Eva had to move. It was barely 8AM, but she had already seen three patients and, most recently, been puked on by a feverish four-year-old. Her shirt was covered with vomit. A clean scrub top was at the ready to replace it. But she would have to move. And she wasn?t sure she could.
She took a deep breath, raised her left arm and pulled the back collar of her shirt over her head. Her entire upper body sang with thrumming pain. She let the dirty shirt fall to the floor of the bathroom, rested her hands on the edge of the sink, and raised her head to look at her reflection. Her body was black and blue. And purple and yellow. And the shallow cut on her right side was having trouble healing. Eva exhaled and lowered her head, closing her eyes a moment.
?Jesus.?
Eva looked up, catching sight of Marcus in the mirror. He let the bathroom door swing shut behind him, frowning deeply at Eva. She dropped her head again. While she wasn?t embarrassed to be seen by him in just her bra, she could imagine the sight she made. She set her jaw and straightened, reaching for the scrub top.
?Look,? Marcus sighed, ?I didn?t complain when you wanted to join the league, I didn?t complain when you wanted to shift the work schedule around and asked me to cover your shifts,? he crossed his arms and watched her, ?and I didn?t say anything when you started coming here with bruises on your face.?
Eva kept her back to him, wincing as she got her arms into the scrub top and pulled it down.
Marcus shook his head. ?But you can barely move today. Do you honestly expect me to ignore this??
?I?m fine.? She pedaled the water in the sink to life and stuck her hands under it.
?You?re fine. Right.? Marcus watched her back for a long moment, then he shook his head again. ?You take something??
?Aspirin.? She grabbed a paper towel and dried her hands.
He nodded, still looking at her. ?You want me to check you out??
Eva busied herself with her hands, balling up the paper towel and tossing it to the recycler, still not looking at him.
Marcus watched, silent.
Then finally, she nodded. ?Yeah.?
She took a deep breath, raised her left arm and pulled the back collar of her shirt over her head. Her entire upper body sang with thrumming pain. She let the dirty shirt fall to the floor of the bathroom, rested her hands on the edge of the sink, and raised her head to look at her reflection. Her body was black and blue. And purple and yellow. And the shallow cut on her right side was having trouble healing. Eva exhaled and lowered her head, closing her eyes a moment.
?Jesus.?
Eva looked up, catching sight of Marcus in the mirror. He let the bathroom door swing shut behind him, frowning deeply at Eva. She dropped her head again. While she wasn?t embarrassed to be seen by him in just her bra, she could imagine the sight she made. She set her jaw and straightened, reaching for the scrub top.
?Look,? Marcus sighed, ?I didn?t complain when you wanted to join the league, I didn?t complain when you wanted to shift the work schedule around and asked me to cover your shifts,? he crossed his arms and watched her, ?and I didn?t say anything when you started coming here with bruises on your face.?
Eva kept her back to him, wincing as she got her arms into the scrub top and pulled it down.
Marcus shook his head. ?But you can barely move today. Do you honestly expect me to ignore this??
?I?m fine.? She pedaled the water in the sink to life and stuck her hands under it.
?You?re fine. Right.? Marcus watched her back for a long moment, then he shook his head again. ?You take something??
?Aspirin.? She grabbed a paper towel and dried her hands.
He nodded, still looking at her. ?You want me to check you out??
Eva busied herself with her hands, balling up the paper towel and tossing it to the recycler, still not looking at him.
Marcus watched, silent.
Then finally, she nodded. ?Yeah.?