“I’m just going to have to find a way to juggle my patients, case work, and sleep while I do this,” I remarked absently, thinking out loud.However, that thought was immediately followed up by another one.
Luther Daxton.
Suddenly, it was clear that I was going to have to talk to Luther about his ‘hallucinations’ again.
Chapter 14
Lazarus~
The drive back to St.Dymphna’s was a quiet one, but Elisabeth didn’t seem to mind.I, on the other hand, was reeling from everything that she’d told me, and shame and regret swirled in the pit of my stomach at how I had treated her professional interest during our night together.While I assessed, treated, and cured, Lissa did far more.Her need to understandwhyher patients were experiencing the things that they were going through made me look and feel like a quack; a doctor that just handed out prescriptions because it was easier than getting involved.
I had also assumed that her education had been limited to the Catholic faith, but talk about being fucking wrong.Suddenly, everything that Bodhi had said about her made sense.Elisabeth’s mind was open in a way that valued tolerance over being right, something that God surely appreciated.
When I finally pulled into the parking lot, I turned off the ignition, prompting Elisabeth to ask, “What are you doing?”
“It’s already dark, Lissa,” I pointed out.“I’m going to walk you to the door.”
She rolled her eyes, her annoyance clear.“Do you have any idea how many times I walk this parking lot at night, Russ?It’s safe enough, trust me.”
“I don’t care,” I told her.“I’m not letting you walk alone at night.”
Instead of arguing with me further, Elisabeth gestured towards the door, giving me permission to open it for her again.Counting to ten, I got out of the truck, then cleared the front to help her out, and neither of us said anything as we walked across the parking lot.A part of me wanted to stay until she was ready to leave, but I knew that she’d lose it if I offered, so I was going to have to be satisfied with baby steps, if that’s what this was.
Once we reached the front doors of St.Dymphna, I knew that I couldn’t let her go without giving her a genuine apology for being such an ass that night.I hadn’t meant to insult or offend her, but that didn’t matter; good intentions and all that.So, what I needed her to believe was how sorry I was for ruining that night.
As Elisabeth reached for her keys, she said, “I’ll call your office if I find anything interesting during my research.”
“My office?”
She looked up at me as she grasped her keys in her hand.“Yeah, I don’t have your number, Russ.”
“Yes, you do,” I argued.“You should have it with the text that I sent you earlier.”
Looking me right in the eye, she said, “Oh, I deleted that as soon as you replied to my five o’clock text.”
I ran my hands through my hair as I shook my head, ready to strangle the stubborn woman.Yes, I’d been a dick and had insulted her, but it wasn’t like I’d gone and slaughtered her cat right in front of her.I’d made some careless remarks and had asked her some asinine questions, but that’d been it.
