Chapter 93 Chapter 0093
•CASSANDRA•
"I still can't believe Mr. Patterson asked you out," Dr. Reyes wheezed, nearly doubling over as we stood in front of the mirror in the hospital's changing room. "In the middle of his consultation!"
I pressed my lips together, trying to keep a straight face. "He had just been told he needed surgery, Marcus. The man looked me dead in the eyes and said, 'Doc, if I'm going under the knife, I at least deserve one dinner with you first.'"
Marcus lost it completely, gripping the counter for support. "Please tell me you're joking."
"I wish I were." I smoothed down the front of my dress and sighed. "Then he pulled out his phone — IV still in his arm — and asked for my number. Said he'd already Googled the best restaurant in Chicago."
"He's got nerve, I'll give him that." Marcus wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. "What did you say?"
"I told him the only date I'd be going on was the one printed on his discharge papers." I shook my head. "He laughed so hard that his blood pressure spiked and the nurses had to come running."
Marcus doubled over again. "Cassandra, only you. Only you attract patients like this."
"It gets worse," I said, holding up a finger. "He sent flowers to the nurses' station this morning with a card that said, 'For the doctor who stole my heart, and also fixed my liver.'"
Marcus leaned against the wall, completely gone. I shook my head, though my own shoulders were shaking now.
I was laughing, already forgetting the weird feeling I had been having since yesterday about Mason.
It didn't make sense why he would tell me to save our son. It made me think that maybe he had gotten carried away when we saw each other and thought he could get back at me by using our son.
But what confused me the most was that Lyra believed something was wrong with him. And I ignored her every time she reminded me that he was in danger.
How could I go back to the same pack that had banished me to save the same man I had saved once, only for him to boldly accuse me of trying to kill him again?
Even after all those years and what he had done to me, he still believed that I wanted to kill him. Though he knew he was my mate, killing him would result in my dying in the process.
I clipped my ID badge to my coat and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, but I must leave you for my next patient."
"Ward C next?" Marcus asked, straightening up and rolling his sleeves.
"Ward C," I confirmed, tucking my stethoscope around my neck, and walked down the corridor to the ward room.
The ward was quiet when I pushed through the double doors. I scanned my clipboard as I walked in.
I stopped when I saw the young boy on the bed.
He couldn't have been older than eleven. A woman who I assumed was his mother sat hunched in the chair beside him, her hands wrapped tightly around his, her eyes red-rimmed and swollen.
She looked up when I approached. "Dr. Frost?" she asked, her voice barely holding together.
"Yes. Please, tell me what happened to him."
"His name is Eli," she answered. "He was fine three days ago. He was running around the yard, laughing, and then he just—" She pressed her lips together. "He collapsed. They keep telling me they don't know what's wrong with him."
I looked at Eli. His breathing was too shallow. He was thin and it broke my heart because he reminded me of Rowan.
I avoided working with children most of the time because of that, but when I walked through the door, I realized it was too late to turn back.
"Don't worry, he will be alright." I smiled at her. "You can wait outside."
She nodded and looked at her son before she walked out the door.
I adjusted his fluids and checked every reading twice before I placed my hand on his small chest and closed my eyes.
The warmth moved through my palm. I felt the resistance in him and worked around it until the knot in his chest loosened.
I leaned back and watched as his breathing started getting normal. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around the room.
It brought warmth into my heart when I saw him gaining his strength. But I swallowed when I remembered Mason's voice, telling me to save our son.
Even though I had been ignoring Lyra’s persistent voice that something was wrong, I didn't want to go there and realize it was all a trap.
The shift ended just after nine.
I changed out of my coat, said goodnight to Marcus in the corridor, and walked out to the parking lot.
I got into my car and sat there for a moment with my hands on the wheel and the engine running, staring at the glow of the dashboard.
I told myself I was going home. I told myself I was going to make tea, and sleep, and let the morning bring whatever clarity it wanted to bring.
Then I pulled out of the parking lot, and when I reached the junction where left meant home, I turned right.
"Fuck it." I thought of my son and decided that if Mason had set a trap for me, then I would be fucked, but if he was in danger, then I was going to do everything necessary to save my son's life.
I drove past the familiar streetlights and past the edge of the city. My knuckles were pale against the wheel, but my foot stayed steady on the accelerator.
I didn't let myself think too hard about what I was doing.
I just drove and headed straight to Silvercrest.