Chapter 7

“Porsche?” Valerie looked over her shoulder, with the guy’s arms still wrapped around her. I looked down to cover my face though I couldn't be unnoticed. If only this nurse didn’t have a loudmouth.

I could see Valerie in my peripheral view, slowly walking towards me with her skeptical look. The nurse handed out the form after confirming my appointment for today so I faced her to finally leave this counter.

“Here’s your chart, hand it over to your physician later as he will fill up the other necessary information. Proceed to the waiting area, follow the gray arrow at the floor.” The nurse ruggedly raised her brow at me. Her being all this nasty didn’t help me in this situation.

“Oh, thanks.” I instantly took the form and hurriedly avoided the encounter with Valerie. I didn’t want to answer any questions from her at the moment because I would rehearse my reasoning before that.

As the nurse said, I followed the gray arrow which would seemingly lead me to the waiting area. Just when I was about to turn at the corner of the front desk, Valerie pulled my arm so I was facing her.

“It’s you!” She embraced me with excitement while all I could think of was how on earth would I answer her curiosity. She was my best friend and I didn’t have the courage to lie to her. Yes, I could hide things, but lying wasn’t my option. Not until today.

“Oh, hi! Uhm . . . just a requirement for something,” I stammered and smiled at her to hide my nervousness.  The awkwardness was evident on my face as the corner of my mouth spasmed when I forced a smile. It wasn’t that bad but Valerie knew me well. She was going to ask me about this anytime soon.

Valerie glanced at the form I was holding, as I immediately hid it behind my back which made her suspicious.

“Don’t tell me it’s a requirement for the werewolf organization thingy? Are you seriously gonna go for it?” she persistently asked, sounding disgusted by the thought that I would actually pursue that precious opportunity.

“What? No,” I denied and faked a laugh. “Isn’t this a requirement for the job you were going to help me get?” I added.

“No.” She profusely shook her head in disagreement with my obvious lie.

“Oh, I thought it was because the last job I had strictly required it.” I ran my hand at the nape of my neck and smiled sheepishly.

“Hmmm— right.” She squinted her eyes in suspicion and her voice sounded unconvinced by my alibi. After a few moments of silence and empty stares, she shrugged it off. Thank god this woman didn’t really care about anything else than herself.

The guy trailed behind her and laced his arms around Valerie’s thin waist and whispered something in her ear. Rolling my eyes, I pretended like I saw nothing as she giggled at his bold move. These types of moments are the ones that I curse the most.

“Anyway, this is the first time you'll meet, right?” Valerie enthusiastically smiled with her eyes flicking back and forth between me and the guy beside her. I didn’t bother to even scan him wholly. I just wanted to get this over with.

“This is Giofré, the guy I was constantly talking about.” She giggled.

Giofré thrust his hand for a handshake which I accepted and dropped immediately. For some unknown reason, I  had a weird gut with this guy. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but it was bizarre. His hand was just as warm as the one that held my shoulder while I was walking down the sidewalk. It was unsettling, but I shook it off.

I was about to pull my hand away from his touch when he leaned towards me, placing an air kiss on my cheek. Baffled, I was caught off-guard by the unexpected move.

“What the—“ I pulled away with all my courage which made him back off with his hands in the air.

“Oops, sorry,” he apologized with a disturbing sarcastic look.

“Oh my god, I just forgot to tell you that he’s Italian.” Valerie stood in front of us as the atmosphere started to become intense. “My bad,” she added.

With my brows furrowed, I ignored Valerie’s explanation and stared at Giofré in awe. It was a shame that I had to tilt my head up because, apparently, he was towering over me. Though I was tall, he was still able to overshadow me. The button down long sleeve that he was wearing was rolled up to his arms and perfectly hugged his rugged body. A reading glass hung in between the first open button of his button-up shirt, and his deep set of brown eyes screamed sarcasm and peril that emphasized some of his Italian features which meant having a pointed nose and perfectly sharp jaws.

“That was unnecessary,” I said with finality.

Giofré scoffed at my remark and the awkwardness in Valerie’s eyes was apparent so I cleared my throat.

As I was being around with Giofré even more, there was this unexplainable feeling that was starting to surge in. If I would conclude it, I could sense . . . danger. The feeling wasn’t butterflies and electricity, rather it was something dark and foreboding. I didn’t know how I could point it out this quick and I hate jumping to conclusions, but this was what my gut was telling me. A slight pang lanced through my chest which made me frightened and I thought maybe my anxiety was about to attack right at this moment.

My chest rose and fell as I took a deep breath, trying to keep myself calm, and reached for my medicine that was inside my bag.

“Hey, are you okay? Is it another attack?” Valerie asked in concern, holding my shoulder.

“I-I’m fine, it’s nothing.” As my lips quivered, I bit my bottom lip to suppress it. I also stopped searching for my bag to lessen Valerie’s worry.

