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I squeezed his hand. “That doesn’t make what you do less important. I’m sure your brothers appreciate it.”
His gaze focused on me, and I saw the emotion flicking through his eyes. But I couldn’t identify them. Confusion? Sorrow? Hope?
“Fuck.” A whine pulled my attention to the giant man sitting on the exam table. His shirt was unbuttoned, one arm hanging out. He cursed, a mask of pain coming over his face.
My eyes flicked across his body, assessing for injuries. There was a minor cut on his lip and some bruising, like from a punch. Another slice in his eyebrow. But for the noise he was making, you’d think he’d been shot.
“Relax, Matt.” Cole grumbled as he plopped down on the couch. “The Doc is here to patch you up.”
“What? Nathan.” He snapped, ignoring me. “He’s a numbers geek. I need an actual doctor.”
My teeth clicked together as my jaw tightened. Anger rushed down my spine. Two seconds in the room and I knew this guy was an asshole. And a baby.
Nathan was essentially his boss. People should show him respect.
But treating patients wasn’t about liking them, so I buried my feelings as I let go of Nathan’s hand and walked towards him. “That would be me.”
“You?” His brow rose, making him wince as it pulled on the cut.
“That’s right.” I smiled, slapping on a pair of disposable gloves. “Little old me.” I gave him a finger wave as I moved towards him. “Now, be a good patient and there might even be a sucker in it for you afterwards.”
Cole choked as he laughed. But my lame joke worked, pulling a chuckle from the jerk on the table. Getting him comfortable would make this go faster.
“So what happened? Get into a fight with your shirt?” He chuckled again as I examined the cut on his eye. It was small, only needing a butterfly bandage.
“I was tossing out a drunk idiot and his friends. They got in a few lucky punches.” I rolled my eyes. God forbid he admits he couldn’t take them all and ask for help. “The pussy even bit me.”
My gaze fell to the abrasion on his arm. He winced as I cleaned the blood with a few alcohol wipes. Now that I could see, I noticed the teeth marks. I slapped a band-aid over it.
“Your lip and eye will heal fine.” I turned towards the cabinets, looking for the correct medication. “Ice as needed and take over-the-counter painkillers.”
A sound of surprise escaped me when I located the vial. I couldn’t believe they had it. I was continually amazed at how well stocked their little emergency room was.
“But you need a tetanus shot for the bite.”
“What?” Matt’s eyes bulged as I turned with the needle in my hand. “Fuck no! I don’t do shots.”
I fought to keep the smile off my face as I walked towards him. It was going to be fun getting him back for his dig at Nathan.
Tucking the needle down by my side, I shrugged. “No problem. Just head to the hospital when your arm gets infected.” Beads of sweat popped up on his forehead and I laughed internally. “Make sure you get there before they have to cut off your arm.”
I heard more stifled laughter from behind me. I couldn’t tell if it was Cole or Nathan. It made it even harder to control my own.
“C-cut it off?” Matt blinked. His chest rose with an unsteady breath.
“That’s what happens when you have a nasty infection. Right, guys?” I flipped my gaze towards them.
Like I expected, Nathan spoke. “Over 150,000 people get limbs amputated each year.” Matt’s eyes moved to him, giving me my opportunity. “But most of those are due to diabetes, trauma—.”
“Fuck.” Matt cursed as I plunged the needle into his arm. I was already backing up by the time he swiped at me. “What the fuck, bitch?”
“Hey!” Cole and Nathan shouted, shooting up from the couch. I brushed them off with a wave of my hand as I stepped further away from Matt.
I tossed the needle into the bucket that I was once again surprised they had. Snapping off my gloves, I faced my cranky patient. “You needed the shot. It’s over. Relax.”
“Don’t tell me what to do, you cunt.” Matt’s skin turned red in anger.
But I just smiled. It wasn’t the first time someone had sworn at me for doing my job. It almost made me a little nostalgic.
