In Stitches (Rose Valley Hospital Book 1) Read online

  In Stitches

  (Rose Valley Hospital #1)

  Sarah Collins

  Copyright 2017 Sarah Collins

  Not to be reproduced without permission

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 1

  Doctor Roya Bahar usually slept past her 5:30 alarm every morning, but something made her wake up early today. It could’ve been the loud hustle and bustle of cars driving by her window, or something as simple as her cat jumping from the bed to the floor. Either way, she knew going back to sleep wasn’t an option.

  She contemplated getting up and making her own coffee for once instead of choking down the burnt coffee from the hospital’s cafeteria again. It sounded tempting, but staying in bed just a little longer won out. Nasty coffee hadn’t killed her yet.

  She looked at her alarm clock and a sleepy grin crossed her lips. Fifteen more minutes. Just enough time to do something she never had time for anymore. Her hand pushed down her stomach and under the waistband of her underwear. Slowly. Touching here and there, getting used to the feeling of something touching her there. She anticipated her life slowing down after medical school, but that was hardly the case. Being a doctor seemed just as hard, if not harder. The hours were longer, the cases more complex, and the camaraderie of being an intern with ten other people had all but vanished. But she loved her life. The grumpy orange cat that knocked over things in the kitchen all night, the remaining debt from her schooling, and the Mercedes in her driveway—she wouldn’t change any of it.

  Her hips lolled upwards when her fingers parted her flesh and cool air ghosted across her sensitive skin. Her eyes dropped closed as she tried to conjure up a pleasing image. Sometimes she couldn’t push away the gruesome images that plagued her after performing so many surgeries, but today the sexualized image came easily.

  Roya bit her lip. A woman with large, pale breasts dotted with the pinkest nipples. She would have hair long enough to pull on—blonde, preferably. Her arms would be strong, but soft, and she would have a figure curvy enough to rival the autobahn. Roya imagined this woman naked beneath her. Blonde hair would splay across the pillows, her pale thighs would drop open, and they would be frantically rubbing against each other as they tried to reach climax. It would be soft, wet, furious.

  Roya’s mouth dropped open into an elongated o-shape. Her breath came in short bursts as she rubbed circles against herself. She couldn’t clench her eyes tighter together if she consciously tried.

  Roya pushed her head back into the pillows. Moaned softly. Pent up energy coursed through her, signaling that her body was almost ready to come undone.

  The imaginary woman slowly started to form a face. Round, green eyes. A sharp nose that turned up in a gentle slope at the end. Her lips commanded attention—plump, supple, and nearly identical to the dusky pink of her nipples. She was panting out Roya’s name in a familiar metronome. It sounded delicious. Familiar.

  “Liv,” she gasped. It almost caused her to stop right then and there, but she was so close for the first time in weeks. No sense in stopping now. It wasn’t like Olivia would ever find out about this anyway.

  She imagined touching her best friend while she touched herself. Roya imagined it would be near feral between them—a push-and-pull of dominant energy and wanton lust. For some reason, she imagined them doing it in an on-call room after work. Olivia would be unconcerned about her body as she opened herself; she knew it was flawless. They’d roll around on the small cot in the dark confines until Olivia ultimately called out in unadulterated bliss. Roya stroked herself to finish soon after, with that image seared in her mind.

  Her eyes popped open in shock. Roya didn’t even realize she was seriously into women until a couple of years ago. Now she had to deal with a growing attraction for her female best friend? What a joke.

  She tossed off the blankets and headed towards the bathroom down the dim hallway. Somehow a morning tryst with herself turned into something deeply introspective and unwanted. The bright light made her squint as she fumbled to turn on the shower. Despite being the dead middle of summer in Phoenix, she blasted the hot water. She hated being cold, and hated cold showers even more.

  The curtain remained halfway open as she turned towards the mirror over the sink. She ran her hands through her jet-black hair, amazed that it rarely ever had tangles. Despite having a decently average curvature, her large yellow shirt covered all hints of femininity hiding out underneath it. Her dark skin had very few blemishes, thanks to avoiding prolonged periods outside in the hot sun. She lived in Phoenix her whole life; she knew better than to needlessly stand outside and fuck up the even tone of her naturally tan skin. Her father, a workingman from Iran, didn’t have that luxury growing up, and now his skin loudly advertised the many sunburns and scars he accumulated over the years before moving to America. She knew he didn’t mind it, but she also knew it was a big reason he always encouraged her to get an education instead of slipping into blue-collar work.

