Free Stitches and Scars by Elizabeth A. Vincent Page A

closer to her.
    Kate exhaled and tried to gather the courage she knew it would take to look him in the eyes and say what she wanted to. She pushed the ice pack off her foot in frustration.
    “Look Doctor …” she fumbled, trying to remember his last name, then realized she had never learned it. “Dr. Whoever-you-are. Thank you for stitching me up. I think my ankle is fine, and I’d like to get going now, if that’s okay.” She tried to remain calm and hold back her anger.
    His eyes looked pained, and for a second, Kate regretted her rudeness, but then remembered it wasn’t she who had the girlfriend. Her brief moment of weakness was shoved aside, and she let the frustration and anger return.
    Swinging her legs off the gurney, she stood. Her quick motion left her a little light-headed and she staggered slightly, trying to regain her balance. Ethan stood quickly to steady her with his arms, and a chill surged down Kate’s spine at his close proximity. Clenching her fists, she had to fight the urge to run her hands over his body. Her nose was filled with the scent of him and it clouded her thoughts. Realizing that she was still upset and knowing that if she stayed there another minute she would end up doing something she would regret, she stepped away from him. He was still silent. Kate didn’t chance looking up into his eyes again as she turned to leave.
    At the door, she paused. “Thank you,” she whispered, and then walked out.
    ***
    Kate didn’t remember the thirty-five minute drive home. She didn’t even remember walking up the stairs of her townhouse. Her mind was so jumbled she couldn’t think straight. Every time she began on one train of thought, her mind jumped to another.
    As Kate put her keys in the lock, she realized that her friends were probably on the other side of the door. She looked down at herself. She had left the hospital so quickly she’d forgotten to grab her shirt. Her shorts were filthy, and she was pretty sure her hair was a mess. If someone saw her and didn’t know what had happened, she was positive they would think she was attacked by a bear or something. Quickly redoing her hair, she tucked the loose strands behind her ear and then tried to rub off any dirt that was still on her skin.
    At the moment, Kate didn’t feel like explaining her appearance to her friends, and she was sure they would want all the details. All she wanted to do was be alone for a few minutes. She had to think through everything that had happened in the last two days and try to make some sense of it.
    “Hello?” Kate called out, announcing her arrival home. There was no response and she sensed the townhouse was empty, but she walked down the hall to Elle’s room just to make sure. A feeling of relief washed over her when she saw her roommate wasn’t there. At least now she’d have time to clean up and get hold of herself.
    With tired legs, Kate trudged to her room and grabbed some clean clothes. On her way to the bathroom, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She didn’t look quite as bad as she felt. Her muscles ached in protest as she leaned down to turn on the water. Kate knew in a few hours they would feel even worse, so she grabbed some ibuprofen from the medicine cabinet.
    After letting the tub fill with hot water, Kate stepped in. Luckily, she’d had stitches before and knew how to care for them. It would be at least another day until she could get them wet, so sponge bathing would have to do until then.
    She sat down in the low water and let the bottom half of her body relax while making sure to leave her upper torso above the water line. Sitting back, she breathed in the steam. The longer she sat, the quieter her mind became. While her thoughts still centered around Ethan, she had finally reached two conclusions. The first was that he was indeed interested in her—she wasn’t imagining that. He did almost kiss her, and she wasn’t imagining the spark or immediate connection they