Chapter 4 #2
Finally, girl talk. I run through my mental list of the guys at our school, wondering which one best suits her personality. Most are too old, but some of the first years might be okay—
Ari
don’t worry
she’s trying to escape the sounds of Percy screwing her brother—
Jade yelps at the same time I flush, fumbling for her phone, trying to turn off the sound.
Calypso
Have you seen her lately? She’s already showing
That’s why she’s always around Esther
“Grand company you keep, Jade,” I say, slumping in my seat.
While I brood, she winces more and more as her friend’s texts roll in.
They multiply in time with my mood dropping.
Luke
Hey, let’s all be adults here
I’m optimistic for half a second before—
Luke
I would have fucked Dr. Daddy personally
David
Who’s to say she hasn’t yet?
Jade grabs her phone, furiously typing into the chat as soon as we hit a red light.
I rub the migraine away again.
The light blasts green, and she yanks out her cord, dropping her phone into her bag.
Which is probably for the best. I can’t even imagine what they’re saying now, especially with Golden Boy leading them.
The audio filters back in from Jade’s disconnected phone, delightfully cheerful as we drive in stunted, painful silence.
After a few minutes, Jade turns us into the covered lot. Most medical students have to pull into a deck miles away and shuttle in, but Jade swipes her father’s badge, pulling us into the attending physician’s parking.
Her car gracefully slows to a stop, and Jade takes her matcha and throws open the door, not even sparing me a backward glance.
If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was fleeing the scene of a crime.
But I have manners, so I say to her back, “Thank you for the ride, Jade. I really appreciate it.”
I’m about to climb out of the car when Jade hesitates, then turns around and says something that hits me like a sledgehammer.
“Kane will never love you more than medicine,” Jade says. “That’s why Calypso dumped him.”
I trip, falling forward, and Jade catches me by the elbow, balancing her drinks on the other hand.
So that’s who the extra matcha is for. “Being friends with your brother’s cheating ex is crazy, Jade.”
She rolls her shoulders back, slinging her backpack on like she’s offended.
“Not everyone would welcome a new girl from a different medical school into their friend group,” she says pointedly. “Calypso’s spoken to me more than my own brother has this past year. There’s a reason Kane’s a 6’4’’ doctor that can’t find anyone.”
“And there’s a reason you’re a 20-something prodigy that can’t find anyone, either,” I retort, feeling oddly defensive of him.
“20!” she snorts. She crosses her arms, walking toward the main entrance. “Who’s 20? I’m 18!”
Eighteen? I knew she was on the younger side, but the Goodyear genes have crazy levels of talent.
And audacity.
No wonder she’s such a—
“How?” I gasp, hustling to keep up with her. She’s got Kane’s long legs and impatience as she speed-walks in.
“I skipped high school and fast-tracked college in the Caribbean.”
She chose to be an IMG? That’s…1
“I don’t need your judgment,” she snaps. “I needed to prove myself away from Kane and my father.”
“And yet you came back to the same hospital.”
“Well, it’s not my fault Rinky Dink closed!”
We make it out of the crisp fall air and into the sterile stench of hospital cleaning solution, and she pivots toward the outpatient clinic.
“You’ve been warned,” she finishes. “If he cared about the people around him, he wouldn’t make the choices he does.”
She and I spot the rest of our—her—friends in the cafeteria window above, waving her in.
With them is David, whose feral eyes glint like a panther’s when he sees me look up at him.
I stumble back.
Jade’s steps falter, glancing at him, then back at me.
For a moment, it’s almost like a flash of empathy crosses her face, and then it’s gone, face hardening over.
“Speaking of choices,” she says, leveling me with one last look, “if you want him to quit bothering you, you need to tell him off.”
“Jade, I already dumped him—”
“He’s just some guy, Percy! Hit him with your car if you have to! That would be more of a statement than saying nothing, letting the rest of us fill in the pieces.”
And with that damning verdict, she struts off, leaving me wondering whether I should trust a man whose own sister despises him, and thinks that I am, what, pathetic?
Because I won’t commit a homicide?
My throat feels thick, my neck warm, as moisture beads behind my eyes.
I squeeze them shut, telling myself to get over it. The last thing I need is for the hospital to know I cry as often as the average person breathes.
But just as Jade’s silhouette blurs into the distance, Kane bursts in, an unpardonable grin on, eyes gleaming.
Jade and I both stop in our tracks.
My thoughts halt.
The tears evaporate.
In his palm, those can’t possibly be—
Smirking, Kane strides toward me, arm extended, to hand me the glittering keys to my new car.
1 Narrator’s Notes: IMG stands for international medical graduate. For Americans, the usual path is to become an IMG when they can’t get into a stateside medical school. It is considered a red flag on residency applications to become an IMG and is generally not advised.