Page 17 of Love Sick

“I lost in the first round.” Raven leans toward me and laughs. “And I even played with water.”

A couple of older residents enter the room.

Alesha glances at them, then lowers her voice. “Let’s go on an intern date this week, okay?”

Raven and I nod.

A brunette resident sits next to me—I think she’s a third-year—complaining about a recent patient encounter. “Arguing about the Tdap shot again.” She adopts a whiny voice. “‘I don’t want to put anything in my body. Would you do it if you were pregnant?’” The resident sighs heavily and rubs her forehead. “Do I think this vaccine is safe? Yes. Have I gotten it myself? Also yes.” She holds up a finger. “But my body is not a temple. I do questionable things with it. I put questionable things into it. Don’t go by me, bitch!”

The resident settling beside her chuckles. “My body is basically a fast-food drive-thru and a twenty-four-hour liquor store rolled into one. With a heavy dose of caffeine.”

Brunette throws her head back. “Get whooping cough, lady. I don’t care. I’m too busy worrying about this girl in the room next to yours who’s tweaked out on meth.”

I can’t stifle my laugh and both girls glance at us, wide-eyed.

“Oh. Hi. Interns.” Brunette pastes on a smile. “Sorry. Don’t listen to me. I promise I’m not always this salty. I’m Mila.”

I shake her hand. “Grace.”

She makes no indication that my identity means anything, but her friend’s gaze sharpens on me and she waves. “I’m Ling.”

Raven and Alesha also introduce themselves as the room fills. I duck beneath the table to grab my computer from my bag. When I pop my head up, Julian is settling in the chair across from me. Cataclysmically dark eyes meet mine as I sit to my full height.

My hackles rise.

His hand is curled around a travel coffee mug, one long finger tapping. “Good morning, Sapphire.”

Every muscle in my body goes rigid, and I struggle to keep the glare from surfacing. His stupid mouth lifts on one side—a knowing smirk hidden behind a sip of coffee. He plays the part of a polite colleague while burying tiny thorns under my skin on the sly.

All right. Throw down your gauntlet, Julian. I’m ready.

I toss out my prettiest fake smile. “I go by Grace, remember?”

The starless void of his eyes sparks once, then goes dark. “Right. I keep forgetting.”

“It must be so hard to remember, what with all the gossiping you’ve been doing.”

His eyes narrow, mouth tensing.

Alesha glances between us, skeptical brows scrunched. “I thought you said—you guys definitely seem like you’ve met.”

I blink. “Oh, um—”

“Good morning, Alesha. Raven.” Julian gives them a smile that actually touches his eyes.

Alesha leans across the table toward him. “Ready for round two this weekend?”

He chuckles. “Only if you bring your A game.”

What the hell is this? He’s nice to everyone else!

“Okay, let’s get started.” Dr. Ryan, our youngest attending, takes a seat at the head of the table and sorts through some papers. “We’ll start with the process of normal labor…”

Settling in to take notes, I open a blank document and start typing. After his lecture, Dr. Ryan turns to the interns, pelting us with questions. It’s not a free-for-all. He addresses each of us in turn, prodding deeper into our knowledge until the answers become mysteries.

Alesha handles herself best, managing to cite the physiologic changes of the cardiovascular system in pregnancy with an impressive and almost scary level of accuracy. We stare at her, wide-eyed.

She lifts her shoulder like it ain’t no thing. “I have a good memory.”

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