Page 99 of Asystole

“Wasting more of my time,” the man finishes. It sucks that he’s such an asshole because the man is seriously hot.

Standing, I face the impeccably dressed surgeon. I want to hate him for being hard on Chase, but there’s also an undeniable amount of respect for him, knowing he’s the best there is in his field and that he once suffered through everything Chase is going through now…well, maybe not all of it.

“I’m afraid that’s my fault, Dr. Porter. My apologies. I didn’t mean to keep him.”

He arches a brow.

“You didn’t seem all that inclined to let him go, either,” he muses.

It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell him that if I had my way, I’d never let Chase go, but then I remember that Chase isn’t out. Hell, Chase is barely in.

Nodding, I give him a tight smile.

“That’s what friends are for.”

“Mmm,” he hums, and I’m not quite sure what it means.

Aware that all of Chase’s colleagues are watching this interaction, I remove myself from the conversation.

“Well, I’m going to go check in with my teammate and look over the flight logs and approaching weather. Chase, I’ll see you at ho—I’ll see you later.”

As I make my way to the flight locker, a mix of emotions swirls within me. The biggest of them is anxiety, because if Chase is making plans for his future, I damn sure want to be a part of them.

Chapter 36

Chase

I’ve never been so relieved to be done with a shift in my life. I know it’ll start over again tomorrow, but for now, I’m done, and I just want to go home and crawl into Logan’s bed.

I never even got a chance to thank him for coming to find me and pulling me out of my spiral in the cafeteria earlier.

A call from my dad stops me on my way to the flight locker. I’d hoped to tell Logan goodbye in person before heading out, but it’s always better just to take this particular call when it comes in because I’ll know no peace until I call him back.

“Hey, Dad,” I say, turning left into a small alcove in the hallway.

“I got a call from Declan Porter today. Said he’s got concerns,” he says, jumping right to the heart of the matter. “What’s going on, Chase?”

Too tired to watch my tone, I turn aggressive.

“I miss one case in the OR, and he felt the need to call my mommy and daddy? What the fuck? Does he call everyone else’s parents too?”

“I highly doubt anyone else is missing their OR start times,” my dad barks. “And he called me as a courtesy to a colleague. He also informed me you have some choices to make, and I happen to agree with him. This is the big leagues, Chase, and you’re playing like it’s the minors.”

“You think I don’t know that? Jesus, all everyone does is remind me how high the stakes are, how lucky I am to be here, and how one screw-up could kill a person.”

“Remember who you’re talking to, son.”

“It’s not like I can forget, Dr. Matthews.”

“Watch your tone, Chase. Kendra called your mother today,” he says, totally giving me whiplash with the topic change.

“And?” I prompt.

“And what is going on? Have you gotten caught up in drugs? You and Kendra have been together forever, and you suddenly decide to end things? She was very upset and suggested you’d been cheating on her.”

My vision is painted red as I completely lose my temper.

“WHY DO YOU GIVE A SHIT ABOUT THAT NOW?” I yell. “You’re the one who had all these stupid rules in place to try to keep me in line. You’re the one who forced me to pick a specialty I don’t want to do; you’re the one who said Kendra and I couldn’t move in together, which I’m convinced is a big fucking part of the reason she moved to Florida. You made us play the waiting game, constantly harping on about not starting a family in residency, leaving us to do the long-distance thing for twelve fucking years, Dad! I’ve been so goddamn focused on living your dream, I’ve totally forgotten what mine even is. But what I’ve come to realize is that Kendra and trauma surgery aren’t it.”