The Quake

Chapter 17

They would have to find a different way for her to get to the clinic if this was going to continue, Erin thought mournfully. She shouldn't waste their precious resources on her own comfort, especially since they didn't really know how long this would go on. It was day two, however, and for this short drive in the slight drizzle, she could allow herself to revel in the limited comfort the truck heater provided.

The moment Tyler rounded the drive into the clinic parking lot, Erin put her game face on. In her adult life, the clinic had always been where she felt most confident. She didn't remember many details from yesterday, but she remembered that while she'd been inside of that building, she'd felt more in control than at any other point during the day.

Disappointingly, upon entry, Erin found Karen splayed out on top of the receptionist desk, alone and drooling. Still, no sign of Joey anywhere. Erin sucked in her stomach to squeeze past the askew waiting room furniture. The room looked like it had been rearranged by some mischievous elves overnight.

The space, just wide enough to host two love seats if they were touching on the corners, was now entirely taken over by a vacant blanket-fort. The leftover floor space was scattered with debris from an opened suitcase, an entire ream of printer paper, the pet toys previously hung from a plastic display, and what appeared to be all of the pencils from Karen's junkdrawer. She nudged Karen awake gently, but the receptionist growled at her like a hibernating bear. "Shifts' over," Erin said with false cheer.

"Thank fuck." Karen grumbled, stretching. "This place is really boring with no internet or phone."

Erin glanced around at the chaos. Had all this happened because Karen needed something to entertain her? "Anything I should know?" Erin asked.

Karen swiped the nighttime drool from her face. "I'm sure that namby pampy goody two shoes that showed up can fill you in better than I can," Karen huffed.

"Who?"

"You'll see." Karen replied cryptically.

Erin deflated, yet another reminder of Joey's absence.

The door tinkled. Tyler hovered in the door frame taking in the room's chaos. He must have stopped outside to check on the building. Recognizing salvation, Karen rushed from around the counter to drape herself over him. The man couldn't even get out a word of greeting. "Can I sleep in your bed?" she purred.

Tyler cleared his throat and tugged at his shirt front as if he were choking.

"Since you are currently not in it, I assume wherever you slept last night is unoccupied." Karen clarified, running a hand over his bicep and then squeezing, all while batting her eyelashes.

He gave Karen a bewildered glance then looked to Erin. "Erin, I can run her over to the RV park if you promise not to leave here."

"Where would I go?" Erin sighed. He gave her a searching glance. "Seriously. I'll be fine." She reassured him. He was being so weird this morning.

Not wasting time, Karen dragged the poor man back through the door before he could change his mind.

Gratefully alone, Erin rubbed her fingers over the plastic protected schedule she and Joey worked up just last week. She heaved in a fortifying sigh. If today were a typical day, she would be restocking, answering phone calls, filling in paper charts, and scrubbing down the rooms between clients. In true Karen fashion, the receptionist had escaped before giving her any information about current patients. Some things never changed, even amidst a disaster.

Of course, today would be anything but typical. "Doc? You here?" came a competent sounding feminine voice from around the corner. Karen's namby pamby goody two shoes had arrived. Erin felt tension spool in her neck and shoulders. The woman had called her 'doc'. She supposed she was the doc they were looking for whether she liked it or not.