Page 34 of Enemies to Lovers

“So you just want to lop it off.”

“I want to save thespine.”

“With the fracture at the base, amputation won’t solve anything.”

My jaw clenches, and I run a hand over my scruff, missing the beard and vowing to never shave to the skin again. “You want to do a three to four-hour surgery, fine.”

“Thank you.” She fills the anesthetic up, tapping the head of the needle to get the air out. My teeth grind against each other, and my gaze drifts to Dr. Goff, watching us closely. His brows pinch as Val gets closer with the needle.

I check the bottle she used, and my stomach hollows.

“Wait,” I say, grasping for the shot. The sharp prick of the needle pokes into the skin between my first and second knuckle. Val drops the shot immediately, and it lands needle first into the floor.

“Miles, what the—?”

“We’re not doing that surgery like this.”

“The hell we’re not.”

“I mean it.” I blink, my vision blurring. Ah shit, was it really that concentrated of a shot?

A beep flashes on the monitor, and the squirrel starts to twitch. I try to get my vision to focus, but it’s really cloudy.

“He’s coding,” Val says, shoving past me. “Why is he coding?”

“Stress,” a low voice says from the other side of the table. My gut fills with something heavy and acrid, my blurred vision trying desperately to focus on Dr. Goff. There are two of him, then three.

“Getthesubmanumerannio…” My lips refuse to function, and I blink once, twice, then my eyes stay closed. Something thunks, rocking my brain… and I get a mouthful of animal fur before I’m out completely.

I slump into the chair across from Professor Clark’s desk with a painful groan, Val plopping into the one next to me. The sharp chill from the icepack I hold on the side of my head travels down the nape of my neck, making me shiver. I’m trying to ignore the scent of vanilla wafting from my right. It only makes things confusing and fuzzy, and my brain has had a banger day.

“I knew Professor Young was nuts, but I didn’t think he was a liar,” Professor Clark snaps, shutting the door and tossing her arms into the air. Her red lips match the color rising through her neck.

Val and I share a glance, then shift like two schoolyard kids caught duking it out near the teeter totter. Only these kids didn’t faint onto a squirrel.

“How… how is…?” I start, but words are hard to form right now. I wince against the pounding headache, and when I meet Professor Clark’s gaze, there is very little sympathy there.

“He’ll live.” She sits into her chair, her back ramrod straight. “I’d say you’re both lucky Dr. Goff was there, but after that display…” She blows out a frustrated sigh, and I peek at Val again. She’s looking back at me like we’re sharing the blame, but it isn’t my damn fault. She jabbed me with who knows how much anesthetic. Was she trying to put the squirrel out of his misery with flair?

“You know I told him I was happy you two were paired up? I raved about you both. Top students! Never late. Innovative and creative mixed with by-the-book and analytical. Right and left brains, balancing each other out.” Her jaw clicks, and she spits her next thought out through her teeth. “That is the last time I trust other professors before seeing it for myself.”

I adjust the icepack against my head, my hair tickling the back of my hand. Val’s not saying a damn word, and I narrow my eyes at her, waiting for it. She always has something to say, yet she sits there, her full lips pressed together, not a word slipping past them.

Professor Clark crosses her arms. “You have a lot of work to come back from drugging your partner”—she thrusts her hand at Val, then waves it to me—“and nearly eating your patient.”

A deep snort rumbles from the seat next to me, and I shoot my gaze to Val, who’s quickly turning her laugh into a cough.

It’s not funny. It’s not. But the way she sputters and hides behind her frazzled hair has my own lips curving upward, and I cover it with the back of my hand.

“Out.” Professor Clark waves to the door before settling her hand on her forehead. “Before I completely lose it.”

I push from the chair, more than happy to get out of the lecture. My head spins slightly from the blood rush, my vision fuzzy. Val shuffles behind me, her hand over her mouth like she’s still suppressing laughter. I move my gaze to the floor; it’s less likely to amuse me.

We get all the way to the parking lot before Val breaks her silence. “Well, thanks for that.”

I stop in my tracks. “Me?”

“Yes, you.” She crosses her arms, jutting her hip like she does. I try not to find it adorable, but I fail. “Why’d you put your hand in the way?”

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