AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Part of me is in shock. This can’t be happening. We're in public. I’m not about to get assaulted in broad daylight in front of an entire square full of people. But no one seems to want to do anything. He tugs my arm, yanking me into him so I fall across his front. Hot, yeasty beer breath fans all over my face as he clasps me to him. I try to shove him off, but he’s twice my size, and it does nothing as he reaches for the zip to my coat. He tugs at it, like he wants to rip it right off me. Anger flashes through me, and I lift my heel, stamping hard on his foot.
Eleven
Riven
I close my eyes and breathe through my nose, trying to keep my annoyance under control. “I told you,” I say patiently, “you can’t go walking in the snow. Your ankle is unstable, and your bones are too brittle.”
Anna, the grey-haired elderly lady I’m currently treating, scoffs. “I’ve been walking around just fine for the last ninety-five years.”
“That’s kind of the problem,” I mutter, prodding the swollen skin.
She gives my shoulder a light slap. “Don’t be so rude,” she scolds.
I sigh, stretching out my back. I’m kneeling on the floor of Anna’s kitchen, prodding at her ankle as she lounges in her favourite chair. It's the fifth time this year that she’s called me in for an injury. I don’t even know why she bothers; she never actually does anything I recommend her to.
Her grandson is standing at the stove, making tea. “Mormor,” he chides,“please don’t hit the doctor. What does she need, Riv?”
I sit back on my haunches. “An X-Ray. As soon as the snow to the city gets cleared. Until then, ice it for fifteen minutes every hour, and take the painkillers I left last time.” I eye the sealed pill bottle on her counter.
“I don’t needpainkillers,” Anna huffs. “I’m not achild.”
“They’re not just for pain,” I explain as patiently as I can. “They also reduce swelling. If the swelling gets too bad, your whole ankle could dislocate. You want that?” She grumbles under her breath. I look back up at the grandson. “And for God’s sake, keep her off it.”
“Sure thing.”
I straighten, shaking both of their hands, then head back out into the snow.
My mood is dark as I trudge through the streets. I love my job, but this is the worst part. Anna needs hospital treatment, and until the roads clear, I can’t give it to her. It’s so frustrating to not be able to treat patients properly.
I turn a corner into the main square, heading for the pharmacy. Out of nowhere, an arm slings around my shoulder, half-strangling me.
“Läget?” Eli asks.
I shove him off me. “Aren’t you supposed to be with Daisy?”
“She told me to piss off,” he says cheerfully, falling into step next to me. “Said she could sort out the car by herself.”
“She’s probably hiding her ID again,” I mutter.
“Yup.”
My eyes slide across to him. He looks like a self-satisfied cat, happy and lazy. There’s a smudge of Daisy’s shimmery pink lip salve streaked on his cheek. “So, what? Are you two together, now?”
“Of course not.” He looks at me sideways. “Let me tell you, though, she is incredible.”
“Good to know.”
We walk a few steps in silence. “So,” he prompts after a moment. “You like her? I saw you looking at her earlier.”
“I look at a lot of things.”
He sighs. “It’s okay, man. You don’t have to become a monk because of one bad relationship.”
I scowl. “It wasn’t justa bad relationship.It ruined all our lives, for years.”
“Well, maybe this is exactly what you need.” He steps out in front of me, blocking my path. “Clearly you’re not ready for something serious.”
“I won’t ever be.” I push forward, trying to get past him. He just starts walking backwards. “Eli—”
