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Chapter Forty Eight

“Nick this is ridiculous,” I complained. I sat in the passenger seat of his rental car, my arms folded across my chest.

“No, what’s ridiculous is the idea that you were going to finish out the day after puking your guts out twice,” Nick said.

“Fine, I’ll agree with that. I should go home,” I said. “But I don’t know why I have to go to the doctor.”

Nick sighed. “You just told me you’ve been feeling crappy for the past week. If this was the first day, I’d say fine. But, after a week I think you need to get looked at.”

“Well, you didn’t have to tell them I was dying over the phone.”

Nick had followed me right into the woman’s bathroom at the café. Luckily, it was a one person bathroom. As I heaved my guts out, Nick held my hair. While I was distracted, he had pulled my phone out of my pocket and found the number for my doctor. He had then proceeded to tell the receptionist I was dying and needed to be seen right away. Needless to say, they squeezed me in.

“Turn left. At the end of the road you have reached your destination,” a GPS voice that sounded eerily like Homer Simpson announced. Nick assured me the GPS would give us the fastest route; what he didn’t know is that if he would have asked me, I would have had us there at least five minutes quicker.

“I’m feeling better already,” I said as Nick opened my car door. He shook his head.

“Yeah, like I’m going to believe that,” he said. “C’mon.”

I got out of the car reluctantly. Taking my hand, Nick walked towards the building.

“I hate doctors,” I added, hoping to get some sympathy.

“Everybody does,” Nick answered back. “They’re a necessary evil.”

We walked in; the place smelled like a hospital. The bright walls and nice fish tank didn’t fool me for a minute.

“May I help you?” the receptionist said from behind a half wall of plastic.

I sighed. “Olivia Ryans. I have an appointment with Dr. Danielson.”

She looked at me. “Oh, you’re the one that’s dying?”

I glared up at Nick. He smiled sheepishly.

“I might have been a little dramatic,” he explained. The receptionist rolled her eyes.

“Have a seat. The nurse will call you when a room opens up.”

We headed over to the waiting room. I was still giving Nick the eye as I sat down in a hard plastic chair. He sat beside me.

“Want to read Time?” he asked sweetly, holding up the magazine. I cracked my knuckles.

“I‘ll take that as a no.”

The door that led to the exam room hall opened. I looked up expecting to see a nurse.

But it was much worse.

I spotted Hunter before he spotted me, but there was no becoming invisible. Nick and I were the only ones in the waiting room besides a ninety year old lady. Jess was right behind him, still talking to a nurse. I winced as she laughed; it was the highest pitched tone you could ever imagine.

“No, I feel amazing,” she said after braying like a donkey for a second time. “I haven’t had a bad day yet.”

Hunter walked a few more paces, and like I feared, spotted me. He stopped in his tracks. The nurse closed the door and Jess bumped into him.

“What?” Jess said. She peered around him, her mouth formed a perfect O.

Since my return, I had managed to go to all of my favorite places around town and not bump into him. It would figure that the place I didn’t want to be would be where I would see him.

Nick had found a section on speed boats in one of the automotive magazines; he didn’t see them. I prayed they would just walk by quietly.

“Wow it took longer than I thought,” Hunter said loudly. “I figured you would have been in for crabs and STDs much sooner.”

I blanched. Nick looked up; realization dawned on his face. He threw the magazine down on the table and stood up.

Hunter wrapped an arm around Jess’s expanding waistline. Since the last time I had seen them, her pregnancy seemed to have hit fast forward.

“What you going to do, Carter? Break your hand again?”

I touched Nick’s arm. “Don’t,” I whispered.

“Stop harassing my girlfriend,” Nick hissed. I saw his hands ball into fists. I didn’t want to see his hand back in a cast.

Hunter snorted. “Flavor of the week, Carter? I’m sure you can do better than my leftovers. Oh wait, probably not.”

Nick lunged. I grabbed onto his shirt. At that exact moment, the nurse opened the door.

“Olivia Ryans?”

I stood up, keeping a death grip on Nick’s shirt. As we walked by Hunter and Jess, Nick rammed into Hunter’s shoulder. Hunter stumbled slightly, but turned and watched us walk through the door.

“I hope you didn’t dislocate my shoulder!” Hunter called as the door started to swing shut. “I’ll have to send you another bill!”

Nick turned around, ready to pounce. I pushed him down the hallway. The nurse led us into an exam room.

“The doctor will be with you shortly,” she said, shutting the door.

Nick paced around like a caged panther. “I’m going to end up smashing his face in the ground,” Nick said. I sighed.

“He’s gone; just forget about it. Hopefully I’ll be rid of him soon,” I said. Nick stopped and looked at me.

“What did he mean about another bill?”

I made a face. I had paid Hunter’s hospital bill myself; I didn’t think Nick would have taken Hunter’s threatening note very well.

“Oh that,” I said. “It was nothing. He sent the bill for his broken nose and a note and I paid it. I really don’t want you to have to get involved.”

“I got involved in this way before that,” Nick said. “He hurt you and he will get his,”

“Nick,” I sighed. He sat down on the doctor’s swivel chair. He duplicated my sigh.

“I’m sorry, you don’t need this right now,” he admitted.

We waited in silence for several long minutes. The few times that I had seen my doctor, I had quickly come to realize that he was notoriously behind.

I watched as Nick hit his knee with the reflex tool. I laughed.

“Reflexes like a cat,” he said. He tapped my knee, it jerked outwards.

“Very good.”

He stood up and began to look at the other tools around the room. My doctor was a general physician and gynecologist. Nick held up a uniquely shaped wand.

“Damn, he’s got a dildo in here,” Nick said.

“It’s not a dildo,” I said laughing.

“What is it? A microphone?” Nick put it closer to his face.

“I wouldn’t do that,” I said sweetly.

“Why?”

“That’s for ultrasounds.”

Nick raised an eyebrow. “What type of ultrasounds?”

I smirked. “Internal female exams.”

Nick’s eyes widened. He quickly put it down.

Before Nick could get into any more trouble, the doctor walked in.

Saved by the stethoscope, I thought.