Doc Featherstone's Return (6 page)

“And I’m the one who is seeing an old friend making irrational decisions. You can deny it all you want, but there is something going on between you and Ash, and it has you all twisted up in knots. You need to figure out a way to handle it, and by that, I don’t mean running away from the problem again, like you did before.”

“I didn’t run away.”

“Like hell you didn’t,” Ash said from behind them.
They turned to see Ash sitting up in the bed, his eyes blazing with anger. Jacyn let out a wicked chuckle before he patted Joshua on the back and said, “I’m going to let you handle this one on your own. From where I’m standing, you’ve had it coming for a long time. All I can say is good luck.”

Going by the angry look on Ash’s face, Joshua was going to need it. The Hawk looked mad enough to spit fire and then some. The worst part of all, that fury was directed solely at him. For some reason, that scared Joshua more than ten Shanes put together.

“Did you really mean it when you said that you would tie me to the bed?” Ash demanded.

“It was only for your own good,” Joshua assured him.

“Fuck that,” Ash spat. “I am so sick of hearing that that I could puke. Just like I’m sick of you saying you left because you didn’t want to be a burden on the infirmary staff. We all know you left because of me, so why don’t you just man up and tell the truth for once?”

Joshua took a deep breath. “You were part of the reason.”

Ash let out a trembling sigh. “Do you really hate me that much?”

Joshua pulled the privacy curtain closed, then sat on the edge of the mattress and took Ash’s hand. “No, I don’t hate you at all.”
Ash gazed up with those beautiful eyes of his.

“Then why?”

“It’s because I cared too much for you.”

Ash’s brow creased in confusion. “I don’t understand.”

“I was having feelings for you that I have no right to have.”

“But why not?”

“Well, for one thing, you’re way younger than me.”

“So, what? It’s only ten years. That’s no big deal.”

“That’s not the only reason,” Joshua admitted, dreading having to say the next part, knowing how much it was going to hurt Ash.

“Tell me everything. It’s the least you owe me.”

“My parents have made it clear that they expect me to marry another Bobcat and that it’s supposed to be a female.”

The devastation on Ash’s face was like a kick to Joshua’s gut. Ash pulled his hand away with a hard jerk. “So, I’m not good enough for you, is that it?”

“No, I never meant that.”

“You said just as much a second ago. If you really did care for me, you wouldn’t give a damn what your parents thought.”

Joshua could feel his frustration begin to build.

Why couldn’t Ash see things from his point of
view? Why did everything always have to be so black and white in his world? He knew nothing of making sacrifices. Of having to put aside ones needs to meet the demands of their family.

“That’s not fair, Ash. You can’t ask me to pick between them or you.”

Ash stared at him for the longest moment before he said, “You’re right. I can’t, and I won’t.

You go ahead and find that Bobcat female of yours. I wish you the best of luck.”

“Ash…”

“No, we’re done here. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom.”

Ash was obviously more upset than he let on because he tried to get out of bed and walk to the bathroom. The moment his feet touched the ground, he fell down hard. When Joshua moved to help him, Ash held up a hand, his face red and tears in his eyes.

“Just go away, you’ve done enough already!”

Ash yelled

The curtain parted, and Kallen came rushing in.

He helped Ash up into his chair. Shooting Joshua a look of pure fury, the Hyena said, “You heard Ash, he doesn’t need your help anymore. I can take things from here.”

Left with no other option Joshua turned and walked away. Behind him, he could hear Kallen murmuring words of comfort to Ash. Never
before in his life had Joshua felt lower.

As he left the infirmary, he planned on going straight to bed and forgetting that the night had even happened. So when he ran into Shane, he was less than pleased.

“Let me guess, you just fucked things up big time with Ash,” Shane said.

“How did you know?”

“Because I’ve seen that look before. Come on, let’s go.” Shane jerked his head.

“Where to?”

“The one shifter bar that hasn’t banned me.

Nothing says I-fucked-up like going to get drunk.”

“I really don’t drink that much,” Joshua said.

“That one night you came to my house was a fluke.”

Shane put an arm around the doctor’s shoulders. “Well, that’s okay. We’ll just get into a good fight instead.”

Joshua shook his head. “I really don’t think this is a good idea.”

“Trust me, Joshua, you really need to get out more.”

Somehow it didn’t shock Joshua that Shane knew his first name when few others did. Shane, the little bugger, probably also knew his social security number and the PIN to all his debit cards.

“But what if I’m needed when I’m out?” Joshua continued to argue.
At the same time, Shane continued to drag him to the door. “They’ll be fine without you. Now, let’s go.”

Knowing it was useless to argue, Joshua went along. They got into Shane’s car, and before Joshua knew it, they were at some bar that was so filthy and disgusting, calling it a dive would have been a compliment.

Shane ordered a couple of drinks from a crusty-looking Snake shifter, then sat back in his seat.

“So, just how badly did you fuck up?”

“Just about as bad as I could get without physically ripping out his heart and stomping on it,” Joshua admitted.

“You told him the whole thing about only being able to mate a female Bobcat, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Shit, Doc. You really do know how to put the knife in and twist it.”

Joshua winced. “I fucked up. I know. I just thought I owed it to him to tell him the truth.”

“Did it ever occur to you to tell your parents
no
?”

“Things don’t work like that in our family. I already disappointed them once by working for the coalition instead of going into private practice.

I can’t let them down again. To do so will devastate them.”

As Joshua repeated the same old argument, it
sounded weak and tired, even to his own ears. He wondered for the first time if it was worth having his parents’ approval over Ash.

“Do you love him?”

“I don’t know…I think I might.” Joshua ran a hand through his long hair in frustration.

They fell silent as their drinks were delivered.

