“More nightmares?” he said. I nodded and explained to him what I saw last night.
Edward sighed after hearing about my encounter with the talking skeleton and Enzo and sat in his chair across from me. “Close your eyes… Good. Now I want you to repeat after me. There is no such thing as werewolves.”
“There is no such thing as werewolves,” I repeated.
“There is no such thing as talking skeletons,” Edward said.
“There is no such thing as talking skeletons,” I repeated.
Edward had me continue repeating the mantra while he turned on a metronome. The slow ticking of the metronome lulled me into a somewhat dazed state. Next, he described images to me; peaceful scenery, like the ocean at sunset, or a field of flowers, to help me relax. I started to breathe deeply and felt my heart rate slow down, and soon I was completely susceptible to Edward’s hypnosis…
By the end of the session, the hypnosis seemed to be helping. Everything that I saw in the anatomy lab was becoming a blur, like it was all a dream. Edward seemed pleased with my progress and told me to come back if I needed more help. Feeling much better, I sat up, rubbing my eyes after being in an almost dreamlike state for the past half hour, and then left for my internship.
Tiffany was waiting for me outside her office when I arrived.
“Are you alright?” Tiffany said, looking concerned. “You look like you haven’t slept in a week.”
I shrugged, pushing my glasses up on my nose. “Just stressed,” I replied. “Lots of projects.”
“Yeah, medical school will do that to you,” Tiffany said. We walked together to the arena.
“The boys are starting their tournament soon so we’ll be doing lots of physical exams for the next few weeks,”
Tiffany explained as we walked in the chilly morning air. The leaves had finally begun to fall and it was really starting to feel like autumn now. With the morning fog and the smell of autumn in the air, I was feeling a lot better now.
Before we went into the arena, Tiffany stopped me outside and smiled warmly at me. “I just want to say that I’m glad you’ve stuck around so far,” she said. “You’re a great worker and I really appreciate your help.”
I bit my lip and looked at the ground. I had still been planning on talking to the dean for a reassignment, but now I was reconsidering that decision. Besides, at this point the dean probably wouldn’t even let me pick a new internship since we were already a quarter of the way through the semester. Maybe things would calm down soon and I could actually enjoy this internship, because I really did like the work.
With another smile, Tiffany opened the door to the arena and we went inside. The team was already practicing their drills when we entered. Justin was too focused on his form to pay any attention to me thankfully, and Enzo only shot me a quick glance before returning to training the team.
Tiffany and I walked over to the bench and started preparing a spot for physical exams.
“The exams won’t be nearly as intense as the last ones,” she explained. “Just basic stuff. Checking for injuries, that sort of thing.”
I nodded and got to work as Tiffany started calling over the hockey players one by one for their exams. She stood off to the side for most of it, taking notes on my performance while I did most of the work. At this point, I was getting surprisingly good at being the team doctor, and even started to joke around with some of the players while I examined them. Even Justin was cordial with me, and by the time I was finished, I had almost completely forgotten about my dreams about the anatomy lab.
The last player to examine was Enzo.
He came over and sat down on the bench, his brown eyes fixed on me the entire time while I checked his pulse, felt his muscular back and legs for injuries, and shined my little flashlight in his eyes. My heart raced while I examined him, partially from the romantic tension between us as he gazed at me and partially from the vague memories of my dream about him. I felt silly now for ever believing that he was a werewolf!
Once I was done, Tiffany helped me clean up while the team went to the locker room to change out of their gear and go to class.
“You did great today,” she said, patting me on the shoulder. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
I nodded, feeling a little bashful that I was starting to fit into this job better than I expected. “Yeah,” I replied. “See you tomorrow.”
Tiffany smiled and left with her medical bag. I opened my phone to see a text from Lori:
“Lunch?” it read. I tapped out a quick reply agreeing to meet her at the quad, then walked over to the door and flicked off the main lights. Just before I left, though, I heard a sound behind me and looked over my shoulder to see Enzo skating by himself in the rink.
He was skating around with his stick, flicking the puck this way and that before hitting it into the net while I watched from the darkness. He went and retrieved the puck, then repeated the same routine. His form, under the single light above him, made him appear even more handsome… and a little solemn, in a way.
Enzo flicked the puck into the net again, then stopped halfway across the rink as he went to retrieve it and looked straight in my direction. Even though I was standing in the dark, somehow he saw me.
He smiled at me, and my heart fluttered.
Nina
Enzo skated over to the edge of the rink, gesturing for me to come. I felt strangely magnetized to him and walked over to meet him at the railing, which he leaned on. As he leaned and gazed at me with his shining brown eyes, I felt my heart skip a beat.
“Skate with me,” he said, his voice a little stern.
I blushed and looked around. “I… I don’t know how,” I said.
Enzo simply shrugged, his lips turning up a bit at the corners in a bit of a smirk. “I’ll teach you,” he said. “Don’t worry.” He gestured toward the rack in the corner where the rental skates were.
I hesitantly walked over to the rental skates and picked out a pair in my size, then sat down on a bench to put them on. It was hard to lace up the skates and get them tight enough; Enzo must have seen me struggling, because he came off the ice and got down on one knee in front of me.
“Give me your foot.”
My face was officially beet red now as I stuck my foot out and watched Enzo lace up my boots. When he was finished, he stood and held his hand out for me to help me up. I put my hand in his, noticing how small mine was in his palm and how light I felt when he helped me stand.
We walked over to the rink and he got on the ice ahead of me. My knees were shaking, partially from the nerves of potentially falling on the ice, but also because of being close to Enzo like this.
“Don’t worry,” Enzo said softly, taking both of my hands as I nervously stepped onto the ice. “I’ve got you.”
I bit my lip and put one foot on the ice, then the other… and immediately slipped.
“Woah!” Enzo caught me in his strong arms with a chuckle. He held me there for a few moments before helping me stand upright. I could feel his heartbeat against me as he held me, and the campfire scent that always surrounded him filled my senses. I hated to admit it, but I suddenly got a bit wet at the thought of his muscles beneath his hockey uniform.
Once I was able to stand without my feet slipping out from under me, Enzo slowly started skating backwards and holding both of my hands. I felt like an awkward baby deer on the ice as I hobbled forward, but Enzo was encouraging.
“You’re doing great,” he said. “Keep your weight shifted forward. There you go. Now shift from one foot to the other, keeping the skates on the ice.”
I followed his instructions, and soon, I felt a little more confident and wasn’t quite as shaky as before. I started skating while only holding one of Enzo’s hands for a bit.
“See?” Enzo said. “You’re a fast learner.” I blushed again and kept my head down, focusing on not falling.
Suddenly, Enzo dropped my hand. I nearly fell from the shock of it, windmilling my arms to keep myself up, and frowned at him as he skated a little ways away from me.
“Where are you going?” I said angrily, curling up my fists at my sides.
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