Incision of the Heart ✓

Chapter 19: Unraveling

The days following their conversation were a blur of emotions, and Emily couldn’t quite get a grasp on any of them.

The tentative agreement to "figure things out" loomed over her like an unsolved puzzle, each piece more frustrating than the last.

They hadn’t spoken about it again after that day, but there was an undercurrent now between them, a shift that was impossible to ignore.

The tension was palpable.

In the halls of Johns Hopkins Hospital, amidst the chaos of rounding with attendings, checking on patients, and discussing cases, the air between her and Liam felt different.

Their interactions were brief—just enough to keep their presence known to one another, but never enough to settle into any real conversation.

The students, the residents, and even the nurses could feel it.

Emily wasn’t sure if they noticed the change, but she could sense it.

The way Liam watched her from the corner of his eye during rounds, the way he seemed to linger for a moment too long in the hallways as if waiting for her to make the first move. But Emily couldn’t—she couldn’t make that move. Not yet.

Her focus was on the surgery ahead of her.

Dr. Walsh, the renowned cardio-thoracic surgeon who was overseeing their rotation, had just announced that one of their patients, a middle-aged woman with severe heart disease, would be undergoing major surgery to replace a valve and repair some damage.

The complexity of the surgery was enough to keep Emily’s mind busy, the weight of the scalpel and the tension of performing under Dr. Walsh’s piercing gaze kept her grounded.

But every time she caught Liam looking at her, it was like a small electric shock to her system, grounding her back to reality—the reality of her emotions that she hadn’t fully sorted out yet.

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It was after rounds that the first real conversation between them happened since that fateful day.

It wasn’t anything profound, but the simplicity of it cut through the tension like a knife.

Emily was sitting on a bench in the hallway outside the surgical suites, flipping through her notes.

She was tired, the long hours spent shadowing Dr. Walsh wearing on her.

Her eyes felt heavy, her mind muddled, but there was a sense of urgency inside her to push forward, to keep going, to focus on the patient who needed them.

But then, there he was.

Liam stood in front of her, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, his usual confident posture replaced with something more uncertain.

“Hey,” he said, his voice hesitant.

“Hey,” Emily replied, not looking up from her notes.

She wasn’t ready for a confrontation—she wasn’t even sure she was ready to face him.

She didn’t know what to do with the confusing mix of emotions inside her.

He sighed, clearly frustrated. “I get that you don’t want to talk about it,” he said quietly. “But I don’t want things to stay like this. We’re not gonna just pretend, are we?”

Emily finally looked up, meeting his gaze.

There was something in his eyes—something real, something raw.

She felt the walls around her emotions crumble a little bit more. “I don’t know what you want from me, Liam,” she said, her voice sharp. “It’s not as easy as just making things go away. We’re here to learn. We’re here to be doctors. That’s it.”