The REASON Series - the Complete Collection by Zoey Derrick Read Free Book Online Page A

moments alone,” she says. “When I'm done you can come right back in here. Okay?" Mikah shoots a glance at me, then looks back to the doctor.  
    "It's okay,” I tell him. “I'll let you back in."
    He nods, his face somber as he stands and exits the room.  
    Dr. Alston closes the door behind him. Turning to me, she says, "Are you okay?"  
    I try to nod, but it's slow and small. The look on Mikah’s face as I asked him to leave has me wondering what he’s thinking, why he is so upset.  
    "I saw you flinch. Is Mikah the reason you were here two months ago?"
    I’m shocked by the suggestion that Mikah could do that to me, but then I realize that she really has no way of knowing who put me here the last time. "No. I only met him a couple days ago. At the diner I work at. He bought me dinner last night, then tried to leave me a five hundred dollar tip and his business card. I went to his office today to give it back to him. I threw up, and he dragged me here."
    "You don't want to be here?"  
    I shake my head.  
    "Why not?"
    "I hate hospitals. The last time I was here, I spent three days here. I can't afford that kind of time, let alone the cost. I'm supposed to be to work at four."
    "Mr. Blake has already informed billing that he is paying for everything today. In fact, for all your future visits here."
    "What?" When the hell did he manage that? Irritation races through me and the machine beeps frantically as my heart rate increases.  
    "Calm down, Vivienne. He's a good person with a good heart. Maybe you should ask him why this is so important to him. You might better understand."
    "I've tried." I look down at the sheet. I can hear the monitor slow as my heart rate calms.  
    "Give him some time. He'll come around. It is my duty as a doctor to make sure that Mikah is not the reason you flinched and that no harm has come to you by his hand, but my guess is that it has more to do with why you were here the last time." I nod, unable to look at her. "I don't want to pry, but we can set you up with someone to talk to."
    I shake my head. "I appreciate that, but I'm alright." Sitting down and talking to a shrink creeps me out. When I was here the last time, they made one of the shrinks on staff come talk to me. He was a jerk and didn't seem to really care. He kept looking at his phone each time it buzzed. They let me go the next day, so obviously my silence didn't make him think I was nuts.
    She shrugs her shoulders. No doubt she doesn't believe that I'm okay. She is probably right.
    "How about you let me take a look?" She gestures again to my belly.
    "Can Mikah come back in?" I ask before I can stop myself. If he’s in here, she won’t ask me any more questions about Riley.
    "Of course," she says as she goes to the door to open it.  
    Mikah is right there.
    "Come on in, Mikah."  
    His eyes dart from her to me and back again. I don’t understand why he’s so nervous.  
    "She said you can come back in,” Dr. Alston tells him. “I was just about to start the examination."  
    His eyes widen.  
    "It's alright, come in," I say to him.  
    He nods and comes back into the room, taking the same seat as before.  
    I reach my hand out toward him, and he smiles a little. Something about his touch calms me.  
    The second our hands make a connection, my heart beats three times really fast. Okay, maybe calms is the wrong word.  
    We lock gazes. He lifts one eyebrow, then, as if to experiment, he pulls his hand away. My heart rate slows way down for a couple of beats before resuming a normal rhythm.
    "What in the world?" I hear Dr. Alston say.  
    I look at Mikah. He’s smiling like a Cheshire cat.  
    "Watch," he says.
    Once the doctor’s attention is fixed on us, he reaches for my hand again. Again my heart beats three times in rapid succession. Then he pulls his hand away, and my heart misses a beat, speeds up for a few seconds and then goes back to normal. Next to me, Mikah chuckles, causing me to smile.
    "That is the