Feelings

Chapter 11

It had been a stressful day for Melendez. He had lost a patient on the table which was never a pleasant experience, no matter how many years he had been a surgeon. He was also feeling guilty about not stopping by to see Lim yesterday. Why he felt remorseful, he honestly didn't know. He was just about to leave when he saw Shaun sitting out front. Shaun did a quick glance at Melendez and said, "Have a good night, Dr. Melendez," he went back to staring straight ahead of him as he waited for the bus.

"You too, Dr. Murphy," he acknowledged. He went to go to his car when he stopped himself, "Dr. Murphy, is there a reason why you cared so much about my whereabouts when we were in the OR yesterday?"

Shaun stayed silent for a few moments, "I don't care," he admitted stoically, "But Dr. Lim is very patient with me and I miss working with her and I think you can help her get better," he said in his monotone voice.

Melendez furrowed his brow and sat down next to the young resident, "Um, what makes you say that?"

More silence, "Because when I was treating her in isolation, she was whispering your name."

"Oh," Melendez was surprised by this admission.

"She was also praying to God about not letting her die," Shaun stated. This admission also surprised Melendez given the fact that Lim wasn't very religious, but he accounted it to the 'no atheist in a foxhole' mentality, "Her vitals would improve whenever you were around and even before she got the virus, her pupils would dilate, which indicates attraction."

"Dr. Murphy..."

"She also insults you, stares at you across the room, and sometimes stands close to you, all signs of flirting," explained Shaun, "She laughs at your jokes even though they're usually not funny," Melendez decided to ignore Shaun's insult because he was probably oblivious to it, "The scientific facts show that she'll recover better if you're around her more," Melendez raised his eyebrows, having no clue that Shaun was that observant, "Lea once told me that if you like someone, then you should tell that person how you feel before he or she gets away."

Melendez wasn't quite sure if Shaun was actually giving advice or just trying to understand and make connections to the situation, but Melendez didn't care. He immediately got up and headed towards his car, not bothering to say goodbye to Shaun, though that action was also something Shaun did on a regular basis, so thankfully Shaun didn't seem offended. He drove straight to Lim's house and knocked on the door, hoping she wasn't napping. She answered the door quickly, like she had been waiting for him, "I was wondering if you would come by today," she said softy.

Lim let Melendez into the house and Melendez remembered that she had another pulmonary rehab session today, "So how did your session go?" he asked.

"It went well," she said, "Still at 70%, but I could walk a mile on the treadmill before I got winded."

"Well, that's good," Melendez said, "Listen, Audrey..."

"No, let me speak first. It's important," she pleaded. Melendez nodded and Lim pulled him over to the couch. They sat down and she took a deep breath, "Listen, Neil, I've been meaning to talk to you about something. You remember the night before I got sick?"

Of course he remembered that night, but he was still going to ask for confirmation, "As in the night we had sex?" he asked a little too cheerily.

Lim glared at him but nodded, "Yes. You know how I said it was pretty great? I lied," she said.

Oh no. She had regretted the sex, "What do you mean you lied?" asked Melendez.