Whispered Secrets • BrightWin

Prologue

PROLOGUE

As soon as Xio rushed out of the OR, he immediately reached up, unclipping the strap of his surgical gown, pulled his gloves out before disposing them to the bin. He groaned at the throbbing headache behind his eyelids and over the back of his head while looking for somewhere he could be alone and unwind for a moment. Perhaps the break room would have a quiet corner free.

He sauntered his way to the break room. With a sigh, he gently shut the door and settled into the vintage velvet green chesterfield couch that occupied the minimally furnished room. He adjusted his spectacles and hissed as rubbing his nape only made the agony in his neck worse as he writhed in discomfort.

"Fuck!" Xio seethed to no one into the room.

"Perhaps, I could just take a nap here for a little while." He murmured in the air before taking a sharp breath. "I still lack the energy to go to the on-call room."

He roughly ran his hand through his hair, not minding if it was all over the place, thinking that he was finally free from his shift, after hours upon hours of non-stop duty. The past few days, he felt a lot more like a machine than a human. He needed a break. Five minutes. He just needed five minutes alone to take a breath and hit his head right.

Few minutes of romanticizing the silence, a loud squeaking sound of what seemed to be a cupboard was heard, making him jump in startle. A male voice and prominent accent then reached out for him, smooth and also a bit rasp. "That was deep, doc."

Following the direction of the sound, true enough, Xio discovered that the voice came from the kitchenette which was entirely unexpected as he never noticed a single figure in the room when he arrived. He looked up in anticipation of far more vivacious company and felt his shoulders relaxed when he recognized who it was.

A man dressed in his lab coat appeared in his sight, leaning his back against the tiny countertop.

"Doc Seth," Xio said by way of greeting, nodding his head. That flustered Xio a bit knowing someone had been standing there, watching him border on a total freak out without him even noticing.

"How's it going, doc? You alright?"

Suddenly, Xio became so engrossed in his mind cage that Seth had to repeat the question. Lost in his thoughts, Xio contemplated the words of the chief surgeon earlier in the day. The news of the reappointment of two senior resident surgeons from another hospital, at the request of the medical director, had sent ripples of prospect of forming two specialized teams held promises of growth and innovation, yet it also meant changes, adjustments, and the inevitable jostling for positions.

As he sat there, still grasping with his thoughts, Seth's voice brought him back to the present. The smooth, slightly raspy tone cut through the air, dispersing the cocoon of contemplation that had enveloped him.

"Are you alright?" Seth's voice echoed once more. His glasses rested on the corners of his nose and he pushed them up with his index finger. Despite his obvious tiredness, he had a smile on his face.

Xio blinked, his focus shifting from the depths of his mind to the figure before him.

"Yeah," Xio shortly answered in somewhat an inquiry tone, his voice strained. His mind was catching up to the inquiry that had been posed. Looking frazzled, he glanced at the clock resting on the far side corner of the wall in the kitchenette and it read as 8:32 o'clock in the evening already.

Xio's lips curled in a wry smile, a rueful acknowledgement of his own mental wandering. "Just lost in my thoughts, trying to wrap my head around the news."