Three

Violet's POV

It turned out the man had already left last night. Well...not that I cared about him; Kate could have him to herself, I couldn't care less.

"Remember your promise," I heard Kate say as I padded towards the door, dressed up and set for work.

She was lying on the couch, the TV remote on the side table, along with a bowl of popcorn.

I ignored her words and made my way out of the apartment. Taught to be courteous, I exchanged pleasantries with a few friendly neighbours.

Soon, I flagged down a taxi that would take me to my destination, which was the city's hospital.

En route, I unexpectedly found myself caught up in a traffic snarl, and I couldn't shake off my worries.

As seconds morphed into minutes, I kept looking out the window, internally praying that the traffic would ease up soon but that didn't seem to be happening.

I could already imagine the scolding I would receive from my supervisor and I sighed resignedly, leaning my back on the chair once more.

After what felt like an eternity, the congestion started to ease up and I became internally relieved. At least I wouldn't arrive too late.

15 minutes later, the taxi halted at the gates of the hospital and I quickly alighted, making sure I hadn't forgotten any of my belongings in the vehicle.

I paid the fare and walked hotfoot into the premises.

Thankfully, I was only 5 minutes late and my racing heart returned to normal when I didn't receive a scolding from my supervisor, Doctor Angela.

I soon joined 4 other interns—three males and one female— and we accompanied her to do ward rounds, my eyes glued to how she handled the patients and their numerous cases.

Then I and another intern rushed down the stairs to carry out instructions from a senior. Many minutes later, I had to change the dressing of some patients and attended to a man who had been rushed in.

At around 2 pm, I beetled off to the cafeteria where I got a sandwich and paired it with some strong coffee.

Upon receiving a text almost two minutes later from one of my fellow interns, I ate my sandwich faster and guzzled my coffee before dashing out of the place.

However, I got pushed down without warning by a young male patient on the loose just when I was about to make a bend. I sucked in my breath as I got to my feet.

‘Damn, that hurt!’

Still, I decided to chase after him and soon blocked his path. Two nurses caught up later, looking like they’d run two marathons.

“Sir, please come back with us,” one of the nurses said, trying to catch her breath.

The male patient whom I was blocking couldn’t hide his annoyance towards me, “Out of my way. My dad doesn’t get to decide for me. I don’t want to go through that surgery, I don’t want any scar,”

I internally sighed, resisting the urge to knock some sense into this man. Was scar-free skin more important than one’s life?

“You don’t want to do the surgery?” I asked him softly.

“Yes,” the man said, almost in a yell.

I nodded, “Okay, let’s go back and discuss,” I said gently, clasping my hand around his arm, “Don’t worry, sir,”

The man shook his head stubbornly, “I’m not going back. I want to go home and these two bitches were chasing me like I’m some criminal. I just want to go home,” he complained and I tried hard to maintain the friendly smile that stretched my lips.

“I understand, sir. Let’s sit down on that bench over there and talk about the things you love to do. Then I’ll also share my favourite things with you,”

“I don’t trust you,” the man was now struggling to leave my grasp but I held his arm firmly.

Then I went on tip-toes and whispered in his left ear, “You will have to trust me, sir because if you run again and I catch you, I’ll simply put you over my shoulder and take you straight to the operating room,”

I stopped standing on my toes and pointed towards his back, “Shall we?”

“Are you threatening me?” he looked pissed.

“No, sir, I care a lot about you,” I responded in a low tone.

Though reluctant, the man eventually agreed. We soon sat on a waiting bench nearby and I did my best to placate him for a few minutes.

“Listen, Daxton, even if you might end up with a scar, you don’t need to be afraid. Your girlfriend will view you as a hero. That scar is going to be like an Oscar award on your body and anyone who sees it will have a new level of respect for you,” I said, patting his shoulder.

The man nodded, completely without any intent to resist anymore. He rose from the bench and apologized to the nurses for stressing them. Then he thanked me and allowed them to lead him away.

I had barely sighed in relief when my phone began to ring. I fished it out of my pants’ left pocket and upon seeing the caller, my heart started pounding furiously against my ribcage. I hesitated about answering the call but then I did, “Are you waiting for a plane to come pick you up? Get in my office within 3 minutes,”

At that moment, I already started dashing to my destination. It was so far away, I prayed I wouldn’t exceed the time Doctor Angela had given me.

Still, I was late by a minute and received a scolding from her. I later followed instructions to check on some patients, noting down their current states.

From giving injections to ferrying patients to get their various scans done to performing a few simple sutures, running to the X-ray machine in the building and collecting lab reports…

I ate a handful of granola bars during the runs, otherwise, I would have ended up on one of the hospital beds instead.

When I ultimately punched out and stepped out of the hospital edifice, it was already 9:30 pm.

To say I was tired would hardly do justice to my level of exhaustion. I swear, if a bed could magically materialise before me right now, I wouldn't even think twice before stretching out on it.

"Would you like me to drop you off, damsel?" A familiar masculine voice asked, making me raise my head.

The owner of the voice, Jayke Thompson, stood before me, dressed like he was afraid people didn’t know he was monied, a car key on display in his left hand. This man usually came for checkups on Fridays or Saturdays. Today was neither of those days, what was he doing here, then? Maybe he came to visit a patient?

"No, you need not worry, sir. I'll be fine on my own," I responded, fighting the urge to yawn already.

"Why are you rejecting me? I mean no harm," he sounded concerned but I knew better than to fall for it.

This man loved to burn rubber; the only time I foolishly agreed to a ride, I ended up puking the moment I alighted.

"Look, I'm a changed man, Violet. I would never do anything to hurt you," he tried to persuade me but I was resolute on not accepting his help.

"Thanks but I really don't need your help," with that, I sidestepped him and shuffled my way out of the premises.

However, I didn't expect him to follow me.

"Just give me a chance to make it up to you. I'll take you to get a massage or treat you to dinner in a fancy restaurant, whatever you want," he proposed, almost sounding desperate.

"Sir Jayke, you don't want me to break your limbs, do you?" I questioned with an annoyed tone. Even though I was bone-dreary right now, shooting him a warning glare wasn't too hard.

"Alright," he finally relented and turned to leave.

I groggily made my way to the pavement, intending to stop a taxi only for a car to suddenly hurtle in my direction.