The Alpha Heir - Archie

Chapter4

#HER#

Hospitals were like jigsaw puzzles. Except for the fact that their pieces didn’t fit together as good.

As I dragged myself through a corridor on the ground floor, so exhausted that a lifetime of proper sleep wouldn’t help me, my eyes saw everything and nothing. My brain was the flatline in an EKG: lifeless and without hope.

I did change, wash, and forced an apple down my throat after an intense day among volunteering and working. I couldn’t take my daily pill without some food and at six in the afternoon all I had during the whole day was a banana and some tasteless biscuits from the vending machine.

Drawing in a vast breath, I fished out the packet of pills from the pocket of my white coat. My finger pressed down on the wrapping containing the big yellow pill, as thick as my finger, popping it out into the palm of my other hand. Without thinking, I threw my head back and swallowed the pill without water. I was so used to them that water was not needed anymore… not to mention I didn't have time to find a bottle of water. I was supposed to take the pill at five every day, and I was already an hour late.

I closed my eyes for a moment, but darkness terrified me. I saw a pale lifeless body, blood. We had lost two people today.

Throwing my lids open, I saw something unexpected.

My lips parted.

Holy Moses!

A young man had walked into the hospital; his shoulders just as broad as the door he had come through, his legs so long he was dwarfing everyone else in the place.

He was blond. Hollywood-beautiful. Colossal, in his sport gears. And as he strode through the corridor, people stopped doing what they were doing. Including me, that I was simply sitting there.

As the big guy walked along, there was something about him that wasn't so movie-star handsome, despite his incredible looks. He just didn't carry himself as other people did. He moved like a predator, thick shoulders rolling with his gait, nostrils flaring, head slightly lowered, eyes scanning.

"Hey," he said to a nurse that was gaping up at him, eyes escaping sockets.

The nurse didn’t emit a single sound.

“I’m looking for Mrs Lycawood." His tone sharpened, probably annoyed at the lack of response of the lady in front of him, who kept staring.

More silence followed.

"Are you deaf?" he huffed.

“Y-yes! i mean, no! I-I w-will c-call her…”

But she didn’t.

The big guy rose his eyes towards the ceiling.

“Who are y-you?” The nurse asked in a trembling voice.

I bit my lower lip as I felt bad for her.

“Her nephew.”

Understanding flooded me.

Oh God!

Is this the boy Mrs Lycawood has wanted to introduce me since basically the first day I met her?!

The boy crossed his arms, lips pursing, when a fellow doctor simply stopped walking and stood there, admiring him, with her chin touching the floor.

I decided to save them.

Clearing my throat, I wished I was anywhere else, with anyone else.

"Hi… ah, um, Mrs Lycawood had to leave for her dentist’s appointment."

The guy spun. Intense, steel gray eyes, surrounded by long lashes the color of his hair, assessed me.

When he let out a snort, I looked down quickly, embarrassment filling me up.

Not what you were expecting, am I?

“Dentist?” he repeated, incredulous. With a shook of his head, he mumbled something under his breath before he eyed me again, “So you are Star?”

“Um? Who?” I asked, brow arched.

“That girl that granny wants me to-“ He stopped, his face scrunched together and he sneezed loudly, body jerking, “Damn hospitals.” He muttered, proceeding to wipe his nose with the edge of his shirt, flashing an artwork of abs to everyone. I didn't even have time to offer him my clean handkerchief.

“Mrs Lycawood had asked me if I could meet you here for lunch-” I gazed down at my wristwatch. It was quarter past six in the afternoon. “-at two.”

This guy was four hours late.

"Sorry, got caught between stuff," he shrugged.

“Oh. Not a problem.” Staring down at my hands, dry and pale, curled on my lap, I was about to tell him that we could produce an innocent lie. We could tell Mrs Lycawood that we had met, had lunch and all.

"Look ..." He scratched the side of his head and then ran his hand through the golden locks, "You're cute and all, I think. But I had never dated, and you don't look like the type of-"

I rose my palm, stopping him right there.

“No need to finish, I understand.” Who would date plain me?

I stood up, ready to spend my tiny break in my cubicle. With my sad salad. I had no toppings left, so it was just green leaves and corns.

Mrs Lycawood’s nephew grinned. It was too much to look at, the combo cheekbones-dimples making it almost impossible not to fall for him. "No, that's not what I meant. I just, er, sort of have someone else already. But my crazy grandma doesn’t know and kept blubbering about you and this other girl-"

My eyes flipped up to his, "Sort of?"

He chuckled with a deep timber, "The lady doesn't know yet, but we're mates, er, I mean, we are together."

A smile took me by surprise. During that day, or perhaps the whole week, I still hadn't smiled, "How can she not know?"

"Um, it's complicated to explain-" he trailed off, scratching his neck.

"You should tell her as soon as possible, then," I suggested.

“Yeah. Maybe,” He said before scanning around, “I’m starving. Let’s go eat and make my crazy grandma happy.”

I blinked, “What?”

He tilted his head to the side, “What, what?”

“You still want to, er,” I cleared my throat, “get food with me?”

He shrugged again, his enormous muscles moving, casting even bigger shadows on the wall behind, “We may just do that since we are here.”

For some reasons, I felt at ease with him and I stuck my hand out, “Well, nice to meet you officially! Mrs Lycawood had spoken so much about you that I feel I already know you.”

He gazed down at my hand and let it hang between us.

“Can’t touch other females,” He admitted, almost embarrassed.

And I almost laughed. It was the cutest!