I couldn’t find my medicine, maybe I left it at the house. Luckily, my heartbeat calmed down and it seemed like the attack wasn’t as worse as the ones I usually had. This was probably the most random time that it occurred.

“Alright, Uhm . . . I guess I’ll go ahead?” Valerie stuck her thumbs up and pointed it behind her.

She waved her hand in the air, easing up the tension that filled the atmosphere between us.

“I have to go back. Break time is over.” Giofré bid his goodbye to her girlfriend, snubbed me, and went on his way deeper into the hospital.

“Are you going to be fine by yourself?” She fully faced me and used both of her hands to hold my shoulders.

“Sure, babe. Do your thing.” I softly squeezed her arm to assure her that I would be fine and watched as she walked away from this vicinity.

~*~

I sat on the benches in the waiting area with the other patients that were waiting for their booked appointments. The head nurse advised me to wait for my name to be called and that another nurse would guide me to the office of the assigned doctor. I guess that was what the other patients were also advised to do.

The hospital was big, I would say. It was painted with neutrality, just like common hospitals. The floor had stickers of arrows that lead to specific areas such as the medical laboratory, pediatrician area, department of radiology, pharmacy, operation room, and the likes.

Almost an hour had passed and still, my name wasn’t called. It was understandable since they were jam-packed with patients and I wasn’t in a hurry or something.

It was almost noon and my stomach was growling from hunger. I kind of expected my anxiety to attack so I was glad I brought the medicine that Aunt Odessa made for me. I forgot that I put it inside my purse which didn’t help when I was looking for it earlier. Aunt Odessa used to be a pharmacist back in her prime years. I usually intake the medicine after eating or when I felt like an episode of anxiety was coming.

The waiting area was lodged in front of the nurse station and some rooms of confined patients were surrounding it. This was for easy access if ever there was an emergency or any needed assistance from the nurses.

Like a cue, the beepers from the nurse’s station rang and a group of nurses immediately left their post to go to the room just at the right side of the waiting area.

“Code Blue! Room 242, Code Blue!” the head nurse informed the staff nurses. Equipment that was on a trolley entered the room and the blinds were shut off for privacy.

“I guess someone’s dying today,” an old woman sitting beside me said.

I glanced and gave her a half-smile. Does this mean that my appointment will be moved to later?

Silence engulfed the area and finally after the long wait, my name was called. I stepped towards the station and a male staff nurse greeted me.

“Good noon, Miss Laurent. I’m a nurse Simons, you can just call me Dean.” He playfully winked at me. “Dr. Sebastian is right this way,” he added. How could he be in such a mood knowing that someone is dying in a near room?

“Uh— I thought my appointment would be moved because of the code blue?”

“That’s a daily thing here, we’re very much used to it. Most patients in these areas are old and some of them also signed the DNR form,” he explained as we walked.

We passed by Room 242 where the Code Blue was announced. My heart skipped a beat from seeing through the open glass window of the door with some residents try to resuscitate the dying patient. Some other staff was already shaking their heads in dismay like they were sure that the patient in front of them had no hope.

For a minute there, I thought I would have a panic attack to witness something like that. Even just a glance of it was horrifying. I couldn’t imagine how health care providers could bear with this kind of situation. Or maybe I was just exaggerating things. Besides, death was inevitable for everyone.

The nurse led me farther than I expected. As I said, the hospital was huge. This area was almost at the farthest end of the hallway.

“This way, ma’am.” He opened the door to a room and we stepped inside.

The doctor’s office that I was assigned to was designed in a minimalistic way. The interior details and furniture were very simple but elegant as it harmonized with the neutral colors of the hospital. But in this room, there were darker shades. The bookshelves were filled with medical books such as anatomy and physiology, and other health-related stuff. One look inside this room, you would already know that a bachelor resided.

“I’ll leave you here. Dr. Sebastian will be back in a minute.”

I reminded myself not to touch anything else as I claimed to be a clumsy person. I let my eyes wander around the office and spotted a two-seater sofa and an examination bed beside so I decided to rest on it. The bamboo aroma from the diffuser caught my attention and gave a relaxing feeling to my nerves. I felt more comfortable in this room than anywhere else.

My doctor seemed to be taking too long, maybe because it was lunchtime. They should’ve informed me if the doctor took a break so I wouldn’t waste my time here. But then again, I was having the time of my life. My eyelids got heavier as the relaxing feeling took over my senses. It was getting harder to fight the unknown exhaustion. 

Just when I was about to let my consciousness drift away, someone entered the office. The soul inside me rose from slumber and my jaw almost dropped by the sight of who 

The door flung open, revealing Valerie’s boyfriend, Giofré. He plastered a smug look, wearing his reading glass and a long white coat. His hair was disheveled in a weird way like someone had just pulled it from all angles. He buttoned his top and walked towards his desk. Don’t tell me he is Dr. Sebastian? If he is, what an ill-twisted fate.