Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 132491 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132491 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
“Briar hates me.”
There’s no fight behind the words. I’m a broken, defeated man; the house of cards I built so I could have a chance with her is in ruins at my feet.
“She’s angry.” Ellison’s voice is gentle. “But hate is a strong word, my friend. Give her some time and space.”
There’s already a chasm between us. Her expression when she turned to me after Pax told her the truth about me is seared into my memory. She didn’t even ask if it was true—she knew. My betrayal hurt her so badly that she could only look at me for a couple of seconds before she had to turn away.
Ellison starts unfastening one of the restraints at my wrists. “You have to keep resting. I don’t care if you feel like it. You haven’t eaten in a week and your body is still recovering.”
I don’t respond because I don’t care whether I’m resting or doing what I usually would. Briar won’t ever trust me again. I ruined the best thing I had.
Even though I knew I didn’t deserve her, I let her believe I was someone good. Someone she could trust. I’m no better than Pax or Virginia.
“I wanted to surgically remove your aromium implant,” Ellison says. “Dr. McClain talked me out of it. Both of us believe that even one more aromium switch will probably kill you. This last one came very close.”
I shrug. “It had to be done.”
Her eyes meet mine and I find the determination I know her for. “Nova, Niran and I all agreed that if you try to turn your aromium on again, we’ll sedate you and I’ll remove it.”
My brows drop. “What the fuck? That’s my decision.”
“We made it ours. The aromium switch has been moved to a secure location you won’t know about.”
I shake my head, disgusted that my closest friends were conspiring against me while I was laid up and drugged.
“We’ll revisit that later.” I sigh heavily, struggling to keep my eyelids open.
“Get some rest. You need to eat when you wake up next.”
My mind is a pretty fucked place to be at the moment, so it’s a relief to slip into the peaceful oblivion of sleep.
The next time I wake up, McClain is sitting in the chair next to me, a book in his hands.
“Good to see you awake,” he says, closing the book and setting it on the small table.
He stands, removing the stethoscope from around his neck, and says, “May I?”
I shrug, because who gives a fuck. He listens to my heart and lungs, seeming satisfied as he wraps the stethoscope around his neck again.
“You’re doing much better. The swelling seems to have subsided. Ellison told me about her conversation with you.”
“I’m not doing this.” I’m less groggy than I was the first time I woke up, and I get into a sitting position. “You fucked me over, and I’m not acting like you never left and everything’s like it was before.”
He looks about twenty-five years older than he did when I was first introduced to him by one of my college professors eight years ago. He was a guest lecturer in my premed program, and my professor wanted to get me on the radar of one of the leading research physicians in the world.
I was starstruck. He was maybe five feet, nine inches and a hundred and sixty pounds, with thick glasses and salt-and-pepper hair that always looked like it needed a trim. Soft spoken. But to me, he was a giant. A pioneer in his field. Any university in the world would have hired him in a heartbeat, but he was too passionate about his research to teach full-time.
“I know things are different now.”
He sits back down and I study him, his body still almost as emaciated as those of the Tiders I saw at the circle. The skin on his face doesn’t hang quite as much as when we first found him, which must mean he’s put on a little weight.
“What do you think of the flower?” I ask him.
He pushes his glasses up on his nose, his intent expression matching the one he used to have when we were working on the aromium project. After I interned with him the summer after my junior year, he helped secure my place in my top choice of medical schools.
I fell hook, line, and sinker for his bullshit. Basked in his compliments about my intelligence and strong work ethic. When he told me my genetic makeup, including my physical size, made me an ideal candidate to be part of the most exciting project he’d ever worked on, I jumped at the chance.
It landed me here. If I could go back, I’d do things very differently.
“There are a lot of promising components in the specimen plants and flowers. Briar has been a tremendous help studying them.”