Chapter Seven.

Nathaniel’s Obsession

Days later, Nathaniel was already up and walking again. He was back to cursing and slamming everything in his path. He let his sister down. He let his parents down once again. Isobel never wanted to be part of anything, but he always forced like he usually does.

A groan left his lips as he downed almost half the contents of the vodka bottle, sitting on the kitchen counter.

“You know drinking that much alcohol at once can never be good for you. Hell, you shouldn’t even be standing now,” Rosalyn said from where she sat, having breakfast. She had already missed three days of work and she was sure she was fired.

“You survived a gunshot wound and you don’t even seem happy about it. Do you know how many people actually die from those in the hospital? The hospital, you know where I should be right now, ” Her voice oozing with sarcasm as she said the last part.

Nathaniel only ignored her. He didn’t need to be thinking about how he wanted to get in between her thighs right now. Her voice only seemed to turn him on more.

“If you’re fine with me leaving, like the way you always ignore me, tell your stupid brother to let me go. I saved your life. I am not going to say anything to the police. I have no business doing that. I hope you find your wife, sister, and baby though, ” Rosalyn said. At this point, she would say anything to get more than a grunt from him.

“I’m not married. The only thing they took that I care about is my sister and I will find her. I’ll talk to Rafael,” Nathaniel said quickly looking away from her face as fast as he looked it. He didn’t think any girl’s beauty had ever made him feel the way he was feeling right now.

“Thank you. At least you’re reasonable, ” Rosalyn said as she continued her meal. Maybe Dr. Hunt would let her back without any suspensions.

Just then, a man walked into the house shouting at the top of his lungs.

“Tell me why my men find that bitch living in somewhere other than this house,” Peter shouted in anger.

Rosalyn’s eyes widened as she stared at the tall, aging man. She could see that he was aging very well and very moneyed from the way he was dressed.

Nathaniel placed his hand on his head before he finally addressed Peter.

“Do not come in here shouting Peter. I am not accepting visitors now,” Nathaniel said, he wondered how Peter even managed to get in. He had already upped security on the locks, making sure nobody uninvited could get in. He needed to get more men.

“Well, I let myself in since no one was here to let me in. We had a deal and you let me down. I don’t take too kindly to bring let down Nathaniel,” Peter said angrily.

“First thing Peter, do not come here to threaten me. I had no deal with you and I had not made my final decision yet.” Nathaniel replied. One thing he was not going to take from Peter was threats.

“Now get out of my house. When I have something to discuss with you, I will give you a call,” Nathaniel said as arrogantly as possible before he took Rosalyn by her arm and left Peter standing there.

“Hey, I was still enjoying my breakfast,” Rosalyn whined as soon as he shut the door.

Nathaniel stared at her lips as she talked for a second before he made to turn away but Rosalyn grabbed his arm.

In the blink of an eye, Nathaniel’s hand curved around the back of her neck as he crushed his lips on hers. He moved his lips hurriedly and fiercely against hers as if her lips possessed the oxygen he needed to breathe.

The moment he thrust his tongue into her mouth, Rosalyn felt herself physically relax in his arms. Her shock wore off very fast and her hands moved up to caress his face. She held his face as if he was fragile and pressed her chest even closer to his.

When his hand moved to grab her ass as his lips left hers to connect with her neck, it was as if she was giving a chance to think clearly. She felt her cheeks redden instantly as she summoned herself to move out of his strong big arms.

“We can’t be doing this,” was the first thing that left her mouth when Nathaniel continued to stare at her. She didn’t want to start something she couldn’t finish. She didn’t understand her feelings for Nathaniel first and she wasn’t going to let herself be just a one-time thing to him.

“You’re just recovering and I-i-i’m not looking for anything serious right now,” Rosalyn said, she found it difficult to look at him. She lied afraid of saying what she truly felt.

“Who said I’m looking for something serious?” Nathaniel asked his face was free from any expression at the moment. He raised his eyebrow at her as he used his thumb to caress her cheek still looking deep into her eyes.

“Well I’m not having sex with you,” Rosalyn said moving her face away from his touch. “Now kindly tell your brother to let me out. I have a job to get back to,”

Nathaniel opened his mouth to speak, but decided against doing that. He would let her go. It was the least he could do, she helped him survive. She had been the one to take care of him. No female except his mother, grandmother, or sister had ever taken care of him, without expecting anything in return.

“Thank you,” Rosalyn said before she opened the door and left his room. Well, she was back to her old boring life.

Rosalyn rolled her eyes for the fifth time that night. She had just returned back home from Nathaniel’s mansion and her parents were hounding her on why she didn’t pick their calls.

“I’ve been really busy, Dad,” Rosalyn tried to explain but they weren’t buying her story.

“You had us worried, darling. You didn’t call us for three days. We were about to make the drive to your apartment,” her mom spoke this time.

“Mom!” Rosalyn said her voice rising slightly. Were they even serious at all? she thought to herself. They would drive miles to see her. She held her laughter just so she wouldn’t get a stern warning from her mother.

“I’m fine, I just got caught up in all of it. Dad, you should understand,” Rosalyn said. There was no way she would tell her parents about her encounter with Nathaniel. They would go crazy.

“Okay, dear. We will be coming to visit soon. We miss you,” her father said.

“Okay dad, whenever you want to come just call me. I miss you guys too,” Rosalyn said to her parents. She loved them a lot despite the hounding. She probably even loved them more because of it. She could always count on them.

“Okay darling, talk later. Your dad and I have a reservation booked and we’ll probably be late,” her mother said and Rosalyn could literally hear her mother rolling her eyes.

