Lucky Star

by Allie Everhart

  "You okay?" the nurse asks, probably noticing the slump in my shoulders when I saw Corbin wasn't here.

  "I'm just tired."

  "Let's get you back into bed so you can rest."

  She positions the wheelchair next to the bed and just as she's about to help me, I hear Corbin's voice.

  "I've got her," he says.

  I look up and see Corbin beside me, that gorgeous smile on his freshly-washed face. He didn't have time to shave but I like his five o'clock shadow. It's hot. And that smile. Damn sexy.

  He's changed into scrubs, which I've always thought were ugly but on him? Not ugly. At all. They're short sleeve so his arms are exposed and damn, this guy works out.

  "Star?"

  My eyes were stuck on his biceps but I quickly revert them back to his face. "Yeah?"

  "Let's get you in bed."

  I immediately imagine his words meaning something totally different than he intended.

  "You okay?" he asks, bending down in front of me.

  "Yeah. Why?"

  "You got all flushed. Your cheeks are red."

  "Really? Huh, that's strange. I feel okay."

  My face is red because I was fantasizing about being with him. Why was I thinking about him that way? He's my doctor, or a doctor. And he hit me with his car! The last thing I should be thinking about is having sex with the guy who hit me with his car.

  "You're starting to worry me." He shoves the sheet back, then picks me up from the wheelchair and carefully lays me in bed and pulls the covers over me.

  "I could've done that myself," I tell him. "It's not like my legs are broken."

  "Your knee had a deep cut that needed stitches. Keeping weight off it will keep the swelling down as it heals which is why they'll be sending you home with crutches. And they want you using the wheelchair until the dizziness subsides."

  "How long am I going to be here?"

  "Probably another day. Depends on how you're doing."

  I look around and see the nurse is gone. I didn't even hear her leave.

  "You really should call your parents," Corbin says as he sits down in the chair. "They should be here."

  "You need to finish what you were saying before. About what I said when I was out of it."

  "I told you about punching Dukin."

  I laugh. "I can't believe I did that. Did he get a black eye?"

  "Not really. Just a little bruising."

  "Why do you hate the guy so much?"

  "I don't hate him. I just don't respect him. He uses the doctor thing to get women. Even wears his scrubs to the bars."

  "I'm sure a lot of doctors do that."

  "I don't. I don't want a woman dating me just because I'm a doctor." He smiles. "At least you asked me out before you knew."

  "Wait—what?" I ask, my face heating up. "I asked you out?"

  "Twice. But you had no idea I was a doctor so I'm taking that to mean that my career choice doesn't matter to you, which is refreshing actually. It's hard to find—"

  "Okay, stop. When did this happen? When did I ask you out?"

  "When you first woke up and then again in the middle of the night."

  "You're lying."

  "Why would I lie about that?"

  "Fine. Whatever. So what did I say?"

  "You called me ruggedly handsome," he says with a laugh, "then asked if I'd be your cowboy."

  My jaw drops, then snaps shut. "I did not say that. I can't even imagine those words coming out of my mouth."

  "Then last night, you asked me to get into bed with you. You said we could skip the date and get right to the good stuff. Those were your exact words." He cracks up laughing. "And you kept calling me Hot Stuff."

  I cover my face. "Please tell me you're making this up."

  "Sorry, but it's all true. I wasn't going to tell you but you made me." He pauses. "Do girls your age really call guys Hot Stuff? That sounds like something an old lady would say to a male stripper."

  "It is." I pull the sheet over my head. "My aunt goes to those male strip shows in Vegas and calls all the guys Hot Stuff. I must've been thinking of her."

  "Hey." He takes the sheet off my head. "Don't worry about it. People say strange things when they're taking meds. The drugs affect everyone differently. And apparently, they make you a little flirty."

  "A little?" I pull the sheet over my head again. "It sounds like I was trying to rip your clothes off last night."

  "You tried but I didn't let you."

  I lower the sheet enough to peek at him. "You're lying. I didn't have the strength to rip your clothes off."