Relief filled me up. Sure, he was probably the most beautiful guy I had ever seen. That anyone had ever seen. And Mrs Lycawood was so kind; I had had no heart to tell her that I wasn’t interested in meeting guys, that I didn’t date. Getting emotionally attached to anyone was downright absurd. My neglected sleep came first. And sleep was the only activity I had outside of the medical world.

But her encouraging smile and eyes brimming with hope were too much for me to say no, when she asked to meet her nephew for lunch. She said she couldn’t make it - an obvious sneaky matchmaking move.

So we walked to the café right in front of the hospital and took a seat next to a window.

Amused, I watched him trying to get his legs to fit under the table.

“So, about the thing you said,” he started, “How exactly I should tell my gal about me?”

I clasped my hands together and placed them under my chin. “Mmh, I need more background. Why do you think she won’t like you?”

"My reputation isn't the best. And she sure knows about it!" He snorted in frustration, pulling at his hair "Her family hates me. Especially her fuckin brother."

I contained a chuckle. Laughing at his distress wasn’t polite.

“I’m also the best football player and most popular guy in my pack-um, university.”

"You are a little…” I trailed off.

“Arrogant?" he chuckled, “Surprise, surprise."

“Self-confidence” I corrected him, with a smile.

"What can I get you?" the waitress asked us. He glanced across the table and lifted an eyebrow.

"I… ah, I'll just have a matcha latte. Small size.” I smiled up at the waitress, "Please."

He winced at me but said nothing. "Okay, let’s have the cheeseburger. Double on the fries. And some nachos. Double that, too, will you?"

I could only stare as the waitress looked stunned.

“Wow, you eat a lot for dinner. Not very healthy, but filling.” I commented.

He scoffed, “This ain’t my dinner. Just an afternoon snack.”

The waitress let out a shaky breath, took the menus and left.

“So…this girl. What's her name?"

He grinned at me, nostrils flaring weirdly, "Bunny Doc."

I chuckled at what was obviously a nickname.

“The most beautiful, perfect girl you could ever meet!” He boosted then glanced at me, “No offence.”

“None taken.”

Shortly after, the waitress came back with our food. My tiny matcha latte disappeared amidst all of his food. He dug in like a starving human.

"Other reasons why your girl shouldn't like you?" I asked, sipping my matcha.

His lips tightened. Various emotions crossed his movie-star face.

Fear, anxiety, uncertainty.

"There is more." He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. "I'm not a stable…person. I have ..." he cleared his throat, moving those silver neon around before focusing a spot on the ceiling above, "Like a dual personality. And I don't get along with my ... other side… My ailment… or condition."

“I see.” He must have two polar opposite personalities, “Do you have a dissociative identity disorder?”

“Dissociative identity disorder,” he repeated to himself, throwing several fries into his mouth, “yeah… probably.”

“And why would this be an issue for her?” I asked.

“My other…my condition will hurt her.” The vehemence in his voice confused me.

I took my time to reflect, scooping the foam from the bottom of my cup with a teaspoon. What remained of his cheeseburger and fries were the crumbs and the salad leaf he had removed.

"This Bunny Doc…” I began.

He grinned at me while attacking the nachos.

“By the way you speak of her, she seems wonderful. So she certainly won't care about your dual personality. It's more common than you might imagine."

He stared at me, hope lighting up his face.

"We all have a closet full of personal items we don't want to see anymore but we're afraid to throw away or share with others." I added.

"Mmmh. Mine is more like a landfill rather than a closet."

I refused to believe him. After a little clinical analysis, he certainly didn't have the symptoms of having dual personality. At least not an extreme case.

A thought popped into my mind.

My hand reached up up, two fingers grazed at the necklace under my t-shirt; the only memory left of my father to whom I could give neither a face nor a smile.

"You could give her a matching necklace to begin with. Small gestures are always filled with hidden, powerful meanings."

He c****d his head to the side, his interest piqued, "Like what?"

"Something significant ... a heart, perhaps?"

He grimaced, "I won't wear a freaking heart!" He grumbled and I almost laughed.

"What else?" He leaned forward, his big elbows supporting him. I think I heard the poor table below cracking.

"Mmh, a sun?"

"Ah! A sun! Like me," as on clue, his full smile almost blinded me. He was beautiful, but it ended there; all I felt for him was the spark of a potential friendship, that I won’t have the time to nourish.

“Or maybe…a moon.” He mumbled to himself before refocusing on me, “Would you come with me to pick it up at the shop? I would ask my sister, but she is away ... and my friends are pricks."

“Oh, I wish I could. But my shift ends in three hours and I have an evening class later on."

“Are you another doctor? My girl is too!"

"Oh nice! Does she study nearby? Maybe I know her.”

Before we could continue, my page vibrated. I pulled it out, glancing at it before meeting his eyes again. "Oh sorry, I have to go," I showed him the page and he nodded.

"Then I’ll see you around… Thanks for the advice,"

"Your are welcome!"

He seemed thoughtful. “I’ll introduce you to my friends, but they are all horny gorillas.”

I chuckled, "Thanks anyway. And I'll break the news to Mrs. Lycawood that we're better off as friends!"

He laughed, "Ah, Mrs Tina Lycawood never gives up, trust me. She will keep pestering us until we all do what she wants."

I smiled, already going towards the counter to pay for my small matcha. I took my tiny wallet out and searched for some coins.

"Hey wait up," he called, "What's your name?"

I thought about it for a moment.

"Maria Teresa… But people usually call me Teresa."

He winked, "Then I'll call you Mary."