Forbidden Doctor - R. S. Elliot

Chapter One

Stevie

There was paint peeling in the corner of one wall, near the ceiling.

Someone had tried to cover it with another coat of whitewash, but I could already see where it was beginning to flake. Lying on my new, stiff mattress, I couldn’t help but wonder if the last occupant of this apartment was as irritated by that flaking paint as I was.

Boxes were all around me.

Some were open, some were closed, and some were tipped sideways, vomiting the contents of all my previous lives onto the floor in front of me. I should have already unpacked. I should have already gone shopping. It wasn’t that simple, though, because I knew what was waiting for me the next day, and it sapped all the strength I might have had. I imagined the energy flowing out of me, pooling over the sides of the mattress and seeping into the carpeting. Maybe it would drip down to the floor below and make the inhabitants’ own paint peel and chip with the damp depression it spread.

The shrill ringing of my phone pulled me out of my dark thoughts, and I checked the name lighting up on the screen, fully prepared to ignore whoever it may be.

Mom. I couldn’t ignore her.

I swiped across the screen and brought the cold glass to my ear.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey, yourself,” Mom answered. “How's the new place look?”

“Oh, you know,” I replied, sitting up with a groan. “It’s not quite The Ritz, but I’m sure I’ll make do.”

I shuffled off the end of my bed and plodded into the kitchen. Even through my socks, I could feel the smooth chill of the linoleum. It was only matched by the cold air that hit my face when I pulled open the refrigerator door. I don’t know what I expected to find, but it was completely empty. I should have known it would be—I hadn’t stepped foot near a supermarket. I guess the old habit of hoping something had magicked its way in there was useless.

“Seriously, Stevie, are you going to be okay tomorrow?”

Mom’s voice was concerned. She was always concerned when it came to me, like she didn’t have five million other things to worry about.

“I’m going to be fine,” I responded with a huff. “And if the big bad wolf tries to huff and puff and blow my house down, I’ll tell him to stuff a brick in it.”

“Please don’t,” Mom said with a chuckle. “The cost of getting those teeth replaced really would be too much for you to handle!”

I giggled and I heard the sigh of tension that my mother let out.

“I really will be fine, Mom. It’s just one brunch.” I heard the telltale noise of a horn honking, and pop music blasted from the laundromat in my hometown. I glanced at my watch and frowned. “Are you headed to work? I thought they took you off of Friday shifts?”

“They needed the cover, and I’d be lying if I said we couldn’t use the money.”

“Mom, you can’t wear yourself out like this,” I grumbled, but I knew it was no use.

The woman would do what she thought she had to in order to make ends meet. I just hoped she wouldn’t run herself into the ground before she got a day off.

“I’m fine. You just worry about yourself. Besides, I don’t remember you taking any time off in the last six years?”

“That’s different, Ma. I was a student. I needed the best grades I could get. I wasn’t in my fifties with three kids and high blood pressure!”

“First of all, there’s only two children at home—and both of your brothers are sixteen and responsible enough to look after the house for a few hours while I work. Secondly, I am fifty-one, so stop making me sound like the crypt keeper.”

“And your blood pressure?”

“An added perk of being a fifty-one-year-old nurse with three kids” was her cheeky answer.

If I thought it would do any good, I’d drive back to Connecticut and wring her neck. As it was, I knew it would only serve to make her workday more tiring.

“Mom…” I wanted to argue but couldn’t find the words.

“Stevie, honey, I’m at the hospital now, so I’m going to have to let you go. Find yourself some dinner and remember to bite your tongue around your father! Love you!”

She was gone before I could tell her I loved her too.

In an ideal world, I would become the head of my own cardiovascular department. I’d make enough money so that