Shane didn’t speak until the waitress was gone.

“Then the answer seems pretty clear to me. Yes, you fucked up big time, and you have some major groveling to do. And if you’re lucky and Ash forgives you a second time, which I’m not so sure you deserve at this point, you’ll go and tell your parents to go fuck themselves. You should be the one who decides your future, not them, and the Doc Featherstone that I’ve always known would agree with that.”

Joshua realized that every word Shane spoke was true. There was no way that he should let his parents dictate his life. He was known for being direct, blunt, and a bit rude sometimes, so why was he now cowing to the wishes of his mother and father? Out of respect? They’d never shown him any. Shane was right. Fuck that. Joshua should be able to decide his own future and that future included Ash. That was provided Ash forgave him.

Standing up, Joshua flexed his muscles. “Are you ready for that fight you promised me? I have
some aggression I need to work out.”

Shane flashed a wicked grin. “Welcome back, Doc. I’m glad to see your badass side has returned.”

he next day, Ash was sitting in bed visiting T with Isaac and Gregg, giving them the whole humiliating blow down of his fight with Featherstone.

“Damn, I knew the guy could be cold, but I didn’t think that he could be that mean,” Gregg said.

Ash shrugged. “He was just telling me the truth. It was just harsh.”

“Harsh?
” Isaac echoed. “That’s putting it mildly. He all but told you that you weren’t good enough for him or his rich family. That’s downright mean.”

Off to one side of the room, Scarlett began humming again. They all looked over to see her giving Ash a menacing glare. Ash shivered and glanced away. “I hate it when she does that.”

“How long has she been doing it?” Isaac said.

“Off and on the past week.”
“But I thought you and Scarlett were friends,”

Gregg commented, still staring at her.

“We were, but that was before the attack. Since then, she hasn’t been the same. It’s like she snapped or something and now for some strange reason she’s fixated on me.” Another shiver went through Ash. God, but he was getting sick of getting those looks from her. He wondered if maybe he could ask them to move him someplace else or something. Maybe then she would forget about him.

“Have you told any of the staff about it?” Isaac asked.

“Tell them what? That Scarlett is giving me meanie butt looks? Yeah, that will go over real well. That’ll make me sound like the crazy one.

Besides, it’s not like she’s going to do anything to me. She never leaves her bed.”

“Never, ever?” Gregg asked. “Not even to go to the bathroom?”

Ash sighed. “This is so not a conversation that I’m getting into with you.”

Gregg shrugged. “So, sue me, I was just wondering.”

Ash glanced back over and saw Scarlett still giving him the death stare. He wondered what he’d done to her to bring it on. As far as he knew, he’d been sticking to his side of the room, minding his own business. He had no beef with her.
“What are you going to do when you see the doc again?” Isaac asked.

“I’m going to be very mature and ignore him, of course,” Ash replied.

“I don’t think that route is going to help your cause any,” Gregg drawled.

“That’s just it, I don’t have a cause anymore.

I’m done with him.”

Isaac made a dismissive wave of his hand. “You really don’t mean that.”

“Yes, I do,” Ash replied with dead certainty.

“He’s made his point loud and clear. So, I’m moving on.”

“But you can’t give up,” Isaac said.

“I can and I have. I’m done with him. He can find his female Bobcat and go fuck himself.”

Isaac reached over and brushed Ash’s hair back from his face. “That doesn’t sound like the Ash I know, to give up so easily.”

“Maybe I’m sick of fighting. I have enough battles on my plate right now without adding another one.” Ash sighed.

He was getting tired even as he spoke. He’d just gone through yet another session of physical therapy and, while he was finally beginning to see some progress, it was still taxing on him.

“Why don’t we go and let you get some rest?”

Gregg suggested. “We can come back tomorrow and check on you. How about we sneak you in
some of that pizza you like so much?”

“That would be great.”

They both gave him a kiss on the cheek, then left. On the way out they both shot Scarlett concerned looks, which she ignored. As soon as they left, Ash wanted them back because he was alone with Scarlett. To get his mind off her, he thought of the promised pizza that would soon be coming his way.

While Ash had gained a lot of the weight he’d lost, he still had quite a few more pounds to put on, so he doubted that anybody would object to them bringing in outside food. Plus, there was talk of Ash leaving the infirmary soon and returning to his own living quarters.

At first, he’d been upset over the thought of having to leave because that meant he wouldn’t be seeing the doc all the time. Now Ash couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Hell, if he could, he’d wheel his sorry ass out of there now. Especially since Scarlett had been giving him those creepy looks.

“Saaaaaad….Aaaaaaasssshhh…..nobody loves him,” she sang from her corner.

Ash jumped, both because she’d spoken for the first time and because the words had been directed at him. He briefly thought about replying, but in the end just chose to ignore her.

“Hey, bird. I was talking to you,” she said, her
voice harsh from being unused.

Ash felt a tremble build up in his body as he turned over and pulled the covers up to his shoulders. He glanced around, and his stomach flipped when he realized that, save for other patients, the room was empty. All the staff were gone.

This. Was. Not. Good.

Even though he, at times, had counted Scarlett as one of his friends, he realized the person talking to him was no longer the Scarlett he’d known.

She’d cracked under the pressure and gone feral.

Ocelots were known to be an unstable breed to begin with, but you add a little more crazy to them, and they could be downright deadly.

“Ash….aren’t you going to play with me?”

Scarlett asked in a singsong voice.

Ash’s heart began to beat so hard it was a wonder the entire HQ didn’t hear it. The worst part of it was he knew he was a sitting duck. If she chose to attack—and he was pretty certain that she was going to do just that—there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn’t even run, much less defend himself. Even if he screamed, he’d be dead before help could come.