Two Worlds

It had already been two days, and yet Riley had not come to the hospital after that day. I started to wonder how he had been and if anything had happened with him and that girl who suddenly made an appearance in front of us. That woman could either be his ex-girlfriend or a friend; it is impossible that they are related, as they did not look very alike.

Who could she really be?

I flinched; adrenaline was rushing through my veins, and I felt my face flush. It was not like I was his girlfriend. I have no right to demand an explanation from him or for him to give me one, but I am over here worrying about something that I have no control over.

"Um, Dr. Do." A voice had snapped me out of my train of thought, and I was brought back to reality. My eyes turned down, and I realized that there was a patient right in front of me. "You have been blinking at that log book. Is everything okay with me? Am I going to die?"

I shook my head really slowly and avoided the patient's eyes. I cannot believe myself today. This was the first time that I'd spaced out while I was at work. This is embarrassing. I left the patient's room as soon as I was done with his check-up, and it was as I expected—the staff had all been whispering about me and how I had been abandoned all of a sudden when a woman showed up in front of the man who publicly declared his feelings for me and who made a huge misunderstanding about our relationship. Of course that would be worth a gossip: one of the prettiest doctors in this hospital, who had been heartlessly turning down every man who asked her out, had gotten her heart broken by a celebrity.

"Hey, Ms. Popular, is everything going smoothly with you and Martins?" Hunter entered my office without even knocking, which was nothing new as he always does this whenever he is free, but today, I would have liked it if he had asked if it was okay if he were to come inside. Rumors were never fun. I knew how hard it was for the person who was involved in that gossip. The band that Riley was a part of back in the day had dealt with something like this.

A sigh escaped from my lips as Hunter sat on the seat that was in front of my office desk. He whispered, "I guess your relationship with him is already facing problems, huh?"

"Please stop talking about Riley. We're not in a relationship like what all of you are thinking; it was your fault why I had to deal with this nonsense, Hunter. If you hadn't spread a rumor about the two of us inside the hospital, both Riley and I could walk around in this building with our heads held up high."

"But you spent a night together in your home, did you not?"

I grunted; my forehead was resting on the palm of my hand. "There was a reason for that. Besides, nothing happened between us. And telling other people about the love lives of your friends, aren't you the worst type of person? Have you really studied psychology, Hunt? Are you really a doctor?"

"I guess I really messed up, huh? You are really mad, too. This isn't the first time that I made a useless rumor about you; remember how I had told everyone that you were the ruthless and the heartless Dr. Do? You brushed it off as a joke—" I cut him off.

"Don't you ever know how to apologize, Hunter? If you came here just to talk about all the terrible things you've done to me, I'd appreciate it if you left right now. You are not helping. Leave."

"Katarina!"

Hunter was about to exit my office when another man barged inside, and it was the other person who was involved in the pointless rumor and who had been going 'round and 'round inside my head. He locked eyes with Hunter but did not exchange words with one another. Perez left while Martins sat down on the seat in front of my table. I remained quiet, carefully looking through the compiled files of my patients. I could feel his burning gaze; however, I would have liked it if he had not come today.

"Hey, Katarina." He whispered my name again, but I resisted the urge to look at his face. It was hard; I had never thought that my feelings for this person had grown this deep. But that was the last thing that I wanted him to notice, and so that was what I was going to do. His hand reached out to hold mine, but I pulled away before we even made contact. I heard a sigh from the brunette, and he stood up from the seat. What he did next was more upsetting than the fact that he has not contacted me for the last two days—he left the office.

Is that it? He's not going to try anymore? He's just going to leave? I guess that's how shallow his feelings for me were.

I decided not to spend another minute inside my office and roamed around the hospital to check on my patients. It was a relief that all of them have started to show improvements, especially Czarina, who was the victim of rape and physical abuse. When I was done patrolling, I found a bench and sat on it to get some fresh air. My stomach has begun to rumble, and now that I think about it, I haven't eaten anything since morning. Standing up, I turned to the left to go back inside the building, but I was surprised to see Riley in front of me with two paper bags in his hands. My eyes looked down at my feet as my left foot took one step forward. Riley has grabbed my arm.

"Please don't be like this."

"Like what?"

"I'm sorry; I know that I should have at least called you. I messed up, Kat; I know that."

"That's not the reason why—" I stopped mid-sentence and pulled back my arm. "Forget it. It is not like we were in any sort of relationship. Just please, stop making things that might confuse people."

"I bought you lunch, Kat," he exclaimed when I walked past him. "I was thinking that you have not eaten anything for lunch yet." I felt stupid. So that was the reason why he left like he did earlier—he was still thinking about me even though I had given him the cold shoulder. "Can you at least just eat these with me before you ask me to leave?"

Riley bought Japanese cuisine food, and we were on the third level of the hospital, on the balcony. It was a good thing that it was a little windy; this was the perfect time to eat lunch over here. The man sitting across from me remained wordless, as did I, but my eyes kept stealing glances at him every ten seconds.

"How's your foot?" I flinched when he suddenly spoke. His eyes were not on me when he asked that, though, and it made me think as if he did not want me to ask him anything about what happened with him and that woman. This is ridiculous; I am getting jealous of them when Riley is not even my boyfriend!

"It's fine; it has healed properly. I do not need the crutches anymore."

"That's a relief."

We were then enveloped by silence, and neither has ever bothered to look at the other. We ate our lunches with no more words coming out of our mouths, and this was the first time that I wanted my lunch break to go faster. I was cleaning up the boxes as I was done, but then Riley held my hand, and I froze.

"She was not my ex-girlfriend, if that's what's been bothering you."

"Excuse me?"

"She was nobody; however, I do not want her to know anything about you. I'm afraid that she might tell you unnecessary things."

"What things?"

Riley turned his head upward and looked into my eyes. "Things that I would never want for you to know, Katarina."

"You're making it more complicated as it is, Riley. Can't you just tell me what is going on? Who is she, and why does she know me? I could swear that that was the first time that I'd seen her."

"She's... Shanaia is someone from the future. She is not from this world."

I scoffed, clearing up the trash that was on the table and disposing of it in the garbage can. Riley turned my body around as he firmly held my shoulders. "Kat, I know that I like to joke around, but this time, I am serious. That's why I was afraid of you getting anywhere near her."

"Then what about you?" The hands on my shoulders started to tremble. "Why does she know about you? Why're you friends with someone who's not from this world?"

"Because he caught me one time." A voice cut in as both of our heads turned to look in the direction of it. There was the girl from that day, and Riley had suddenly grabbed me by the waist and pulled me close to his side. The woman took a step forward, and I could feel his hand shaking. "Riley's caught me opening a portal—one that serves as my gateway from my world to this world. I had told him to keep my secret, and I had to keep an eye on him just in case he tries to break that promise."