  "True, but you did try to unbutton my shirt."

  "Ugh," I moan. "Please tell me that's it. I didn't do anything else, did I?"

  "No, that was it."

  I turn away from him on my side. "Sorry about that. I honestly had no clue what I was doing or saying. I don't know what it is with me and meds but we just don't get along." I sneeze, which is followed by another.

  "Here." Corbin sets the box of tissues beside me. "The nurse left some cold meds over there on the table. Would you like them?"

  "Are you kidding?" I turn back to him. "You want me to act even crazier? No more meds."

  "I'm just saying, if you need them, they're right here." He points to the table next to the bed. "Why don't you get some rest?"

  "Are you going home now?"

  "No. I'll be here when you wake up."

  "Corbin, you really don't have to stay. You've been here long enough. Maybe you could just stop by and check on me during your lunch break tomorrow. Or actually, forget it. You don't need to check on me. I'll be fine. Like you said, the hospital staff will take care of me."

  "I'm staying. Now go to sleep." He gets up and pulls the blanket over me. It's sweet and reminds me of when I was a kid and wished someone would tuck me into bed at night. My parents never did. They were either at work or out with their friends or watching TV in the living room. I had to put myself to bed.

  I close my eyes and try to sleep but I keep thinking about what I said. Did I really ask Corbin out? Twice?

  "What did you say?" I ask, keeping my eyes closed.

  "About what?"

  "When I asked you out, what did you say?"

  "I respectfully turned you down."

  "Yeah. Obviously." A nervous laugh follows as I adjust my pillow.

  I keep quiet after that and try to sleep but I keep wondering if he would've said yes if I'd asked him when I wasn't under the influence of pain meds. I doubt he would. He's a rich doctor. He wouldn't date someone like me. And I wouldn't date someone like him. Well, I might, but still, I'm sure I'm not his type.

  Chapter Five

  Corbin

  Star's been asleep for an hour. I haven't left her side. I've just sat here, watching her, making sure she's okay. Having reviewed her charts, I know she'll be fine but I can't make myself leave her. I feel so much guilt for what I've done. How could I be so careless? I'm never careless. I wasn't allowed to be. My father expected better, and so I've always been cautious. But yesterday I wasn't and that one slip-up could've caused Star her life.

  She turns on her side, still asleep, and I notice the bruise on the side of her face. The one caused by me being careless. But even with the bruise, her face is still strikingly beautiful. Flawless skin. Golden brown hair. Those deep chestnut eyes.

  She's such a stark contrast from Lauren with her porcelain white skin and pale blue eyes, her face long and thin with bony cheeks. Lauren is constantly complemented for her appearance. People tell her she has the looks of a runway model with her extremely thin body and long legs. I think she's far too thin but when I tell her that she scolds me and tells me I shouldn't comment on her size. But it's less about her appearance and more about her health. To maintain that level of thinness she barely eats, but she needs to in order to keep up with such a demanding job with long hours.

  Why am I thinking about Lauren right now? And why I am comparing her to Star? Why am I even loo
king at Star this way? She's a girl I hit with my car. I can't be attracted to her. It's wrong. Isn't it?

  There's a knock on the door and when I turn I see Lauren standing there wearing her white lab coat, her straight blond hair pulled up in a bun.

  "Corbin!" she says in a hushed but demanding tone, the kind you'd use when calling a dog to come inside. She always uses that tone with me and I'm sick of it. But out of habit I respond, finding myself already out of my chair and meeting her at the door.

  "What is it?"

  "What the hell is going on?" she hisses.

  "Not here," I say quietly as I go past her out to the hall.

  Lauren pivots on her heels and strides over to me. "Are you seriously going to just sit there all day with that girl? You're missing work!"

  "That's not your concern," I tell her, folding my arms over my chest. "What I do is none of your business anymore."

