Free Notorious D.O.C. (Hope Sze medical mystery) by Melissa Yi, Melissa Yuan-Innes Page B

myself.
    He took a step closer, staring into my
eyes like he was remembering things a lot hotter than my old T-shirts. I could
feel the warmth of his body even though he hadn't touched me.
    I started babbling. "We grew
sunflowers in front of our house one year, but the birds ate all the
seeds."
    He didn't move any closer, but didn't
move away, either. "I remember."
    I frowned. "That was before I knew
you. I think my dad planted them when I was, like, in grade eight."
    "I remember you telling me about
them."
    That was the other thing about Ryan, his
memory for details. Like once I pointed out a postcard of a Valentine in the
sand on the beach. When V-Day came up half a year later, he stamped my name in
the snow, surrounded by a giant heart. Oh. Ryan. The first, the great, the only
love of my life. I opened my mouth. "I lov—"
    Holy crap.
    I turned scarlet and tried to swallow my
tongue.
    He just stood and watched. He knew what I
was going to say. I'd only told him a million times when we were together. Then
he said, "It's okay, Hope."
    No. Totally not okay to almost tell your
ex-boyfriend you love him. Even if it was practically a reflex. I turned my
head, swallowing hard, and crossed the pavement toward the grassy knoll across
from the front entrance. A patient paused to stare at us, one hand steadying
her IV. I glared at her.
    Ryan kept pace with me. "Are you
still all right with me borrowing your computer? My netbook is pretty basic,
and if you've still got some of the programs I loaded up on yours—"
He paused. "Unless you've upgraded computers? I should have asked."
    He knew me so well. I hadn't upgraded or
deleted anything. I stared at my scuffed sandals. "No, I still have same
computer with the design programs and whatever else you put on it. It's all right.
I'm sorry." I'm sorry I almost said
I love you. I'm sorry I lost you. Wait, where did that come from? Did
near-strangling make your lose your frontal lobe? "Don't listen to me.
I'm—not myself."
    I heard him shrug. "Who would
be?" And when I opened my eyes again, he was looking at me such compassion
and something else, something so deep and familiar I had to turn away before I
could identify it as tenderness.
    That was when I saw Tucker.

 
 
 
    Chapter
9

 
    I leaped away from Ryan as if he'd given
me C. diff which, if you don't know
it, is not bacteria you want to get up close and personal with.
    Not that Ryan and I were doing anything
wrong, but guilt seared my gut anyway. Ryan reached for my arm, but I stepped
away and shook my head.
    "Hope?" said Ryan.
    "Not now."
    Ryan turned his head to follow mine. We
both watched Tucker push through the hospital doors and stride right over to
us, his brown eyes narrowed and jaw clenched.
    Tucker wasted no time. "Hey, Hope,
how's it going?"
    "Okay—"
    "Hi, I'm Tucker, who are you?"
His hand shot out between me and Ryan.
    Ryan glanced at me. Who is this guy?
    "John Tucker's one of the residents
in my year and, um...a good friend."
    Ryan nodded and shook the hand, stepping
forward and forcing Tucker's arm back. "Ryan Wu." Both of them squeezed
hard enough for their knuckles to blanch.
    Ryan paused. I realized he was waiting to
see if his name registered with Tucker, but of course, why would I mention my
ex-boyfriend? Tucker already had enough problems with Alex, who fell more into
the enemy with benefits category.
    I felt obligated to add, "Ryan and I
did undergrad together and, mm—" We
used to love each other, in every sense of the word .
    Tucker rocked back on his heels,
surveying Ryan. "Oh, an ex-boyfriend?" He placed a slight emphasis on
the ex .
    I knew I should cut out the testosterone
fest, but I was curious how Ryan would bury that one.
    Ryan didn't disappoint. He looked
straight at Tucker and said, "I'm not into labels."
    Tucker's lips tightened, but before he
could say anything, Ryan raised an eyebrow at me. Thanks to our old telepathy,
I realized he was signaling me to give him the key to my