Page 34 of Remedy: Love In Scrubs
Skylar laughed and playfully slapped my chest. "Is that why we clash? Too similar?"
"Possibly." I ran my fingers through her curls, enjoying the thick, but smooth texture against my skin. "Though I think it's more that we recognize something in each other that we both respect and find infuriating. And just so you know, I trust your legal strategy skills," I told her, pulling her tighter against me. "That's why I'm not worried about this case anymore."
"Mmm," she hummed, her eyes closing as I continued to massage her scalp. "That feels nice.” But then she pulled back and added, “Not worried? Really? That was a swift change. I think you may be pussy drunk."
I laughed. This woman was a breath of fresh air.
"You think I’m not worried because I’m pussy drunk?" She was joking, but I wondered if Skylar really thought that being with her, and moments like this was all about sex. “I’m not worried because of how you speak about wanting to protect my career, the hard work I’ve already watched you put in, and simply understanding your fighter spirit, finally settled that notion that I can fully trust you to have my back.” I paused and made sure she was looking in my eyes when I continued the next part. “And when I need to be all of that for you, I will lay everything out to do the same.”
As my words set in, we laid there in comfortable silence, the weight of everything outside this bedroom temporarily suspended. I couldn't remember the last time I'd felt this content just being with someone. My relationships, if you could even call them that, had always been focused on convenience rather than connection. But Skylar was different. She challenged me, matched me, and made me want to look at the world differently.
Shit, she made me understand my brother—someone who I thought was batshit crazy for his stance on love for years.
It was a wild revelation.
I woke up to my phone buzzing on the side table. I didn’t even remember falling asleep. When I rolled over and reached for it, I noticed the space beside me was empty and cool to the touch. I could hear movement in the kitchen, and my stomach growled.
I hope she has something to eat,I thought while swiping at my phone. Seeing my brother’s name made me think about how much I’ve come to understand him in the last twelve hours or so. The question now was whether or not I admitted as much to him.
“Yo, what’s up Marcus?” I answered still debating on my decision, but my brother as always opened the conversation talking a mile a minute.
“There’s a report that an attorney who was suing the hospital was just arrested for fraud. What’s the name of the guy who’s suing you?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Yo, I just saw a report on the town’s IG page about an attorney who was notorious for falsifying medical records, and filing bogus complaints was arrested after his client flipped on him.”
“Because everything you see on Instagram is real?” I asked mockingly.
“Nah, for real. Where’s your lady?”
“Huh?” I asked. I knew we discussed Skylar briefly, but why did he assume she was my lady? She was my lady, but I didn’t discuss that with Marcus.
“Man, don’t play stupid with me. The way you talk about that damn lawyer, I know you’re feeling her.”
“Everyone isn’t like you, Marcus.”
Everyone may have not been like him, bit I definitely was.
"Well, I know you, and I'd bet my entire savings that you're closer to that woman than you stated at dinner with me and Angela. And I saw her press conference. She was protecting you like someone protecting their man.”
“She was doing her job,” I countered. “And can you please tell me about this story that may or may not be real.
“The attorney who filed against you got arrested for falsifying medical records. They're saying your attorney found evidence that he'd been doing this for years. Dude was doctoring medical charts to make it look like surgeries caused problems that were completely unrelated. It’s even noted that Skylar was the one who reported him. Angela saw it and was likeisn't that your brother's case?So, I'm calling to see what's going on."
I sat up straight in bed, suddenly wide awake. "Hold up. What exactly are they saying happened?"
“Aries! Are you listening? The fuck? I just told you what the reports said. If I had more information, I wouldn’t be calling your ass.”
The remnants of sleep still had ahold of me, so I couldn’t even be mad at my brother. I heard exactly what he said, but I needed him to be the one with more information because my brain wasn’t fully working.
"I'm just waking up, and I was tired as hell from a long day," I admitted, rubbing my eyes. "But if what you’re saying is true, that’s crazy as hell. Let me talk to Skylar.” Telling Marcus that much wouldn’t have been telling, but Skylar walking into the bedroom at that moment changed the game.
“Let you talk to me about what?” she asked.
"Wait, you're with her right now? I knew it! Angela owes me twenty bucks," Marcus said making me focus back on the phone.
"What the hell did you bet on?" I asked, incredulous but not entirely surprised.
