Forbidden

Chapter One

~~~

"We shouldn't even be seen together."

"Why shouldn't we? I don't know about you, but I don't see anybody else in this elevator."

"I'm talking about you following me around. It looks a bit suspicious."

"But, Lyra," he moved closer to her, "I love you."

~~~

"Hi, Mr. Kai. How're you feeling today? Any better?" Lyra greeted.

The older man smiled back. "I'm doing much better, dear. When will I be discharged?"

"Now, now, Mr. Kai, let's not get ahead of ourselves, alright?"

First, she sat her clipboard down on the end table next to his bed. Then, she checked his blood pressure, heart rate, and his shoulder wound.

"You sure do heal quickly, don't you, Mr. Kai?"

"I have you, doctors, to thank for that."

Freya laughed and picked her clipboard up again. She scanned through her schedule, relived that she could finally take a break.

"Well, it's my break time." She smiled at Mr. Kai. "I'll have Luke come check up on you in a few, okay?"

"Sounds good, dear."

With that, Lyra exited the room. She walked down to the break room, expecting to find Luke in there since he never did his job, but he was nowhere to be found. Lyra stepped further into the room.

"Luke? You in here?"

No answer.

She looked around the room for him, but he wasn't there.

"Boo!" Luke grabbed her arm, causing her to drop her clipboard and shriek.

He laughed, but Lyra only picked her clipboard back up and glared at him. "You shouldn't scare people like that. One day, you're going to do it to the wrong person and they won't hesitate to hurt you."

"Hush, you. Learn to have a little fun." His laughter subsided and he sat down on one of the chairs.

"I don't have time for your nonsense, Luke. You're on Mr. Kai's case for the rest of the day. And yes, you have to clean his bedpan."

He rolled his neck. "You never give me a break. Besides, isn't bedpan cleaning a nurse's job?"

"Look at you, using your peanut-sized brain for the first time instead of Mommy and Daddy's money."

He glared back. "Shut up, Lyra. At least I'm not uptight like you."

"Hey, I earned my job. What did you do to get here? Believe it or not, this is your job and you have to work to keep it, so get off your ass and work."

Lyra stormed out of the room and up to the front desk. "Charlie, I'm taking my break. Do you care to make sure Luke checks on Mr. Kai?"

"No, I don't care at all, Lyra."

"Thanks. You're the best."