I could still hardly believe everything I had heard yesterday. It was a story that was too good to be true, something that was most likely to be written by a writer and made into a really good book. For all the years I have lived and for all the years I have sat down with a patient to listen to their stories, this was the first time that I have been told something so ridiculous yet very convincing.
Riley knew of every little thing that had happened to me and my family years ago, and it was not something that someone could look up on the internet, either. He mentioned that he could not find anything in his era about his family or about the entire Martins clan, and I wonder about it as well. It could not have been that they, too, had been all slaughtered like the Do's, right? Does this mean that we are the only ones left in our own clan? Riley and I. I wanted to ask what had happened to his family, but he said that it was the main reason why he had come back to this time and era; he was hoping he would find out in this world why there was not a single thing in his world about the Martins. I cannot blame him for doing this; if I were somebody who wanted to know more about myself and somebody who wanted to know where I came from, I would have done the same thing Riley did. But if the truth that was waiting for me was this: my entire family had been slaughtered by people whom I did not even know, then I'd rather not have them in my memory at all.
"Dr. Do!" There is Hunter, walking towards me as he gives back the document he was holding to one of his nurses. He comes to me with a wide smile on his face, and I know right then and there that this is neither a smile of affection nor happiness. I remember Riley telling me that he had asked this man to cover for me. At that time, Riley had dragged me to his home. Now that I am standing before Hunter, he has come to make me pay for what he has done for me. I nod my head as he stops in front of me.
"Yes, yes, Dr. Perez, I can do the patrolling in your stead. Just have Remy put your patients' records on my desk. Thank you so much, Mr. Hunter Perez, for covering for me that day." I bowed as he let out a little laugh. He aligned the crooked neck tie around his neck and leaned against the white wall behind him.
"But if I may, as we are not strangers to each other, Kat, what happened? It was unlike you to not come to work without notice. Although I won't pry any more if it was personal."
The ends of my lips curled up to form a small smile. I could not deny the fact that I felt touched to know that he was still as thoughtful as he was when I was still a rookie doctor in this hospital. It was only after a year that he showed me his true colors; although it was pretty annoying, I can still say that Hunter is the closest person to me in this place. I said, "It was something that one would never believe it's real, but there is something about my life that only I know, and Riley knows about it, too, much to my surprise." I heard a little laugh from the man beside me. My head turned to look at him in confusion. There was nothing that I said that was funny; I believe so.
"It was still hard for me to believe that you and Riley knew each other, almost as if I were the reason why love has blossomed in your life after years and years of waiting. And although I very much wanted to ask, it was hard to find a chance, but how did you and that guy get to know each other?"
"I was his fan," I confessed, followed by a giggle because I knew that Hunter had found another thing to tease me with. "Pretty sure, as he is your friend, you knew that he was in a band six years ago—that's how I knew him. I was deeply in love with him then. We met at their concert, and somehow he ended up taking me home that night, but after that night, I've never heard of him or the band at all. It was only after a week that I learned that they've disbanded, which left my heart in pieces. I was really surprised to see him in this hospital that day, honestly, and more of the fact that you knew him."
"Riley was a friend of mine in college; he took up the same course as we did." I flinched. This was the first time that I had heard that Riley was also somebody who studied psychology. "Yep, he really did. And up until now, I question why he did not pursue it to the end. He could have ended up working in the same hospital as the both of us, you know? The two of you would have gone out earlier, don't you think so, too?" Hunter finished his statement with a cheeky grin as he sipped on his cold beverage. "But do you love him still?" His voice toned down, and his eyes were looking directly into mine as he asked me that. I turned away and swallowed. "I guess this kind of question is dumb; it is plain obvious that you still do."
"He is the reason why I chose not to date anyone."
Work has ended at four in the morning. The amount of work that I needed to do and the papers that were all on my office desk had me drinking almost eleven cups of black coffee. I barely had enough sleep last night due to everything that both Riley and Shanaia had confessed to me. That was why I kept feeling sleepy today; my eyes were closing without my doing. I hope that this will not make me revisit another doctor, though.
The light from in front of me momentarily blinded me as my arm shielded my eyes from them. There was a car, and I planned to swear at whoever was inside this vehicle, but the words in my mouth betrayed me when they decided not to come out the second Riley stepped out. I covered my face, turning around as I heard a chuckle from him. I am looking ugly, that is for sure! It is almost dawn; why is he here?
"No worries; you are still the most beautiful woman my eyes have ever laid upon."
"Liar! What are you even here for? Have you nothing better to do? I envy you for having plenty of time to drive around the city." Riley laughed and walked towards me, making sure he was in front of me, and then looked into my eyes with a loving gaze.
"I have a reliable source, my love, who told me that you'd still be here at this hour."
Hunter. That can be the only person who will tell Riley something like this. I gasped loudly when he took my hand; his fingers filled up every gap in between mine. His eyes were smiling, too; there was happiness in them. I wondered if something good had happened with him today, but I did not think it was right for me to ask as I am not his girlfriend.
"...And it is not wrong of me to come pick up my girlfriend, is it?"
"Huh?" That was my only reaction, and my face certainly looked funny and ridiculous when I said it. I was dumbfounded that I had forgotten I was trying to hide my face from him. Riley placed his hands on either of my cheeks and leaned closer, making my heartbeat go abnormally fast. He showed me a gentle smile, and I could not look away from his eyes even if I wanted to.
"Come on now, Katarina, give in. Our feelings are mutual; you love me and I love you. Won't that only end in either a goodbye or we'll start going out for real now? Do not tell me that you'd rather walk away from than walk with me?"
"You know there are a lot of things that we need to do, Riley; you know that better than anyone else, better than me. This is not the time for the two of us to be together, even though we know about our feelings toward one another."
Riley shook his head, then it was in his hands as a sigh came out of his lips. "I don't understand... Why do we need to push aside what I think is more important than the things that we need to find? We can get through it together, Katarina! We can fight alongside each other if there are any dangers on the way. Why can't we be together until then, Katarina?"
He looked in pain. He looked broken. A little more, and I think tears would come running down his face. I touched his cheek, and it felt cold under my skin. I asked, "What's wrong, Riley? Why are you hurrying? Please tell me what's on your mind."
"I've almost got no more time left." My hand that was on his face began to tremble. I asked him to repeat what he just said to me. Riley grabbed my hand and squeezed it ever so gently as he looked into my eyes. "I've got no more time left to be with you, Katarina."