Page 69 of Her Only Hero

The next morning, I struggled to lift my head off the pillow. Patrick was already dressed.

“You tossed and turned all night.”

“I did?” I held back a yawn.

“I have something urgent to tend to. How about you stay home from work and rest?” he said.

“I’ll be fine once I get going.”

He came over and kissed me. “Sure?”

“Positive.”

“Okay then. I’ll talk to you soon.” He gave me a final kiss and left.

I dragged myself out of bed and got ready. Numbness crept into my brain. Numbness could be good.

I was the last to arrive at work, and Vinny and Edward looked up.

Lara rushed over. “Patrick just called us and told us what happened. Are you okay? It must have been terrifying to find that prowler in your basement,” she said.

Tears pooled in my eyes. I nodded. “It was.” My brain neurons were struggling to fire. “How’s the backlog?”

“Same old, same old,” Vinny said.

“You have dark circles under your eyes,” Lara said.

“I do?” I buttoned up my lab coat.

“I’m worried about you,” Lara whispered.

“I’m fine, really. Do you want me to take the fridge temperatures?” I said and opened the door to the hot air oven.

Lara and Edward looked at each other, and I’d realized what I’d done.

“How about you take some time off, June,” Edward said.

I opened my mouth to object but stopped. It was a valid suggestion. “Okay.”

“Take all the time you need,” Lara said. “Oh, just to let you know, Dr. Hamid came in looking for you.”

“Thanks for everything, Lara. I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Take care,” Ursula said as I walked by.

I smiled slightly at her gesture of kindness. “Thank you, Ursula.”

No one passed me in the corridor as I made my way to Dr. Hamid’s office. His door was pulled closed but not clicked shut. I knocked lightly.

“Come in,” he said. He sat, posture straight, at his microscope and then rolled his chair back.

“Good morning,” he said. His smile disappeared. “What’s the matter?”

I dropped into a chair, spent, as if I had fought fifteen rounds.

He jumped up and shut the door. He sat beside me and put a gentle hand on my knee. “What happened?”

I was acutely aware of his touch, but I believed his gesture was of sincere concern. I told him everything that had occurred the day before with David Moreno.

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