Page 36 of Protective Love

"Markus!" I call out, hoping he'll slow down for me to catch up to him.

He glances over his shoulder, spotting me and his brows raise as he stops, waiting for me to get closer to him before he continues.

"I was hoping you could check on Jaylen King for me within the next hour or so," I tell him, following him into his office at the end of the hallway and closing the door behind me.

"How come?"

"Well, I went in there a moment ago, and he was sitting up, holding himself up on his arms." His attention drifts away from the papers in his hand as his shocked gaze meets mine.

"He had full range of motion of his body?" he asks.

"Well, I'm not sure about his whole body, but definitely from the torso up. He said he was trying to get some water, but he doesn't seem to be in a good mood and wanted some time alone. I wasn't able to check on him, but I think that his sour mood may be because he's in pain from pushing himself to move so quickly."

He frowns at me for a moment and then nods his head.

"I will go and check on him briefly and I will check his stitches, but Rory, you have a job to do, no matter whether the patient is in a good mood or not, you can't let that deter you from doing what you need to do."

My skin prickles with discomfort at his harsh tone, his words laced with disappointment.

"Yes sir, I understand," I mutter, pushing my hands into the pockets of my scrubs.

I walk back out his office, ducking my head to hide my tinged cheeks as embarrassment flushes through me due to being chastised.

"Hey, wait up!"

I turn around to find Lola practically skipping towards me with a sickly sweet smile plastered on her face.

"Where are you off to?" she asks, falling into step beside me.

"I'm going to check on Mr Krill and then probably take my first fifteen because it seems I have nothing to do today."

She glances around the hallway, smiling at a patient that's shuffling down the hall with a nurse at his side, and then she hooks her arm around mine and leans into me.

"Mind telling me why you're not in with the blonde charmer, also known as Mr Jaylen King?"

I nervously chuckle as I lean away from her and subtly remove her hold on my arm.

"He didn't seem to be in a good mood and wanted some time alone, so Markus is going to do some checks on him in a moment. Therefore, I have nothing else to do."

"I would offer to come and do nothing with you, but unfortunately, not all of us are lucky enough to only be assigned to two patients, one of which has been here for years and is likely never waking up."

I wince at her comment and although I don't think she meant for it to bother me, it does.

"You know I would rather be put to work and be run off my feet like the rest of you, working with multiple patients, right?"

"Girl, sorry if I offended you because it looks like I did," she says, smiling at me. "I'm just saying that you're lucky to have been assigned to Jaylen, that's all! It just seems you have a fairy godmother out there somewhere. Anyways, I have to go, but I'll catch you later for lunch!"

With that, she hurries away down the hall, coincidentally leaving me stood outside Jaylen's room.

I stare at the door as my stomach clenches with worry.

Maybe I should check on him?

He's clearly not okay, and I don't want him to be alone while he's going through something.

I shake my head and step away from his door, forcing myself to walk away.

Why do I care so much?