Free Arsenic for the Soul by Nathan Wilson Page B

no need to
jump to conclusions. We’ll look into this matter. But Crenshaw is
right, we can’t let rumors spring up before we know precisely what’s going on.
When and where was the last patient you saw with these
lesions?”
    “ I was watching her
during…” Suicide watch. Her throat parched in terror. “I shouldn’t have left her
alone.”
    Vivian raced past bewildered nurses
toward the patient ward.
    “ Vivian! ”
    Bryan and Crenshaw pursued her but she
vanished around the corner like a bolt of lightning. She couldn’t
remember which room belonged to the patient; the awful knowledge
that she could be asphyxiating herself or worse taunted her. Vivian
pushed through the door and saw the patient resting in
bed.
    Bryan and Crenshaw piled in behind
her.
    “ What was she doing by
herself?!” Bryan howled. “You are never to leave a patient on suicide
watch by herself, am I perfectly clear? You can’t leave her bedside
until you’re relieved by another aide, not even for a second. We’re
lucky she didn’t hurt herself! Do you realize the damage you could
have caused?”
    “ I’m sorry.”
    “ Sorry doesn’t cut it. I
need to report this incident to the head of psychiatry.” Vivian’s
tongue folded in her mouth. She felt stupid for letting her out of
sight, but what was she to do?
    Bryan stomped away but Crenshaw
lingered. He looked Vivian up and down as if he was assessing a
failed specimen.
    The wicked curve of his lips said it
all.
    “ I’ve seen my share of
sloppy students but you take the prize. I’m giving you two months
at best before you slip up so horrendously that there’s no undoing
your mistakes. You’ll never make it through this program. You’ll be
out of this hospital on your ass faster than you can—”
    “ Vivian, just who I needed
to see!”
    They both looked up as Milo
approached. He was never without a smile, but he seemed ready to
sprout wings at the sight of Vivian.
    “ Hello, Crenshaw. I need to
borrow Vivian for a moment. You don’t mind, do you?”
    Crenshaw didn’t bother to reply. He
glared at Vivian and called for a nurse to take over the suicide
watch.
    “ Thanks for saving me back
there,” Vivian said as they put as much possible distance between
them and the surly surgeon.
    “ You didn’t need any
saving. You could handle him.”
    “ No, you don’t understand.
You saved me from stamping my fist on his forehead. That might
postpone my graduation, don’t you think?”
    Milo winked.
    “ Too right you
are.”
    Vivian was still ruminating
over Crenshaw’s warning. You’ll never make
it through this program.
    She knew better than to entertain
threats from a bitter old man. Still, a vulnerable part of her let
those warnings inside, and once they nested in her heart, they
grew. Too often she left doubts dismantle her dreams. This time
would be different.
    Crenshaw or not, she would show the
world what she was capable of.
    Milo held the door open for her,
revealing a lush paradise outside. The charming parks and castles
seemed an altogether different dimension from the
hospital.
    “ You should be on your way.
Get some rest and forget about what Crenshaw said today. Maybe skip
that extra cup of coffee and take a nap.”
    She wondered why he was gentle and
kind to her. Instinctively, those signals put Vivian on her guard.
She couldn’t get a read on this man or his aura.
    There was something almost inhuman
about Milo, as if he came from a different world. She marveled at
him.
    Once more, she lost herself in the
random details of his face that she didn’t see before. When the
sight of his lips made her squirm for him, she bolted for the door.
She needed to escape not only this hospital but this insanely
attractive and kindhearted man. Such a creature couldn’t possibly
exist.
    Such a creature would pose all kinds
of dangers.
    “ Yeah, a little rest would
take my mind off things.” She smiled and retreated one step at a
time. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Milo. Take