  "It sure as hell is," she says, keeping her voice down and moving closer. "I don't know what's going on with you but you are done acting this way. You're going to go home, get showered, put on some decent clothes, and get to the clinic. And when your shift is over, I need you to pick up my things at the dry cleaners. Oh, and I need you to go down to the storage locker and get my suitcase for our trip this weekend."

  "We're not going this weekend," I remind her. "And I'm not getting your dry cleaning. I'm done taking orders from you, Lauren." I notice her thin red lips pursing in anger. She's not used to me talking to her this way. "We're no longer together. You'll need to start doing your own errands."

  A man comes around the corner with a yellow lab. It's one of the therapy dogs brought in to cheer up the patients.

  "What's his name?" I ask the man.

  "Buddy." The man smiles and stops next to Lauren. The dog goes up to her and sniffs her leg.

  She shudders and moves aside. She hates dogs and refused to let me have one. I didn't fight her on it because with my residency schedule I didn't have time for a dog, but now that I have regular hours and am no longer with Lauren, I could actually get one.

  "Hey, Buddy," I say, petting the dog. His nose rises, trying to lick my hand. "Going to visit some patients?"

  "We're starting here today," the man says, "then we'll head over to pediatrics." He turns toward Lauren. "Would you like to pet him?"

  "God no," she mutters, taking a step back as the dog looks up at her, tail wagging.

  The man tugs on the dog's leash. "Let's go, Buddy."

  They continue on to the nurses' station.

  "Cute dog," I say.

  "You know I hate dogs," Lauren snaps. "Back to what I was saying. My dry cleaning should be ready by five but if it's not, you'll need to go back later. I need my navy skirt for tomorrow."

  "I'm not getting your dry cleaning."

  She huffs. "I don't have time to stand here and argue about this. Just get the damn dry cleaning and we'll talk later."

  "I'm not doing your errands, Lauren. And there's no need to talk later. This relationship is over. There's nothing more to say."

  "This is NOT over. You're simply not thinking straight because of the damage you've caused from your careless behavior."

  I know I was careless and I already feel terrible about it. I don't need to be reminded of it. My father's already given me a lecture and now Lauren's doing it. I'm starting to realize the two of them are very alike. She's condescending and controlling like my father. So why did I ever go out with her? Was I so used to being treated that way that I didn't even notice when Lauren did it? If so, it just proves how badly I needed to get out of this relationship.

  "My thinking is very clear when it comes to this," I tell her. "And my decision is made. We're not getting back together."

  "You've lost your damn mind," she whispers as a nurse passes behind her. She waits until the woman is gone, then says, "First you hit a girl with your car and now you're missing work, babysitting her? Corbin, you have to admit, that's not you. It's obvious you're having some kind of mental breakdown."

  "It's not a breakdown. It's a break-THROUGH. I'm finally waking up and seeing how destructive this relationship was. It needed to end, and now it has. As for Star, staying with her and making sure she's okay is the right thing to do. Ignoring her and going back to work is what YOU would do, which is why you expect me to do the same. It's just another example of how you really don't know me. You never did. You didn't want to. You'd rather turn me into the man you want me to be instead of accepting who I am."

  "Enough of this psychobabble," she scoffs. "I have rounds in ten minutes." She storms off, then turns back as I'm heading to Star's room. "What are you doing? You're not seriously going back in there, are you?"

  "Goodbye, Lauren." I open the door and go in Star's room, my anger and frustration with Lauren immediately easing when I see Star. She's still asleep, a slight smile on her face that makes me wonder what she's dreaming about. Maybe her Hot Stuff doctor.

  I laugh to myself when I think about that. She was so out of it yesterday, saying all those things about me. It was even funnier seeing her reaction when I told her what she'd said. If it'd been Lauren, she would've scolded me for telling her what she said, saying I should've spared her the embarrassment and acted as though it never happened. But Star begged me to tell her, then laughed about it.

  Why do I keep comparing those two? Lauren is history and Star is a patient. Well, she's not MY patient but I should still think of her in a strictly professional manner.

  My phone rings and I quickly exit the room to keep from waking up Star.

  "Hello?"

