself but failed.
Damian watched, then said, “Need help?”
The nurse encouraged him to assist.
Suddenly, Ashley was in his arms, his familiar scent overwhelming.
Ashley's body froze, and she clearly heard her heartbeat sped up.
The wound hadn't begun to heal; a thin layer of bloodstain glossed its surface, with harsh streaks of blood visible beneath.
Damian's brows furrowed.
"Ouch!" Ashley's fingers clutched the bedding as she gasped with the pain.
Instinctively, Damian's grip tightened at the sound she made, and a twinge of compassion emerged in him, "Be gentle," he murmured.
The nurse quickly apologized, "Sorry, hang in there. I'll go gentler. Mister, why don't you blow on it? It might ease the pain a bit."
Unable to see Damian's face, Ashley could imagine his displeasure, "It's okay, I can take it. Just keep going."
Damian's stance remained unchanged, his palm against the fabric of the hospital gown, feeling the woman's slender arm underneath. The delicate scent of her shampoo lingered, intertwining her hair that seemed to wrap around an invisible nerve of his.
His Adam's apple bobbed unnaturally.