PROMISE

CHAPTER FOUR

KYLE

THE DAY HAD started on a normal note. I had woken up numb and grumpy, nothing unusual there. I was going to attend to my patients and monitor the assistant interns undergoing training.

It was going to be the same like it had been for the past six years. There was nothing unusual about the call l received from Samantha to come to her office. In fact l had been expecting it. She had informed me that another assistant was starting that day.

I remembered being against accepting more interns but apparently her cv and record was impressive. So l accepted and expected her arrival.

Never in a billion years had l expected to walk into that office and come face to face with the face that had haunted my dreams for so long.

When she turned around and l saw her l almost truly didn't recognize her. Her beauty had always stared at me right in the face all her life. I just hadn't expected her to be...that stunning.

What shocked me even more was finding her in that office as an intern l had to take under my wing. What were the chances of it being her? It was too much of a coincidence to make any sense.

I didn't believe in coincidences, they made me suspicious. The one person l longed and dreaded to see couldn't have somehow landed in the hospital l worked in. But the shock on her face was bigger than mine.

I cursed at whoever was dishing out punishments. Amanda was my biggest sin.

We both stood there staring at each other neither of us moving an inch. Conflicting emotions played in both our faces but mostly hers. Amanda had the most expressive face that l always knew what was on her mind.

It was then that I realised she was still the same. Different but the same nonetheless. I opened my mouth to say something. Anything when she reached out her hand to me that it took me a while to understand what was happening.

I frowned my mind flooded with so much information l didn't know what to do with it.

It happened so fast l didnt have time to think about how messed up the situation really was.

"Nice to meet you Doctor Kyle. I look forward to working and learning under your leadership." My eyes had widened in shock and my heart skipped as her warm voice wrapped around my entire body like a blanket. Hearing her talk to me so formally didn't even faze me.

Hearing her voice after all this time was like waking up from years of being in a coma. My c**k jumped in my pants when my hand slowly wrapped around hers in a touch so innocent yet sensual.

My c**k strained to be released when l stared into the eyes of the most beautiful woman to exist.

Everything about her was the same yet different. We stared at each other with such intensity it was stiffening. My eyes roamed her stunning face, drinking in the little movements it made. Taking in her intoxicating features in seconds.

It didn't bother me as much when she acted like we never met before. What bothered me was how unaffected she looked. Like seeing me after all this time didn't make a dent in her armour. Amanda had never once hid her emotions before.

It was probably a defensive mechanism on her part. Who else to blame for that but me? It was my fault after all. It didn't help that it seemed l was the only one who still carried the buggage from our past.

Seeing her again had completely knocked me off balance. I had been caught off guard so l was unprepared. Unprepared as well of the effect her very presence had on me.

I had wanted to scream at her to stop acting like my presence didn't bother her. It was hard, hard to concentrate on work when all l wanted was to pull her in my arms and reminisce the past.

Not that our past was ever that active. Would she be horrified if she knew what l had always wanted to do to her?

It was sickening to think about that. Especially since she had been a minor. But it had felt right with her. It still did. I shook my head to disperse of such thoughts at work. It was no use rehashing any of it.

Pretending she was just another intern proved to be difficult if not impossible. By the time we went for lunch, l was ready to bolt.

I don't know how long l sat staring at the wall in my office when a knock came at the door. I was in no mood for any sort of company. But being a doctor meant you got to push your personal feelings to the side and deal with the matter at hand.

As long as you were in the hospital premises then you were still very much on duty.

"I am about to grab some lunch. Do you want to join me?"

Samantha announced pocking her head in the open doorway. She was one of the few people in the hospital that made life bearable. If not sufferable. No doubt l loved being a doctor but no one is ever truly prepared to deal with so much death.

"I have to do a few rounds before l knock off for the day. Is that okay?"

"Of course it is. But may I ask why. You never leave early Kyle. It must be an emergency." If running away from a certain brown eyed woman was an emergency then yes.

"Well there's a first-time for everything don't you think?"

"Okay l will only let you go if you agree to have lunch with me." I contemplated first.

I didn't want the risk of running into Amanda. The cold shoulder she gave me made me uneasy. She had turned into a total stranger that it made me question whether l had ever really knew her.

