Prescribed (The White Coat Series) by D.D. Parker

stained with a large red mark, he probably dropped a pizza slice right on his chest and didn’t even care to change. 
    I suddenly wanted to go to him and make him better. I felt like this was all my fault. And then I had to remind myself that it was Eric who crossed that unforgivable line, not me. I watched him as he realized I was no longer sitting with Court and Ryan. He looked around, a little panicked, and quickly got up, keeping his head down as he rushed off towards the mall exit. The whole time I stood there, camouflaged with the other mall folk, watching his shifty behavior from afar. I saw him disappear out into the parking lot, his head bowed down the whole time. 
    I walked back to the table, still confused at what I had just seen. Ryan asked if everything was ok and I just nodded it off and smiled. I wasn’t going to bring up my baggage for Ryan to know about, this was something I had to figure out on my own. 
    I just had no idea what I saw. Or who I just saw. 
    We didn’t stay at the mall for much longer since Ryan’s shift started shortly after. We parted ways, but not before Ryan held me in a hug that lasted a little longer than the average hug. I felt the heat radiating off his body, even through the thin layers of clothes between us, and wanted to stay with him. I knew that just by being around him, I could cope with whatever was ahead of me. 
    But Ryan had to go save lives and I had to go save myself. 
    By myself.

CHAPTER TEN

    Another week passed when I got the text message that would change everything. I was sitting on Courtney’s couch, catching reruns of the Maury show while I waited for my next class. I munched on some cinnamon toast crunch while I found out that he was, in fact, the father. The whole crowd erupted into boos, berating the man for having five other girlfriends and one boyfriend on the side. I wondered if I was a bad person for admiring his juggling skills. Apparently, he had been doing this for years, which I found pretty impressive that no one else noticed. Yeah, he was scum but at least he was talented scum. 
    “Ugh, I already saw this episode,” Courtney said, throwing herself down on the other end of the couch. Of course she would have seen the episode. 
    “What kind of person recognizes Maury reruns?” I asked, wondering how often my best friend actually left her apartment. Her skin was getting tanner so I knew she was stepping out of her cave for food at least, or her half Cuban heritage could have been kicking in.  
    “The awesome kind,” she said, reaching into the cinnamon toast crunch box and grabbing a handful. 
    “So what ever happened to Dr. Tight Ass?” Courtney asked, snatching the remote and changing the channel to a documentary on meerkats. 
    “Ryan? He’s good, he asked me to go out with him this weekend,” I said, unable to resist smiling at the thought of hanging out with Ryan. The past two weeks had helped me heal from Eric’s outburst. I found myself actually being excited for the future, and for the prospect of spending time with Ryan. We had talked a lot through text but his work schedule and my class schedule kept us from seeing each other. We also facetimed on certain occasions, his smile always lightening up the room even through the screen of an iPad. But not being able to be with him in person was still torture. Especially remembering how hot he was in that Express changing room. 
    As for Eric, we still hadn’t talked. He called my phone nonstop for the first four days, leaving message after message about how sorry he was and how horrified he was of his mistake. I texted him on the first day and I told him that I would forgive him but I also needed time. A lot of it. I knew I had to tell him something so that he wouldn’t do anything drastic. Eric may have been messed up, but he was also a very hopeful person. If I gave him something to look forward to, even if it was the slightest chance of me coming back, then it would calm him