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″A favorite trauma?” She steps aside, waiting for me to catch up with her, and I tilt my head in acknowledgment. “Fragments. My friend, Andi? Her husband is a police officer. When I was in Cali, he got shot.
″He was wearing a bulletproof vest, and the bullets sliced right through it, breaking into tiny little pieces. It took hours to get them all out. It’s probably morbid, but standing over a body that mangled? Well, it keeps my mind at ease. I don’t think about all the fucked up shit when I’m operating. So, the longer one is, the better.”
Her honesty surprises me. She doesn’t hold back any of the gruesome details, yet her past is still an extreme mystery.
After learning about her sister, I asked Sean to look into the event but couldn’t find much more information . Sean couldn’t even find medical records for Haley between the ages of twelve and eighteen.
Not a single physical in six years, or any record of her hospital visits after the crash. Huge red flag. It doesn’t add up and I’m determined to figure out why.
″Does Murph talk about his leg?” She asks, and doesn’t wait for an answer before she continues talking. “He was another one. He was one of my hardest.”
″No. He doesn’t talk about it.” I dip my head so she doesn’t see my face. Paddy coming home in a wheelchair just three months before his second deployment was supposed to end had been one of the hardest things I’d ever been through.
He was so broken, and I couldn’t help him.
″He wouldn’t be happy if I told you,” she whispers. “So I won’t. It’s his story to tell. But it was touch and go.”
″From just his leg?” I ask.
″Lots of things can happen in surgery.” Her eyes mist as she shakes her head. “Nothing is guaranteed.”
″Thank you for saving him.”
She smiles softly, then follows me to the counter to order.
I step forward first. “One slice of cheese and…” I turn towards her so she can order.
″White pizza with broccoli please.”
I scrunch my nose. “Broccoli on pizza? That’s absurd.”
″Yes. But you’re supposed to eat like twenty cups of vegetables a day. How else am I gonna get that in? I figure, if I’m going to kill my liver with vodka, I should probably make sure I fuel my body with proper nutrients.”
″Isn’t the recommended daily intake only two and a half cups?” I turn back to the counter to pay.
″For Americans. Really, you should aim for five. I like to try and push six or seven.”
″Well, you enjoy your broccoli pizza. I’ll take mine with extra cheese.”
″Lots of dairy. Are you regular?” I whip my head around to glare at her. She smirks with amusement at my reaction. “Dairy can back you up. Just making sure the pipes are clean.”
″Are your pipes clean, love?”
Eyes wide, she turns her head away and into the collar of her coat. “Probably filled with cobwebs.”
Interesting.
We grab our slices and head outside to walk while we eat. When she finishes eating, she nuzzles into my side. I walk slowly, biding my time before we’re at her house.
″Are your parents still married?” I ask, even though I know the answer.
″No. They divorced after my sister died. Mom was a wreck. She blamed herself for the accident, and Dad blamed her too.”
″I’m sorry about your sister. You mentioned her the other night. You were close?”
She nods, her fingers digging into my side. “We were twins.” She bites her lip and drops her head before she speaks again. “What about your parents?”
″Still married. Da’s been discussing retirement.”