She chuckled lightly to herself. 
“Okay mom, dad. Talk later and drive safely,” she said to them before she hung up.

Rosalyn sighed as she sat in front of the TV with a bowl of pasta. She had already called Dr. Hunter and he only asked her if everything was fine. She assured him, but she was sure she would have to face the wrath of her resident in a few hours when her shift started.

Her thoughts instantly went to Nathaniel. She hoped he was not drinking too much or participating in hard work. She didn’t understand why he would not just let himself heal. She had seen a lot of stubborn patients, but not like him. She sighed as she filled her mouth and willed herself to stop thinking about him.

**********

Things were not so easy as she expected when she returned to work. Her resident let her have it and she was left to spend a week doing some paperwork. She wasn’t doing any surgeries at all. She was only collecting symptoms from patients and then direct them to other doctors, even though she could handle it.

“Looks like someone thinks she can go into work any time she likes,” it was Alyssa that spoke as Rosalyn dropped her things in her locker. Rosalyn looked from Alyssa to Joseph who looked at her in a way, before she turned away shaking her head.

“I was sick,” Rosalyn lied slamming the door shut as she walked away, to do her job. She didn’t have time for this now.

*******

Nathaniel stood watching Rosalyn attend to patients in the emergency room. She had a smile on her face as she spoke to the patients. It was obvious how much she loved her job with the way she attended to people around her. If she wasn’t talking to a patient, she was just lounging around looking very bored. He has been here for hours now, just staring at her. He didn’t know how she would react if she caught him. She left their home weeks ago and since then he had been feeling this urge to see her. He wanted her to himself which was something he wasn’t used to.

His eyes focused on her when a male wearing the same uniform and color as she was walked up to her. He looked like he was concerned about her, but she was ignoring him and glaring at her. When the male grabbed her wrist tightly that was when he stepped in. He didn’t even know what was going on, but he was protecting his interest.

“What do you want, Joseph? I’ve told you to stay away from me,” Rosalyn said angrily. She hated that he still had the guts to speak to her.

“Where were you? I know you weren’t sick because if you were you probably would still come into work,” Joseph said reading her very well. He was giving her a look of disapproval. What she didn’t want right now was for Alyssa to see them.

“Alyssa’s in surgery, just answer me,” Joseph said staring into her eyes with his deceitful eyes. She really disliked him.

“Get away from me. My life is my business,” Rosalyn hissed at him before she made to leave but he grabbed her wrist tightly causing her gasp.

“Let go of me,” she hissed. She didn’t want patients to see anything. She was still being watched by her resident and she knew she couldn’t handle any more paperwork.

“You’re gonna want to stop touching her and walk away?” Nathaniel said. His voice was deathly quiet but loud even for the three of them to hear.

Rosalyn’s eyes widened as she stared at Nathaniel. What the fuck was he doing here? On the other hand, Joseph instantly released. He glared at her, giving her a promising look before he walked away. It seemed like he also valued his career, Rosalyn thought to herself.

“What are you doing here,” Rosalyn said quietly. Before he could even reply she shouted, “get me a gurney someone,”

“I’m going to need you to get on the gurney sir,” Rosalyn said professionally.

Nathaniel was about to protest, but with the look Rosalyn gave him. He decided to play. Rosalyn pushed the gurney to a bed before she got help transferring him to the bed before she drew the curtains aside, leaving them alone.

“What are you doing here? Has your wound not healed?” Rosalyn asked as she sanitized her hands and put on a pair of gloves. She pulled up his shirt to investigate.

“Who is he?” Nathaniel asked causing Rosalyn to give him a look of confusion. Then she remembered Joseph. She rolled her eyes before she spoke.

“He’s a colleague. We work together sometimes,” Rosalyn said her mouth tasting bitter. She couldn’t call him her friend because she felt he had done way too much to her.

“I need answers,” Rosalyn said. She didn’t want Dr. Weiss, her resident, to come in and see her starring at the patient.

“Is that what you do? Sit there doing paperwork and handing them over to other doctors,” Nathaniel said looking into her eyes.

Rosalyn thought back to how she would have been in surgery right now. Dr. Hunter was doing a partial gastrectomy. She was about to reply when the curtains were pulled aside and she was staring directly into Dr. Weiss’ eyes.

“Dr. Mason, that paperwork isn’t waiting for anyone is it?” Dr. Weiss said as politely as she could, but Rosalyn knew she was being anything but polite.

“I’ll get to it,” Rosalyn said stepping away from the bed. She handed the tab over to her superior before she left. Joseph grinning at her was not something she wanted to see. He had most likely snitched on her.

Nathaniel stared at Rosalyn as she walked away. He watched the way her eyes dimmed as she left him with another doctor. She looked depressed and he wondered why she continued to stay here if she wasn’t being treated well.

“These young doctors just think they can come and go anytime they please,” The Doctor hissed at him as she pulled the curtains closed. “You won’t believe she didn’t come into work for three days, with no notice at all,”

“Maybe she had an emergency,” Nathaniel said. Now he realized why she was doing all the paperwork. She was being punished.

“Oh please, we have emergencies here,” Dr. Weiss said, “So can you tell me what’s wrong sir?”

Nathaniel’s eyes widened as he saw her sanitizing her hands and putting on gloves. Shit, he was not about to let her prod and poke him.

“I’m good. I was just about to leave. I didn’t come here to be checked,” Nathaniel said sitting up despite the woman’s disapproving look.

He slid his legs off the bed before he got to his feet. He thought against saying his real intentions here because he didn’t want to put Rosalyn under any more punishments. She didn’t deserve to be punished because of him. He was unworthy.