Chapter 5: A Choice
1238 Words
-Harper-
Coming to work the next day, I felt a little anxious. I feared my father might be waiting in every hallway I came by, but so far, he hadn’t appeared, and I was relieved about that.
“Doctor Vinson!” I looked over my shoulder as a young nurse called out to me.
“Yes?”
“You have a patient in your office,” she informed me.
“What? But I don’t have a patient until eight,” I responded.
She looked a bit nervous, and I couldn’t figure out why. I hoped it wasn’t Rich playing some prank on me in order to get me alone in my office with him. I wished I could say he hadn’t done it before, but it wasn’t the case.
“He said it was urgent and you knew he was coming.”
“It’s all right,” I replied. “I will go see who it is.”
Don’t be Rich or my father, I begged, as I grabbed the handle and took a deep breath before opening the door.
“F*ck me,” I whispered.
Archer turned around in the chair he was sitting on and then smiled darkly.
“I would love to, my sweet Harper,” he teased.
I quickly closed the door, keeping my hand on it while I glared at him.
“What the heck are you doing here?!” I growled as I marched over to him, throwing my stuff down on the way.
He quickly got up from the chair and faced me. He leaned back against my desk while crossing his arms while this annoying and enticing smile played on his lips.
“I told you I would come for you,” he declared.
“In a month! And guess what jerk! It has been over a month!” I exclaimed.
“Oh, so you kept count?” he inquired, leaning closer.
I backed away, gulping. I had made it sound like I had been counting down, when that wasn’t true.
“Disappointed I didn’t come sooner?” he taunted.
“Of course not,” I said and crossed my arms. “I told you I have chosen not to think about you because I want nothing to do with you.”
His auburn eyes darkened, and once again I found it a little hard to swallow. He was just so intimidating and so... captivatingly attractive. He was wearing a tight dark grey t-shirt that showed more of the big wolf tattoo that started from around his stomach and went all the way up to his neck. He had taken his jacket off, but still had his guns on him, as always, and he wore these dark leather pants and dark boots. Everything about him screamed danger, and apparently that turned me on. I was just messed up in the head, I told myself. It was childhood traumas or maybe my daddy issues that made me want someone so dominantly scary as him.
But it was not real! I had to remind myself of that. Archer was bad news.
“Get out,” I told him.
“Are you going to come with me?” he asked calmly.
“I already gave you my answer!”
He shook his head.
“Are you going to come with me, sweet Harper, or am I going to have to take you with kicking and screaming? Because I promised you, I would,” he reminded me.
I walked closer and jabbed my finger into his chest.
“You don’t get to do anything to me! Or tell me what to do! I make my own choices, and I do not let myself be bullied, so you and my father, and my cousin, and whoever else out there who won’t leave me ALONE can go to hell!” I sneered angrily. “I am not leaving!”
“Is that your final answer?”
“Do I need to repeat myself?” I inquired, crossing my arms. “I. Am. Not. Leaving!”
He nodded slowly, then grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair. “Very well,” he conceded. “Just remember this moment.”
“What?” I questioned.
“The moment you had a choice,” he elucidated.
I looked at him, bewildered, and he took the opportunity to reach out and place his hand on my cheek. Oh my God, was all I could think as he touched me. It felt so good, I couldn’t help but close my eyes and let the feeling take control for a moment.
“So beautiful,” he murmured, making me look at him.
He took me by surprise and leaned down, kissing me deeply, and I... didn’t stop him. It was a goodbye kiss, I told myself. One last kiss, and I could finally let him go.
“You taste so good too,” he complimented, as he moved back a little and let his tongue run over my lower lip before crashing our lips together again. “Mineeee.”
I was about to correct him when suddenly Rich and the nurse who had informed me about the patient entered. She gasped a little, shocked, when she saw us, and I quickly turned around, seeing Rich give Archer a deadly glare.
“Celeste told me a strange man was in your office. I thought you might need help again,” Rich explained.
What a lame excuse, I thought, but anything so Rich could play the hero. I slowly ran my fingers over my lips, wiping Archer off me, before turning my body away from him.
“It’s fine. Really. Nothing to worry about,” I said, then looked over my shoulder. “You should go.”
He nodded without even fighting me, then pushed past Rich, who, being a jerk, just wouldn’t move, but he didn’t stand a chance against Archer and stumbled a few steps back.
“Thank you, Celeste,” I said, and the sweet young nurse, who looked starstruck by Archer, quickly ran out of the room.
I turned my attention to Rich now, and we just looked at each other for a while.
“What?” I snapped.
“Do you kiss all your patients?” he inquired.
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous,” I retorted.
“Oh, I am being ridiculous? You know how unprofessional that was, right?” he persisted.
“And that should come from you,” I shot back.
He narrowed his eyes slightly and shook his head. “Who is he?” he pressed.
“No one! And why do you even care? I already told you I wasn’t interested, so I don’t see why you are trying to pry into my personal life.”
He didn’t look like someone I should be pushing right now, but I felt so confused at the moment.
“We will see,” Rich said.
“What?”
“When I see that boyfriend of yours in the hospital again, I will have him kicked out,” he threatened.
“You can’t do that!” I exclaimed. And why did I not deny he was my boyfriend?
“I can,” he asserted, then walked out, slamming the door behind him.
“Arsehole!” I yelled after him, finding a small rubber ball and threw it at the door.
- Writer
