Chapter 7
Ashley pov
Everett, of all the people, it has to be Everett who carries me to the nurse’s office to check me up.
I’m burning up like a hot potato. My cheeks are flaming, so are my ears, and I can feel the burning sensation crawling up my neck too. The looks from others and the snickering doesn’t help much either.
Not the greatest position to find yourself in, that much I can tell.
Also, I hate how gentle his hands feel on me. I hate how careful he is, despite his rough appearance. I hate how gently he places me on the bed in the nurse’s office. I hate it all, definitely don’t enjoy even a second of his kindness. Yes, hate, hate, double hate.
“My new friend, over here,” Everett’s voice booms through the office, startling me. There’s a hint of disdain added to the word friend, but I ignore it just as I ignore his presence. “Got a nice ass whopping out in the ring. Coach said you need to check him for internal injuries.”
I cringe at the statement. If the nurse gets her hands on me, I’m as good as dead. As soon as everyone here figures out that I’m not just a smaller-than-average guy, my cover will be blown and I’ll have to leave this place.
“Your new friend in good hands, don’t worry, Alpha Sorrentino,” the nurse flashes him a smile. “Could you please leave and give us some privacy? Since this is a medical matter, I must remind you that I can’t share any patient’s medical information unless you’re a family member or maybe..” She cuts herself off.
I know what would come next - maybe mate - but she never speaks the words out loud. That’s kind of good because judging by the expression on Everett’s face, he is awfully disgusted by the unspoken words.
Seeing him like this is less painful than it would be if Everett went off the rails, shouting insulting words and all that.
“I’ll bring his uniform and drop the bag off at your door. Show him where the locker rooms are, he reeks, so a shower and a fresh change of clothes would probably help the mutt look a little more presentable.”
With that being said, Everett leaves no room for conversation as he turns his back on us and leaves the office, slamming the door behind him.
“What crawled up his ass?” The nurse mutters and I can’t stop the laugh that escapes me, even despite the pain that surges through my body. “There, much better, at least you’re not in a sour mood anymore.”
I nod in agreement. “Thanks, I needed that. Can we skip the medical part, though?” I sound far too hopeful to convince her, but I still have to try.
“That’s not a good idea, young man. You do understand why, right?” She arches an eyebrow, daring me to talk back.
And talk back I do. “This isn’t my first rodeo, miss. I collapsed because I haven’t had a decent meal in a while, just scraps, been busy. As far as the outcome of that fight goes - worst is bruised ribs. I know I don’t look like someone who fights a lot, but I do and I know my body well enough to feel if there’s something seriously wrong with it. I’ll be fine, a meal and a nap will get me back on track.”
She eyes me with nothing but suspicion, but eventually, she nods. “I can’t force you to get a check-up. The coach will give me hell if I don’t, but again, I can’t force you to do anything.”
Pointing my finger at the file in her hands, I smile. “Write down bruised ribs and exhaustion. That should do the trick.”
Eventually, I spend more time in the nurse’s office than I’m comfortable with, but we come to an agreement and I get away without being discovered.
Just like Everett said, there is a bag with a uniform in front of her office door. We grab it and she walks me to the locker room, pointing at a few doors on our way, telling me everything about the places I might need to visit in future.
By the time we stand at the locker room door, I finally feel like I can breathe again. “Take a shower, change and go see the coach, he’s still around that ring, gathering equipment and waiting to see you whenever you’re ready. Don’t skip that step, he might come across as a jokester, but that man is mean to the bone. He doesn’t play around with injuries during his classes.”
The nurse doesn’t stay back for longer than needed. She offers me a polite smile and leaves, heading back to her office.
I rush inside the locker room and take the fastest shower in my lifetime. An actual shower that takes me less time than that one time when the pack members dumped a bucket of cold water over me and called that a shower.
Then, I quickly dry off and change into a fresh set of uniform. As I do, I get lost in my thoughts, reminding myself that I’m supposed to start pulling money from the offshore bank to buy some basic stuff and pay off the school tuition.
Just as I roll up my sleeves, I hear footsteps outside the door. My heart starts racing in my chest as anxiety levels rise to new extremes. Goddess don’t let it be the guy I fought, I can’t deal with more mess on my plate now. Haven’t I had enough?
I quickly check myself in the mirror to ensure I look as masculine as I can pull off and hold my breath, listening in to what might happen next.
There’s no movement, no sounds, so I take the risk to get to the door and reach for the handle. Just as I’m about to open the door to check, it swings open from the outside, catching me by surprise.
No words are spoken as a big, scary-looking man barges inside and starts inspecting the place. He checks everything, looking like a man on a mission even as he opens a few lockers and slams them closed.
Then, he turns around and appears startled seeing me. A look of deep confusion and frustration crosses his features, his eyebrows shooting nearly all the way up to his hairline.
Neither of us speaks as the man just stares at me, too intently for my liking. His gaze rakes over me as if he’s trying to notice something - anything.
My nerves are spiking, my heartbeat becomes even faster and all I can do is switch my weight from one leg to another, unsure of what is going on. I don’t like the uncertainty of this situation.
Just as I open my mouth to ask what is going on, his whole face scrunches up in disgust, as if he just inhaled the smell of rotten food. With the look never leaving his face, the man approaches me, eyes set on me, nostrils flaring.
My feet freeze on the spot, I want to move, to back away, but no muscles in my body listen to the silent commands I desperately shout in my head.
When he stops right in front of me, he leans closer to my ear and whispers, “do you smell that? I do. You must catch on the scent too. There’s a woman in here. This is boys only school, we don’t allow female students and I know the scent of the staff. This scent is new. Do you understand that girls aren’t allowed here?”