SALT #5
"Second Chance didn’t have any of my medical records. I basically showed up straight off the street."
"Oh, how very… unwise on their part. Have you had any recent blood tests? Any screening for STDs?"
"I was a professional fighter, so I had regular blood work done for doping control. They also ran tests for various diseases, because fighters can’t risk infecting each other during matches where there are open wounds," Eliano says slowly, looking slightly to the side, as if skirting around the core of the question.
"Unfortunately, admission into our program requires a current STD panel. No way around that."
I notice a subtle tightening in Eliano’s expression. He goes quiet for a moment.
"We can, of course, perform the tests here on site," the doctor adds in a gentler tone, "unless there’s something you’d like to tell us."
"The STD tests won’t be necessary," Eliano says reluctantly. I can see his jaw tense.
"May I ask why?"
"I’m not sick."
"And you know that because?"
"Because there was no way for me to catch anything."
Silence falls. I feel my heart speed up slightly.
Is it possible that Eliano has never… It seems almost unbelievable, and yet at the same time I feel something strange ripple through me, an unexpected spark of pleasure I don’t quite understand.
Could it be that, in this one respect, we’re actually similar?
"You’ll need to be more specific. We’re talking about health matters here. Your new partner deserves clarity. These aren’t trivial issues."
Eliano doesn’t look at either me or the doctor when he answers. His voice turns dry, almost sharp, as if the forced admission greatly bothers him.
"I’ve never had sex."
Dr. Lee’s face remains calm. He shows no visible reaction.
Mine, however, is another story. My heart is racing now, and I can feel heat creeping into my cheeks.
I don’t even understand my own reaction.
This shouldn’t matter to me at all, and yet somehow it does.
I catch a brief, assessing glance from Eliano.
He can definitely hear my heart pounding like this.
I wonder if he has any explanation for it, since I certainly don’t.
"Very well. I can accept that statement and proceed without STD screening, assuming your husband consents. Would that satisfy you, Mr. Einarson?"
"Yes," I mumble, staring down at my hands. I doubt Eliano is lying. If anything, most alphas would be proud to talk about a rich sexual past. Instead, he looks almost angry with himself for not having one.
"Any other health issues I should be aware of?" The question is directed at Eliano again.
"What exactly do you mean?"
Dr. Lee makes a vague gesture in the air. "Anything that could potentially be an issue."
"I have a metal rod implanted near my spine. It was connected to a remote system my uncle used to deliver electric shocks. The surrounding tissue is scarred."
"May I see it? And have you considered having it removed?"
"I dream of nothing else, but it’s not a simple surgery. According to the doctors who examined it, the rod is very close to the spinal nerve connections. One small mistake could leave me paralyzed."
"Could you show me the area?"
Eliano grimaces slightly, then grabs the collar of his T-shirt and pulls it off in one smooth motion, exposing his chest. He turns around, and for the first time I see his back.
It knocks the breath out of me.
Eliano’s back is a mess of scars. Not just one or two, but dozens, maybe hundreds, crossing over each other in every direction. Some are jagged, others smooth. Some are thin, some thick, with uneven edges. Older scars mix with newer ones, some faded, others still relatively fresh.
Sure enough, in the upper part of his spine, a long metal object about three inches in length protrudes slightly beneath the skin.
"Where did these scars come from?" Dr. Lee asks, stepping closer to inspect them.
"Whipping."
My hands curl into fists, my jaw clenching hard as I fight the torrent of emotion rising in me.
Suddenly I remember.
My vision! The one that stopped me from killing myself! A bleeding man in a cage, his back whipped like this. Could he be…? No. Totally different hair. Impossible. Just a coincidence.
I shake the thoughts off and force myself to push down the wave of compassion. I don’t want to allow myself feelings like that, soft and almost tender, not toward him. It would make everything too difficult when the time comes for me to run.
And yet part of me simply can’t get past that so easily. So I turn my gaze away, cursing in my head.
Apparently, Eliano’s life wasn’t any better than mine.
I took my share of beatings too, before Senu and I escaped our stepfather.
Once, he beat me so badly that my brain and eye were damaged.
That’s why one of my pupils is permanently dilated.
I know exactly what it means to be a victim of violence, and I can’t stop the sense of solidarity I feel with Eliano as someone who survived brutal abuse.
A part of me wants to step closer to him right now, to press myself against his scarred back, but of course, I don’t. I can’t. Period. I can only have one goal. I need to kill Tanner, and that means I cannot allow myself to care about anyone who could pull me away from that purpose.
Hold it together, Salt. Stay tough, I whisper to myself.
Dr. Lee seems to have satisfied his curiosity. He gestures for Eliano to get dressed.
"All right. I’ll still draw blood for routine screening. Our policy requires an initial panel for infectious diseases, blood count, and hormone levels."
"No problem," Eliano says flatly.
He pulls his T-shirt back on and sits down again, avoiding my gaze. His jaw muscles are tight.
Maybe that’s for the best, because I have no idea what expression I should be wearing right now.
One thing I do know is that I can’t pull off the hostile grimace I consistently wore before.
No matter how much I try, my features just won’t settle into anything sharp or cold.
The best I can manage is something neutral.
I stare at the floor and wait for whatever comes next.