  "Corbin, it's your father. I'd like to meet you for lunch today. What time is your break at the clinic?"

  "I can't meet for lunch. And I'm not at the clinic. I took today off."

  "Why is that? Are you not feeling well?"

  "I'm with Star. I want to keep an eye on her. Make sure she continues to recover."

  "You're still with the girl? Corbin, stop acting like a fool and get your ass back to work."

  "I'm not leaving her until I know she's okay. I hit her with my damn car. I'm not just going to leave her here alone. She has no family in town. No friends."

  "That's HER problem, not yours. She has a staff of nurses to care for her. It is not your responsibility to watch over this girl. In fact, doing so could be to your detriment."

  "Because I'm missing work? I've already talked to my boss at the clinic and he completely understands."

  "That's not what I was referring to, although it does reflect poorly on you to miss two days of work when you're not even ill. But what I meant is more serious than that. By staying with this girl, you're admitting guilt. You're proving to the court that you're responsible for this."

  "I AM responsible. I didn't look before turning. And this isn't going to court. She's not going to sue me."

  "Don't be an idiot. Of course she will. She's young. Has no job. The girl needs money."

  "She's not the type of person who would do that. I've gotten to know her and she's not like that."

  "All it takes is one lawyer to show up and tell her just how much she could make off of this and soon she'll be exaggerating her injuries in hopes of a bigger check. She probably already has lawyers calling, offering to take her case. Any lawyer in town would love to take on the Sterlings."

  "Dad, relax. That's not going to happen." I knew he'd bring this up and I'm not going to get into it with him. But like Lauren, he'll keep fighting me until I do what he asks. "So about lunch. Friday might work. I'll have to check my schedule."

  "Friday doesn't work. Thomas will be out of town. He can meet today at noon. He'd like to meet somewhere close to his office."

  "Thomas? Your lawyer?" I blow out a breath. "I'm not meeting with your lawyer. Star is not going to sue me. This is ridiculous. You're getting way too involved in this. I'm an adult, and if I feel I need a lawyer, for this or anything else, I will find one myself."

  "Don't be so goddamn stubborn. This is serious,
Corbin. You could lose everything. I don't care what this girl says. She may seem all sweet and innocent now but once a lawyer's involved, she'll turn on you. I guarantee it. We have to be prepared. And you need to get out of her room. You not only admit guilt being there but might say something she could use against you later."

  "I'm not talking about this. I don't need your permission to stay with her and I'm not meeting with your lawyer. Have a good day." I end the call and when he calls back, I let it go to voicemail.

  "Sterling."

  I look up from my phone and see Leo walking up to me. He's in the residency program with Lauren.

  "How's it going, man?" He gives me his usual big, happy smile. Leo's one of those guys that doesn't let stuff get him down. He had a heart defect as a kid and spent most of his childhood in the hospital. He's fine now but the experience taught him life's too short to let things bother you. So no matter what's going on in his life he's always smiling. Because of that, Lauren can't stand him. She said all his smiling isn't professional. She thinks doctors should be serious and never show their lighter side. I totally disagree.

  I point to Star's room. "You heard about the accident, right?"

  "No. What happened?"

  "Lauren didn't tell you?"

  "She hasn't said anything about you in weeks. I was thinking maybe you two broke up."

  "We did, but it happened yesterday."

  "Oh. Sorry to hear that."

  "Nothing to be sorry about. It needed to end. Lauren doesn't agree. She hasn't accepted the breakup yet."

  "Is she moving out?"

  "I told her to, but you know Lauren. It has to be on her schedule, not mine. And I can't just kick her out. She needs time to find a place."

  "That'll be awkward. Broken up but still living together? Can't she go stay with her parents?"

  "She could, but I doubt she will. She'll want to drag this out to get back at me for breaking up with her."

  "Don't take this the wrong way but I could never figure out why you two were together."

  "Really?" I ask, surprised he never told me this before. Leo's not a close friend but he's a good enough friend that we can talk openly about stuff. "Why couldn't you see us together?"