I stand in front of him, hands curled into fists, not knowing what to say, yet feeling that I’ve lost.
The sound of my phone ringing gets my attention and I answer it, giving him a baleful look. “Alex.”
“Nurse Alexandra, you forgot one of the containers in the car.”
I blink upon hearing Dr. Greer’s voice from the other end and run my fingers through my hair in quick agitated movements, my eyes going to the bag on the counter and I groan internally on seeing that there are only two containers in there. “I’m so sorry about this! Why don’t you—”
He cuts me off. “I’m in front of your building.”
“I—” My shoulders slump in embarrassment. “I’ll buzz you in.”
I give him the floor number and apartment number and quickly press the buzzer.
“Are we having a guest?” Damien looks at me and I see the sharp look in his eyes.
“One of the doctors I work with. He gave me a ride back.” I glance toward the door. “You have nothing to worry about. He won’t come in.”
Damien doesn’t say anything but he looks tense.
A quick rap on the front door has me jumping to my feet and rushing toward it. The living room is out of sight so I don’t expect Damien to be seen.
“Dr. Greer!”
He looks composed, not even a little indignant that he had to come back. There’s a Styrofoam container in his hand and he holds it out.
My cheeks are red. “I’m so sorry for this!”
He tilts his head. “It was no trouble.” A pause, “So, this is—”
“Harris?”
Damien’s voice makes both of us freeze and before I can so much as move, he’s behind me, peering at Dr. Greer, a smirk playing on his lips. “Well, I’ll be damned.”
And Dr. Greer, who is known for his never changing impassive expression, looks shocked. “You?!”
“You two know each other?” I stare between them, taken aback.
It’s as if my words make the doctor realize that I still exist and then I see something akin to fury enter his face as he snarls at Damien. “What the hell are you doing in Alex’s house?”
Damien blinks slowly and then delight enters his eyes as he glances at me and then back to him, a slow dawning realization in his tone. “No.” He looks positively gleeful. “This is your—?“
Dr. Greer’s face goes pale and before Damien can finish his sentence, he is grabbed by the front of his shirt and yanked outside into the hallway, past me, and the door slams shut in their wake.
I stand gaping at the closed door, stunned beyond belief at the series of events which have just taken place.
I can hear murmurs in the hallway and for a moment, I don’t know what to do. Then I remember the way Dr. Greer pulled Damien out and I think of the stitches and worry floods me and I pull open the door. “Don’t hurt him. He’s—”
I stop and stare at the scene before me.
Both men are standing a little further down, with the doctor having his arms crossed across his chest while Damien is grinning widely. Dr. Greer sees me first and an uneasy expression crosses his face before he gives a warning look to Damien who just shrugs.
“Mon chéri, go back inside. It’s cold,” he calls out. I ignore my bare feet, container still in hand, and I approach them.
“Dr. Greer, Damien has injuries. I don’t think it’s a good idea to haul him around like that, no matter the circumstances. He’s under my care.”
Dr. Greer gives me a pained look before studying Damien. “They’re all looking for you.”
“But you’re not going to tell them where I am, are you?” Damien’s tone is pleasant but there is an edge to it, dangerous undercurrent lurking just below the surface.
“I should,” Dr. Greer hisses out. “You knew I’d been loo—”
He doesn’t continue the sentence and Damien just looks even more delighted. “Oh, do finish that sentence.”
“Bastard.”
If I've been shocked beyond belief at this sudden change in the doctor’s personality, I don’t show it, instead reaching them and tugging on Damien’s arm. “If you guys have to talk, do it inside. I don’t want my patient getting sick.”
Dr. Greer smirks at that and his eyes meet Damien’s. “Patient, huh?”
This is a whole new side of this man that I’m seeing and being bewildered doesn’t even begin to describe it. Damien gives him a thin smile and then wraps his arm around my shoulders. “Help me back, mon chéri.”
I give him a suspicious look especially when I see the triumph in his eyes as he glances over his shoulder toward the bristling doctor, but I still help him inside. I’m not surprised to see Dr. Greer follow us inside.
“Are you okay?” I ask Damien, anxiously. “Let me look at your stitches—”
“I’ll do it,” Dr. Greer says from behind me, irritation present in his voice.
I glance up at him before nodding. “I’ll bring the first aid kit.”
He approaches the sofa and I catch him looking around with a strange curiosity. Shaking it off as him being weird, I bring out the kit and see him studying the stitches on Damien’s torso.
“You did these?” he asks.
I nod.
“They’re well done.” His voice is approving and I blush.
Damien just makes a face. “Mon chéri, I much prefer your gentle touch to this brut—Fuck!”
Dr. Greer gives him a wicked smile, not looking repentant in the least. “I’m sorry. Did that hurt?”
I look between the two and wonder what’s going on. Dr. Greer didn’t seem very happy to see Damien in my apartment and I can’t glean anything from their half sentences. A normal person would assume that maybe the doctor was jealous but it wasn’t jealousy I saw in his eyes but that same strange protectiveness.
I sigh, rubbing the bridge of my nose. “Damien, stay still.” I hesitate, before adding, “Dr. Greer, would you like something to drink, coffee perhaps?”
His hands, which are pushing and prodding Damien’s stomach, still and I don’t see the expression on his face but his tone is soft in a way I would attribute to grief before he says, “Thank you, yes.”
“Make me one, too, darling—Shit!” Damien yelps, glaring at Dr. Greer. “Watch it, or I’ll conveniently forget what you asked me to do.”
I don’t hear a single peep out of them by the time I return with the coffee.
“How do you two know each other?”
It’s Damien who answers, throwing his arm around Dr. Greer’s shoulders. “We’re old friends.”
“Don’t touch me,” Dr. Greer responds, coldly.
“You two don’t act like any friends I know,” I say, hesitantly.
“How do you know him?” Dr. Greer asks, suddenly.
I recall what he said to Damien when he saw him. I frown, aware that I’m missing out on something. “Damien saved me from the mugger. And he got hurt later so I offered him a place to crash.”
That’s as close to the truth as I can get. Despite Damien not wanting to let anyone know that he’s here and his relationship with the doctor, I don’t know how much he would want me to share.