Her chest burned from the inside out, and her vision blurred. She spun around quickly before the tears could spill, stalking out of the ER with shaking hands. Jorge called after her and hurried behind.
"Hey!" Adrian barked at him. "Are you her bodyguard or something?"
Jorge paused, breathing hard. "No, uhm… I'm her twinie."
"What?" Adrian frowned. "You're twins?"
"Not literally."
Adrian's frown deepened. "What do you mean, not literally? Are you her brother or not?"
Jorge felt his pulse spike. He dragged in a breath. "She is my sister."
"What's your last name?"
"Schneider."
"And hers?"
"Scott."
"And you're siblings?"
"That's why I said not literally. We're just childhood friends."
Adrian rolled his eyes in irritation. "Are you sure you're okay? You don't need a checkup?" He scoffed. "Listen, man, if you two think you can waltz around here and ignore my orders, I will show you who's boss. Get back. I called for a meeting."
He tugged off his gloves aggressively and stormed out, clearly intent on tracking down April to unload even more fury.
But he barely stepped into the hallway before colliding with Lana Hayes, his girlfriend.
Her eyes flashed with accusation. "You care to tell me what the hell is going on, Adrian? What am I hearing? Who is your secret girlfriend?"
He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Back off, Lana."
"I should back off?" she shrilled. "You won't talk to me? You won't explain anything?"
"We both know what our relationship is like." His tone dipped into mild annoyance. "And I don't understand why you love building skyscrapers over trivial issues."
"This is not trivial, Adrian. I'm talking about us!"
"Are you not on duty?" he asked flatly.
"I am," she snapped. "You are my duty. And I won't sit back and watch some slut do as she pleases around you."
He froze. "Slut? Who is the slut?"
"What? You want to defend her now?"
"Who or what do you think she is to me?"
"Exactly what I'm trying to find out!"
"Good," he said calmly. "Then try harder." He tapped her shoulder and walked away without looking back.
April couldn't stop crying. She wandered down the corridor aimlessly, vision blurred, breathing uneven. Her shoulders trembled as she tried and failed to wipe away her tears.
Lu, another doctor and Adrian's best friend, darted out from the next ER after her. He had kept his eyes on her ever since she stepped in.
"April! April, wait, are you okay?" He pulled her gently toward him, examining her face. "Come on. Come with me."
And not far behind them, Adrian's footsteps echoed down the hallway. He followed too.
"Let me take you to my office," Lu said softly, guiding April inside. She almost asked how he knew her name, but decided to brush it aside for later.
He was a cardiac surgeon, and the walls reflected it, charts of human hearts taped everywhere, diagrams layered over one another, and a life-sized anatomical heart model standing like a silent guard in the corner.
She followed him in and practically collapsed onto the sofa. The tears slipped out again, and she broke down completely.
Lu's face softened. If he hadn't witnessed the argument himself, he would have sworn Adrian had slapped her. He grabbed a box of tissues and handed it to her.
April snatched a few and wiped her face with trembling hands. When her sniffles eased just a little, he leaned forward.
"Why are you crying?"
"I dunno…" she sniffed, her voice small.
"Did he just break up with you?"
Her head snapped up. The glare she shot him could have bored holes into his skull.
After a moment, she hesitated and sighed.
"Yeah," she muttered flatly.
Lu blinked. "Wow. How long have you guys been together?"
April wiped her nose loudly. "You believe me? I'm kidding, okay? Would I be so nuts to cry over a dumb breakup when I don't even know if my sister will live or die?"
Lu's expression shifted instantly. "Oh… I'm really sorry about that." He paused, unsure what to say. "But you really know who he is, don't you?"
"Not at first. But now I do, and honestly, I don't think I want to care. He is not my God, or my parachute, or my life jacket or anything," she blurted.
Lu chuckled under his breath.
April sniffed. "If he kicks me out of here, there are a million and one other hospitals waiting for me, you know…"
"Mmh… you are right," Lu nodded, amused.
"And I wouldn't even mind telling him that to his face if he ever threatens to fire me," she added.
Lu raised an eyebrow. "You do realize you will need a recommendation. Something nice from your previous workplace."
April's face lit up with sarcastic excitement. "You are right. And imagine the new hospital finding out I was fired because he acts like a wild bear."
Lu laughed once. "Though the funny irony here is… everyone thinks you two are dating."
April jerked her head up. "That's the impression? This is actually my first day here. And I just met that psycho in the elevator this morning."
"Psycho?"
"Yep. Psycho. He glared at me and asked if I was stepping in or not. I almost rolled my eyes out of my head. Then he started calling me names, and when I asked if he was a doctor or not, he went, 'What do I look like?' and I said, 'Psycho!'"
Lu's mouth dropped open. "You actually said that to him?"
"Yep. And he accidentally met me at the gents, my bad, and called me a maniac. He was even going to harass me, but I shushed him," April said proudly.
"Wait, what? You did what?" Lu sounded both horrified and intrigued.
"I shut him up," she repeated. "He left like a wounded lion."
Lu burst into full laughter.
A voice sliced through the room.
"What's so funny?"
They both turned instinctively.
Adrian stood at the door, watching them. He stepped in and shut it behind him, his expression unreadable.
"You are an interesting being, aren't you?" Adrian said, pointing at April. "A maniac. A liar. A crybaby…" He let out a low chuckle.
"Come on, cool it, man," Lu said.
Adrian rounded on him. "What's wrong with you? Were you infected? Do you actually believe her nonsense and laugh at me?"
Lu lifted his hands. "Take a deep breath, dude. I'm just catching the fun of it."
"Fun of what? This dummy talking crap about me?" Adrian's voice sharpened.
Lu's smile faded. He stood. "Hey. Stop it. The only dummy in this hospital is Lana Hayes, and we both know it."
"Yeah, and she's just been added to the list," Adrian shot back, pointing at April.
"Her sister is in critical condition," Lu said sharply. "You don't have to be so hard on her. At least not right now."
Adrian's eyes widened a fraction. "Wait, are you defending her? This maniac from nowhere? Over your best friend?" He jabbed a finger toward April.
"She is not a maniac. And you deserved whatever she gave you if you were calling her names and treating her like an outcast."
Adrian scoffed. "Are you painting me black now? Have you heard my side of the story? Or is she your girlfriend? Did you two already make out? How does she taste?"
Lu's entire face changed.
"Shut the hell up, Adrian! And stop spitting trash!"
Adrian scoffed again. "Are you yelling at me now? Over this dumb issue?"
"Exactly," Lu snapped. "It's dumb. Too dumb for you to be standing here labeling her with mean names while her sister is over there fighting for her life."
Adrian stepped closer, his voice low. "There is something you're not saying, Lucas." He leaned in. "Do you like her?"
Lu stiffened. "Do you care? I'm just glad you hate her guts."
"Who said I do?" Adrian whispered.
Lu froze.
"What? You can't like her. You've never liked any nurse here, no matter how gorgeous they are, a
nd she's just one of them."
Adrian smirked. "Who said she is?"
Lu stared at him. "Wait… what? You like her?"
"Shut up," Adrian snapped, stealing a glance at April.