divulgence // luke hemmings au

56

And just like that a few days later Luke was back working in the ER, his old boss welcoming him back with open arms it was obvious how missed and needed he was.

Hannah was embarrassed by all the attention Luke's podcast appearance got, no one was on her side and in the end she quit, most of the tension disappearing within a few hours after her resignation.

Luke felt right at home after the first few hours of being back, he seemingly did everything with a smile not taking anything for granted.

There was a moment when he was by the nurses station doing some chatting when someone tapped him from behind while saying his name, he looked up when he recognized their voice. His lips forming a small smile when he saw who it was: Iris. It had been several months since he's seen her in person otherwise they've texted a few times when able to.

"Hey! I was in the neighborhood and heard the great news and thought you'd want an iced caramel latte on me!" Iris explained handing over the plastic cup to Luke, he was very thankful.

"Thanks you didn't have to do this by the way."

"Nah, don't worry. You're responsible for saving my life and making sure I get the care I needed and deserved, this is a thank you for all of that as well as me congratulating you on being cancer free."

Luke took the coffee and put it on the desk along with the clipboards he was holding, "thank you." He said over and over and he motioned Iris in for a hug. "I appreciate this so much." And as the two of them pulled away he saw the sleeve of her sweatshirt slide down a bit and he thought he noticed something but didn't say anything right away.

"What are you up to these days Iris?" He asked, switching the focus onto her instead of himself. "Nothing much, trying to plan my twentieth birthday."

"What did you think of doing?"

"Honestly my brain is cluttered with ideas, luckily I have a month to figure it out."

"Gotcha, how is your family?"

"They're good, still kinda pushy but our relationship is a bit better now."

"That's good, um, I was actually going to take my break now, do you want to take a walk with me?" Luke asked, picking up the coffee taking a quick sip from the straw automatically liking the way it tastes.

"Sure." Iris answered cheerfully following Luke out of the ER and into the hallway.

"Iris we need to chat" his tone changed to a serious one really fast as he sipped more of the coffee making Iris start to feel anxious as they walked down the long hallway.

"Wait what?" She mumbled, and he looked at her strangely, "go in here" he said stopping pointing to an empty room. "Why? What's wrong Luke?"

"Iris, please don't play this game with me." He huffed, pointing at the doorway wanting her to comply. "Okay, you need to calm down."

Luke let her into the room first and then he went in closing the door behind him placing his iced coffee on the counter. He breathed in sharply looking at Iris seriously and concernedly.

"I always said you can be honest with me and that you can always come talk to me about anything and everything. You can trust me okay? I'm not like the others out there who doubted you and mistreated you." His arms were now folded, looking directly at Iris as she stood a few inches away looking down at the ground almost like she was mad and disappointed at herself.

"I have no idea what you're talking about" she whispered, Luke beginning to feel bad for her. "Look I'm not trying to be hard on you at all. I want you to see me as a person that can help you. I saw the thing you were trying to lie about."

"What?" She said again, trying to avoid the situation.

"Iris, please show me your wrists I need to see them"

She shook her head, crossing her arms tightly now.

"Iris, please I need to see"

"Iris, I want to help you"

After some back and forth , Iris finally complied, sticking both of her arms out in front of her Luke pushing up her sleeves, his eyes immediately widened in both shock and sadness. "Iris this is bad, I need to report this, so you can get better."

Luke let go of her arms and reached for his phone, but Iris stopped him in his tracks.

"NO! PLEASE NO! YOU CANT DO THAT!" She yelled out, startling Luke a bit.

"Iris, I'm a mandated reporter I have to tell someone that you've been hurting yourself."

"Please I beg don't tell."

"I can't go back into the hospital"

"No hospital"

"No doctors!"

"My family can't find out!"

She was pleading with Luke until he gave in retracting his previous statements. "Okay, I won't tell anyone, but on one condition. I want you to come to me every few days so I can check your arms. Things can get really bad if they get infected. Since you're here now can I clean them and wrap them?"

Iris began getting emotional as Luke took her arms again rolling up her sleeves as he took out antiseptic spray and wipes, bandages, gauze and medical tape.

"Please try to find something healthier to do. It breaks my heart seeing you like this." He was looking directly at her when saying this, and he waited for her to answer.

"I'll try" she finally mumbled. "Good. I just want you to be honest with me so then I can help you heal."

"I know it's just.. hard."

"Life's not supposed to be easy, Iris, it can be a rollercoaster and you just need to find the right guide in life."

"Thanks, thanks for looking out for me, Luke."

"You're welcome. I'll walk you out?"

"Sure."