Doctor Engel [A Spanish bestseller now in English!]

CHAPTER 3

It's Thursday and I'm ready to go to Dr. Engel's appointment. I don't feel like dressing up, so black tracksuit pants, white sneakers and a red short sleeve t-shirt are my outfit. I can't put up my hair and I have to let go of my thick, smooth brown mane. I need a good cut, it's too long for my taste. I don't put on make-up so as not to look in the mirror, I can't stand to see myself like this.

Mario is coming with me. Thank God he doesn't remember anything about what happened last night. He is a little cranky because of his hangover, but so far he is bearable. We arrived at the consultation. I give in my appointment card and a very kind nurse points me to a room. There are about twelve people there. She asks me to wait and they will shortly call me. I sit. Ten minutes later...

'Natalia Montero,' I quickly try to get to my feet. Mario is still sitting, so I assume he won't come with me.

'Yes, that's me,' I tell the nurse.

'Follow me, Natalia, as soon as the person inside comes out, it will be your turn,' she says pointing to a room.

I go in and it's a little waiting room painted white. There's a window without curtains in front of the door. From it you can see another large building that I don't recognize, and to my right there's a table and an empty chair. The table is loaded with leaflets and files. In the center there's a computer and the screen blinks.

As I watch everything around me, I hear a voice I know. I feel heat in my cheeks and a kind of joy takes over me. It's Dr. Engel's voice, and I know he is saying goodbye to someone. The door opens and a beautiful woman of about thirty comes out of it. Blond, tall, thin... she has it all. She's wearing a black dress that fits all her curves and red heels that enhance her sculpted legs. I see the doctor go after her to accompany her to the door. I know he hasn't seen me yet. I'm almost in the corner, but I do see how they smile at each other. They give a very familiar kiss on the corner of their lips.

It must be his girlfriend. Now the heat is in my stomach, I can't help feeling jealous of her. How I wish I were in her place, but I quickly dismissed the idea. Someone like him could never look at a person as pathetic as me...

'Oh, Natalia, I didn't see you were here,' the doctor says when he notices me.

'Hello,' I smile gently, I'm so nervous and overwhelmed that my smile doesn't reach my eyes.

'Come in. Let's see how you are doing.'

He pushed himself away from the door to give me the space to enter the office. The first thing that catches my attention is the smell. I inhale deeply. It smells... fresh and clean, it's a discreet and attractive fragrance with citrus undertones and a little touch of wood. I'm sure it just became my favorite perfume.

I look at the room. It's very similar to the previous one, the only difference is that this one is a little bigger. The table is white and the chairs are blue. He offers me the one closest to me and he gestures with his head to take a seat. He goes to the other side and looks at the difficulty with which I sit.

His eyes are on mine. I feel my cheeks heat instantly and my breathing quickens slightly. He slips his gaze and traces the outline of my jaw with it. I know he is evaluating my bruise. Then he fixes on my lips and slowly lowers his gaze to my neck. I swallow, and for a few seconds I notice the blood pumping where his eyes are fixed. More heat takes over my whole body and I have to moisten my lips.

Suddenly his expression changes, he frowns and his eyebrows scrunch up and a chill runs dow my spine. My limbs seem to be numb and my mouth is dry. I know what he has discovered. One of my hands, in a reflexive act, tries to cover the new marks on my throat, but it's too late. I didn't even remember them until that very moment.