Chapter 5

Liam walked in when I was clumsily trying to eat, wrapped up like a mummy. Eating with my left hand felt so awkward.

When he entered, my spoon, halfway to my mouth, froze in mid-air. I must have looked utterly pathetic in that moment.

He glanced at me, then turned his gaze to Mr. Stone in the next bed. “What’s the situation?”

…He was here to see the patient next to me.

I lowered my head, mechanically shoveling food into my mouth, my whole body feeling numb.

“Doctor, you’re here! My husband suddenly has terrible elbow pain.”

Liam gently loosened Mr. Stone’s cast. “Is that better?”

“Much better, it doesn’t hurt as much.”

Mrs. Stone asked, puzzled, “Did they change doctors? Wasn’t it Dr. Evans before?”

“He has a family emergency, so I’m covering for him for two days.”

“Oh, I see. You look so young, doctor, and you’re already working at City General. That’s incredible!”

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

Liam sidestepped Mrs. Stone’s question. “The cast was too tight before, compressing the elbow, which caused the pain. If this happens again, call a doctor immediately.”

After he finished tending to Mr. Stone, he seemed to linger. I just kept my head down, mechanically eating.

Then, a pair of white shoes appeared by my bed. A nurse rushed over. “Dr. Ryan, ER!”

The white shoes that had appeared in my peripheral vision vanished again. I looked out into the darkness and sniffed.