False Hope

Chapter 9: Fear Or Fearless

Three weeks. For three weeks she had been avoiding Daniel like the plague and taking hits from Dr. Parsons like it was her everyday routine. Because it was! Daniel is bad, stay away from Daniel. Dr. Parsons is also bad, but be around Dr. Parsons. What? No! No no no no no! Had she said "no" yet? Of course she had.

As she pulled her truck into the employee's parking lot she couldn't help but lean her head against the steering wheel. Working for three weeks had worn her out completely. She couldn't imagine what being a doctor was actually like. Maybe that's why Dr. Parsons was so grumpy all the time. He must have had it rough. She knew she did. Especially after Tami was diagnosed with leukemia. It was always so hectic now.

The truck was shut off with an automatic twist and Lily got out before she locked it with the key fob. A car nearly hit her as she crossed the road to get to the hospital. Quickly, she noticed that the driver had been a teenager and he flipped her off as he continued on his way up the street. People irritated her to no end. Why was everyone in this world so stupid?

Her accusation about everyone being stupid came as an instant regret when she saw Lucinda. The woman always seemed to brighten her day with something as simple as a kind word or smile. In life, she was more blessed than she thought.

"Rough day?" Lucinda asked when Lily signed in. Lucinda was beaming despite Lily's stony face.

"The day's only beginning Lucinda." She stated and a groan escaped her mouth, she was sore from riding Pearl yesterday when she had gotten off early at work. The horse had always been antsy while being saddled and had nearly stepped on Lily's foot when Lily had begun to do up the cinch on the horse's belly band. When Lily had begun to put the bridle on, Pearl nicked her hand as she slid the bit into her mouth. Her hand had bled for at least a minute before it had stopped. After Lily settled herself in the saddle, Pearl had taken off in a canter before Lily was ready and had fallen out from behind. Thank goodness Pearl hadn't kicked. After she had fallen off Pearl came to a stop by the driveway and looked back at Lily as if to ask, "What are you laying on the ground for? We need to move. Chop chop!"

Lily had glared back at her horse with a vengeance as she got up and rubbed her rear. Man, that had hurt. Daniel, seeing her travail, called to her from the round corral where he was riding Patriot and asked her if she was alright. With a look that could melt Antarctica, she shot daggers at him and scoffed her reply.

After she had gathered the reins up, she mounted on Pearl's back and then gave her a slight kick to her ribs. Pearl had taken off in a brisk trot and Lily hadn't been able to get her to walk until after a mile. After not being out of the barn for a month, that horse wasn't doing so hot. The fall she had taken from Pearl had bruised her up pretty badly.

Now, after releasing another painful groan, there was a message on her pager telling her to assist Dr. Neal in the X-ray room. They seemed to know exactly when she arrived everyday. That wasn't in the least bit creepy. She couldn't get there fast enough. She still needed to change into her scrubs.

Lucinda looked over her shoulder reading the pager. "They already know you're here. Isn't that nice to know?" A small smirk appeared on Lucinda's face.

Lily looked over at her with her eyebrow raised. Was she serious? Oh Lucinda, what was she going to do with her? Skin her alive, boil her in her own sweat, or her personal favorite, cut out her entrails and then burn them? All of the above were wonderful answers, but Lily loved her too much to do that to her.

Instead of doing any torturous method, Lily smiled at her like she was the silliest thing alive and then headed to go and change. As she shoved her things into a locker, her phone pinged in her pocket. Ignoring it, she began to walk to the X-Ray room.