Chapter 9
Jaxon
Blaze flopped into the chair across from the examination table, watching as I seated my ass on the hard, uncomfortable leather, the paper crinkling beneath me.
He grunted. “I hate those fucking things,” he said.
“The paper annoys me. I mean, what is it even blocking if there’s space not covered on both sides of it? Waste of trees, if you ask me.”
I snorted a laugh just as the door opened, and one of the nurses stepped in, smiling warmly at me. “Jaxon?” she asked. When I nodded, she waved her hand in a ‘come here’ gesture. “I’m just going to take you for your CT scan. Your friend can wait here for you.”
I looked at Blaze. He smiled at me, his phone in his hand. “I’ll be right here,” he promised. “I’ll play a game while you’re gone.”
Sighing, I stood and followed the nurse from the room, my eyes locked on her severe, blonde bun. She’d obviously used a lot of gel to make her hair lay so flat without a single hair out of place. I imagined if I touched her hair, it’d be hard as a rock.
It felt like I blinked and we were standing in the radiology department.
She knocked on the door for the CT scan room, and a moment later, the door was whisked open.
I removed my belt, then laid down on the cold, sterile bed, closing my eyes.
They gave me instructions, but I tuned the radiologist out because I’d been through this so many times already, I knew what to do and what was going to happen like the back of my hand.
Pretty sad I could barely remember my professors’ names, but I’d gone through this testing so many times, I memorized the rules and the procedure.
The scan only took about ten minutes, and then, the blonde nurse was leading me back to the room to wait to see Dr. McManus. Blaze looked up from his phone when I walked in, quietly shutting the door behind me. “Never had one of those scans before,” he said conversationally. “What’s it like?”
This was one of the things I loved about Blaze.
He just normalized everything, and it helped.
From the moment he learned of my diagnosis and what life was going to be like for me, he just took it in stride and pretended what I was dealing with was normal.
For some, it might have bothered them, but Blaze was helping me cope more than he realized.
I shrugged. “You go through this tube-like thing that’s huge and just lay really still for several minutes. Nothing fancy or exciting. But it’s loud.” And I already had a headache forming at my temples because of it.
I sat back on the examination table, then pushed my black-rimmed glasses up the bridge of my nose.
“Need pain meds?” Blaze asked, his voice dropping an octave.
When I met his eyes, I could tell he knew a headache was coming on.
How he knew, I had no idea. But Blaze was intuitive like that.
It was like he could look at me and just knew I was off.
That something was wrong. That I needed him.
I would always need him.
“I can wait until we get out of here. And I need to at least attempt to eat something before I take them anyway. Otherwise, I’ll be even more drowsy than usual.”
Blaze nodded but remained silent since the door opened. Dr. McManus stepped inside and set my folder, which grew thicker with every visit, on the counter. “How are you feeling, Jaxon?” he asked.
“Head is starting to hurt,” I admitted. “Anything changed on my CT scan, doc?”
He shook his head. “Still the same,” he told me, his voice dropping like he was sad for me, but it just felt fake and made my skin crawl. “I think we should do another scan in six months—”
“He needs to see a neurologist,” Blaze cut in.
I swung my gaze to his, not expecting him to actually speak up on my behalf.
He was leaning forward in his chair, his elbows resting on his knees as he met the doctor’s gaze steadily and unflinchingly.
“You’re a primary care physician, yes?” Dr. McManus frowned at Blaze but nodded.
“Then this isn’t your specialty. He needs to see a neurologist, someone who specializes in his condition, doc.
I don’t mean any disrespect, but his health is too important for this to go on much longer. ”
Dr. McManus clenched his jaw, clearly not liking he was being told what to do by a mere college student. But he looked at me. “Jaxon?”
I nodded. “Yeah,” I rasped, my heart thudding hard in my chest. Blaze had spoken up for me. Was trying to get me taken care of properly. And it was making me all giddy inside. “I’d like to be referred to a neurologist.”
Dr. McManus nodded. “You should receive a call by the end of the day from one of the referral specialists,” he said, handing me the white piece of paper to take to the check-out desk. “In the meantime, I’ll see you again in six months. I hope all goes well for you, Jaxon.”
With that, he walked out of the room, his shoulders stiff. I looked at Blaze. “Thank you,” I said quietly. I probably would have never had the balls to tell my doctor I wanted to see someone other than him.
He stood and clapped a hand to my shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “That’s what I’m here for.” He brushed his thumb over my shoulder, and I shivered. Why couldn’t he touch me like that more often? “Let’s get out of here and get some food.”
Nodding, I got off the examination table and followed him out of the room, my heart in my throat and my feelings for the man in front of me damn near ready to burst right out of my chest and at his feet.