I shook my head at that. I knew her like she was an extended part of me. This version was simply different. When l saw her face, all l wanted to do was grab her in my arms and tell her how sorry l was. For ruining the best thing for the both of us.

"How about l treat you to some sushi. They have that at the canteen specially for me."

"Sushi sounds amazing." Sushi was the last thing on my mind. It was no use sulking over something that already happened. It took a whole lot to shock me but Amanda's confidence and her little speech took my breath away.

It amazed me just how she went from the cute clumsy teenager to a full blown confident woman. Unfortunately for me that woman was so breathtaking it was maddening.

Day one and l was gasping for breath. How would l survive seeing her every single day? Picturing her being in our home town was one thing. Picturing her in these very halls was a whole new other subject.

How could one person change so much? I kept reminding myself that she wouldn't act like this if l hadn't cut her off like l did all those years ago. Hopefully her personality was still the same as it was.

I had a hard time trying to believe otherwise. I couldn't hold it against her for trying to protect herself from me. It wasn't going to be easy. Looking at Samantha's expectant face, l realised just how much in deep trouble l was.

Amanda couldn't have arrived at the worst possible time. I took calming breaths and grabbed my phone.

There was an empty booth at the end of the canteen so we made our way over. I pulled the chair for Samantha and she smiled before sitting down. She sat as straight as a board, her posture not slouching. She sat like she was ready for an interview.

Signs of being born in an extremely rich family. So wealthy she bought herself a damn hospital at the age of twenty four.

She possessed a professional charm that was friendly and comforting to even strangers. It was hard believing she was anything but in her late forties.

There wasn't any need for her to get up as our food was placed in front of us.

"So what did you think of our newest assistant? Amazing isn't she." I stopped breathing.

"Yeah. She is."

"I thought so too. I know l only met her for only a few minutes, but from what l gathered she possesses a soothing aura about her that could help calming the patients. Not to mention extremely intelligent."

"How did she do? Where there any problems?" Thinking about her caused a dull ache in my chest.

"She did exceptionally well. We didn't perform any surgeries so l couldn't discern her surgical skills. She only assisted me in the ER with two other interns. They're are really great with diagnosing." She nodded chewing modestly.

I feel her presence even before my eyes laid on her.

"Oh speak of the devil." Standing in the queue casually chatting away in a room full of people and all my senses were tuned to her.

As if some unknown powerful entity possessed her, she turned and looked directly at me. No power in the world could have turned me away.

We stared at each other from across the room for a moderate amount of time. It was like a switch turned because she spun around and focused on her conversation.

"I feel like l am missing something here." Samantha wasn't dumb.

"Is there something going on? Because if there is..."

"Nothing is going on." I was quick to say.

"Other than the obvious reason, you know we don't condon such relationships in the hospital. Between a senior and a junior, especially interns. It always ends up messy. You know the rules."

"You know exactly the reason nothing is going to happen Samantha. Like I said, they're only my interns. "

"I hope it stays that way."

"When have I given you any reasons to doubt my loyalty Samantha? You have absolutely nothing to worry about."

"I never doubted it."

I knew what she was talking about and that made it even worse. At least I didn't have to worry about her having trouble fitting in with everyone else. That was one of the things about Amanda. She was an easygoing person that could get along with just about anyone.

It was a relief to know that part about her hadn't changed. I can't resist the pull and my eyes slowly slid to her. Like all the times she was near, my c**k steered imagining all sorts of dirty things l wanted to do to her.

It had filled me with disgust at how easy it was to let myself stray. Even after reassuring Samantha, lying to her face I couldn't stop myself. I was an adult thinking those things to someone l should have seen as a little sister. That's what our parents had pushed us to see. God forbid if that was how l saw her.

Even the way she sometimes looked at me made me wonder if she saw it. I knew she had felt some type of way for me. Judging by her current behaviour it made me question just how far those feelings extended.

Either way it wasn't going to happen. Not in this lifetime. We both had different lives now. A woman like her probably had a boyfriend or some sort of partner. Thinking about other men in her life filled me with dread.

It was for the best, so l forced my gaze away from her and focused on Samantha. She was a part of my future. If everything went according to plan then that future could be closer than expected.