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He doesn’t even wince, and I squirm a bit, liking how he’s been a good patient. Is this a thing for me? Maybe next time I’m in the shower, I can remember my good little patient. I wince. No, I can’t go down that route again. I’m still drinking when I’m alone because of it.
Aside from a few grumbles before I numbed him, he hasn’t complained much. He mentioned he was dizzy, and I saw him stumble as I led them to the ER. Coupled with his clammy skin, I knew before I even placed the blood pressure cuff on his good arm that his BP would be low.
″Your blood pressure is low. Stay hydrated, get some sleep, and stay away from alcohol. I’m giving you antibiotics.” My head stays tilted down as I stitch his wound.
″Thanks, Savi,” Paddy says.
″What did Drake mean exactly?” I wrap up the wound, making eye contact with Paddy. “About not hanging around you?”
It’s been gnawing at me this whole time. I already came to the conclusion myself that these two aren’t the best of influences. It’s the illegal patch job of a gunshot wound that gives it away, but Drake doesn’t get to make that decision for me.
″Nothing. Cops around here just have a distaste for us Irish boys, is all.” Paddy flashes me a sweet smile, but it doesn’t work on me the way it does for others.
I furrow my brows, crossing my arms over my chest. I’m not some idiot, and his answer doesn’t satisfy me. “Everyone is Irish here. It’s Boston.”
″Aye, lass. It is.”
I turn to Callum, and his smile actually does something to me. Those butterflies in my stomach return. I’m not a little schoolgirl, I don’t get crushes, and I certainly don’t let men affect me this way. It’s unsettling.
Also, the nickname he keeps using irritates me. I frown, hand on my hip. “Don’t call me that.”
″What? Lass? Why?”
″I’m not a little girl. I’m a grown woman with MD at the end of my name. I busted my fucking ass to get to this point. Show some respect.”
Callum chuckles. Oh, he thinks this is funny? The piece of shit!
″Sorry, lass.”
My face heats at his condescending tone. Any form of attraction I’ve felt towards him has washed away. Relief hits me, replacing the anger. It was just a fluke, thank God. I’m allowed to be attracted to someone. It doesn’t mean I have to act on it.
″Should I just ask Drake to elaborate, then? He seems a bit opinionated on the Murphy men.”
″Yeah, tomorrow, at dinner?” Paddy crosses his arms over his chest, lips formed in a thin line. He’s got the audacity to question my date?
″That’s right.” I nod, my arms crossed as I glance between the two.
″I never imagined you’d settle for a guy like Drake Kirkland. He seems a little timid for you.”
″What’s that mean?” My tone is tight, a little too defensive. Paddy’s right. Drake isn’t my type. But he doesn’t need to know that. My personal life is none of the Murphys’ business. Until his party last week, I hadn’t even seen Paddy since our deployment four years ago. He’s got no reason to be so invested in who I choose to spend my time with.
Paddy scoffs, shaking his head. “Nothing. Let’s go, Cal.”
Raising my hand, I head for the computer. “Not so fast. I had to put a fake name into the system to dispense medicine.” A bill prints and I hand it to Callum. “This has to get paid.”
″I thought you didn’t want money?” Callum asks.
″I don’t. But I have to have a reason for the drugs to be dispensed. You need to pay the difference. This sure as hell isn’t coming out of my pocket.”
Paddy hands me a wad of cash. I stuff it into my pocket. I’ve just partaken in a long list of felonies, and I don’t feel an inkling of remorse. I can’t justify my actions easily. My moral compass is extremely fucked.
I need a drink, but a cigarette will do while I’m at work. I’ll have to find Carl, one of the nurses who is always outside smoking on the roof instead of working to hopefully bum one from him.
″Make sure you take your meds.” I hand a bottle of pills to Callum. “Stay hydrated. If it gets worse or isn’t better in a few days, call me.”
″I need your number, lassie,” Callum smirks as he takes the bottle. He lets his fingers linger longer against mine, and his smug grin shows he knows what he’s doing.
My body tenses at his touch. I don’t like this unfamiliar feeling, so I scrunch my nose in disgust, push down any of the feelings, and remind myself that all men are bad. “Well, then just show up. I’ll be here.”
