Kiss Me, Heal Me

Chapter 4

“Tell that motherfucker, Sheldon, that he cannot steal my patient—and no one shall steal my patient—without or even with my consent!”

Reeva shut her eyes when she heard that voice. She almost jumped at the loudness of the voice. She just arrived at the surgical unit of the hospital— in the staff lounge, to be exact. And was greeted by a roar.

It was Luxien. He roared like an angry lion. His voice screams authority and ownership.

“The parents of the patient talked to Dr. Sheldon; they asked if—”

“Didn’t this dude know the code? I performed the surgery—you all know that—so, only I can touch my patient!”

She heard the nurse sigh. “We told him that, Doctor Pierce. Doctor Sheldon was very well-informed and very much aware that it was your patient.”

“f**k it. I’ll go talk to him myself,” Luxien finally decided. “That’s the problem with Sheldon, he thinks he knows it all. He thinks he’s always right,” he said, shaking his head in disappointment. He was checking a chart—probably the patient’s chart. He flipped the pages multiple times. Reeva didn’t even know if he was really reading it or if he was just flipping it for the sake of doing something. He pulled his mask down to his chin. “Who showed him the chart?”

“It’s Floyd, doc.”

He smirked as if he was telling himself that he was right. “The minion,” he remarked. “Is he on duty?”

“Night shift,” the nurse answered.

Again, Luxien shook his head. “Birds with the same brain.” He was not done insulting his colleague. From his looks, he was not going to let it slide. He was not going to take it lightly.

She was startled when she heard him put the chart down on the table with a loud bang.

She tried to peek at the room to make sure that he had already left. Once the coast was clear, she entered and greeted the nurse, Alysson, with a sympathizing smile. “What a good way to start a morning, huh?” she teased.

Reeva had already met the nurses two days ago. These people were the very same people who saw her slap Luxien. It has been two days, and she hasn’t talked to him since. She was never given a chance to, anyway. And it’s not that she anticipates crossing paths with him. No way.

The young nurse chuckled. “You bet, Dr. Ree! He’s way better than any brewed coffee!” Aly exclaimed, pertaining to Luxien’s clamor.

Reeva put the paper bag she'd been holding on the table. She took out the sandwiches she bought at the twenty-four-hour cafe. “You want some?” she asked Aly. She bought two so she could share.

“Let me,” Aly stopped her when she was about to reheat the sandwiches in the microwave.

“So,” Reeva whispered. “Did anything happen to the patient?”

Aly shook her head as she leaned on the counter. “The patient’s fine. But then, his patient is his patient. Dr. Sheldon is the wrong one here, no matter how we look into it.”

She nodded in agreement. Aly was right.

Reeva already met Dr. Sheldon and Luxien was right about him. He acts like he was always right. “I understand where Dr. Pierce is coming from. It was like an insult. He’s a guy, of course. A man with an ego—” she sighed loudly. “It’s like a punch in his face when someone steals something he possesses—but—what?”

She was cut off by Aly’s stare. She was widening her eyes as if she was signaling her.

“Well, I agree,” said a voice from her back. It vibrated inside the room, giving her a cold feeling. She stiffened. She was mad at him, all right, but it didn’t change the fact that he was still her attending. She widened her eyes back at Aly. Why didn’t she tell her that Luxien’s at her back? Or did she?

Reeva faced Luxien and forcedly smiled at him. “Y-Yep!” said she, voice full of fake enthusiasm. She saw his eyebrow arched like he was waiting for her to continue, so she did. “It’s rude, you know…” she added, her voice so low.

And slapping him isn’t rude, is that it? She wanted to castigate herself. He’s also rude. For Pete's sake, she was not someone else’s woman, let alone Dr. Larren’s!

Luxien was just staring at her. She cannot even tell if he was smiling or smirking because he was wearing a mask. She wanted to stare back. Because why not? Wasn’t he the one who'd done something wrong? Reeva badly wanted to stare back—but she couldn’t. She averted her eyes at the microwave when she couldn't hold the stare any longer. Thankfully, it dinged just in time. Damnit. Why was she acting like she was the one that did something? She was wronged. She was insulted. But his stare was just…

She blew a breath. You did nothing wrong. She kept on reminding herself.

She took the sandwiches out of the microwave. “Do you want some—oh, he’s gone,” she said. For some reason, her heart started beating normally. She didn’t even realize that it was rapidly beating until Luxien was gone.

“He has already left,” Aly confirmed. “Good gracious! That shook the hell out of me!” she exclaimed, then she laughed. “It’s your fault, Dr. Ree.”

“Why me?” she asked, also laughing. “You didn’t tell me that—”

“I almost bulged my eyes out sending signals!” Aly unwrapped the sandwich and took a bite. “You know,” she said in between her chews. “He was really like that—sensitive about ‘stealing’ issues. It has been a while since we got a resident here because the last one, his girlfriend, happened to be Doc Larren’s girlfriend, too. Sucks, isn’t it—”

Is that it? The reason why Luxien assumed that she was Doc Larren’s woman?

She wanted to understand him. She wanted to understand where he was coming from. But having a past issue doesn’t give him the right to insult her when they have just met. He didn’t know her. He knew nothing about her. She had a past and she had her own battles, too! But she was never going to lash out at someone she had just met.

Reeva shook her head. “Doesn’t give him the reason to be a jerk,” she firmly said. “Not everyone’s going to stab him in the back, you know—”

Then she saw Aly signaling her, again, like she was going to bulge her eyes out of their sockets.

“You done?” Luxien asked, his voice deep with a hint of bitterness. Holy macaroni. He went to the cupboard and took out two packets of instant ramen. “You’re not done talking, are you? You may continue.”

He strode and left. Just like that.

It took both Reeva and Aly a few minutes to react. “Why does he keep on appearing abruptly?” She lets out a big breath. “I’m so dead.”