  She tried to be honest with herself as she studied her face in the mirror. Although she sometimes felt plain, she knew her face was above standard. Her dark skin, brows, eyes, and features all came together nicely. They would probably look better if she attempted to do her makeup every once in a while, but she gave up on that years ago. Extra stress and less free time meant not caring about such trivial things. She hoped women didn’t care about that stuff as much as men.

  Roya yanked off her shirt and appraised her torso next. She could stand to lose a pound or two around her midsection, but any more than that and she would look too thin for her height. It wasn’t like she was a looming giant or anything, but she easily stood a few inches above most of her female coworkers. That was also a point of contingency for men that she hoped women wouldn’t care so much about. Her arms showed a modest amount of muscle definition, most likely due to the hours spent in the surgical suite cracking bones and realigning hips. Becoming an orthopedic surgeon caused her to gain more strength than she thought her otherwise lanky limbs could achieve.

  She peeled off her underwear and looked down with a slight grimace. It wouldn’t kill her to trim sometime. Not like she had time to do that right now though. She’d wasted all the extra minutes waking up early had afforded her by masturbating to her best friend. Now she would surely be late. Again.

  As she jumped in the shower, she realized how frequently thoughts of women filled her mind these days. As a teen, Roya had repressed her attraction to women. It was better for her family, her studies, and her peace of mind if she ignored it. But now, after countless years spent pursuing men she’d never love, it all seemed a little silly to keep trying something that didn’t work.

  But fuck. Why did it have to be Olivia? They had been best friends for years, and colleagues even longer before that. How was she going to look her in the eye today after fantasizing about Olivia’s soft tits in her mouth—all before the asscrack of dawn? For all she knew, Olivia was as straight as a ruler too.

  She shook her head. What a clusterfuck.

  Roya walked into the hospital with barely two minutes to spare. Hopefully it was enough time to grab some coffee. If not...she crossed her fingers that the patients would understand. She headed toward the cafeteria, giving the obligatory smile to other doctors and nur
ses running around the hallway. Sometimes she regretted being stationed on the third floor of Rose Valley General. All the action seemed to happen down here.

  A loud noise chirped from her bag. She almost dumped it on the floor as she fumbled around for her buzzing phone within it. Only someone from the hospital would call her this early. It had to be something urgent.

  “Damn,” she uttered, turning on her heel to head upstairs. Must not be a coffee kind of day after all. She answered the phone without checking the name of the caller, “Doctor Bahar speaking.”

  “Well good morning, Doctor. Are you at work yet?”

  Roya smiled widely as soon as she recognized the voice. “Olivia. Yes, I actually am. What’s up?”

  “That’s a surprise,” Olivia hummed in jest. “Come upstairs. I stopped for lattes on the way to work.”

  Roya ambled towards the stairs, wrinkling her brow slightly. “I didn’t think you worked early shift on Tuesdays.”

  “I don’t.” A prolonged pause filled the conversation. The smile could be heard in Olivia’s voice when she spoke again. “You forgot about the meeting, didn’t you?”

  “Shit,” Roya hissed. Her legs took long strides up the stairs, nearly two at a time. “Be there in a sec.”

  She ended the call abruptly and wedged her way through everyone going up and down the stairs at the same time. A small part of her wanted to reflect on the fact that Olivia always bought her coffee, reminded her of their meetings, and generally watched out for her in all their day-to-day activities. The rest of her realized she didn’t have enough time to unpack all of that.

  Not today anyway.

  Chapter 2

  The conference room felt heavy as soon as Roya shuffled inside. Partly due to the nature of the meeting, partly because the four surgeons had been waiting on her to arrive for nearly twenty minutes. They couldn’t exactly go forward with the plan without a key member of the team.

  “Sorry,” she fumbled. The only chair open at the table was between Olivia and the sexist pig who was Doctor Price. She purposely pushed her seat closer to her best friend before sitting. “Did I miss anything?”

  Jerry Price, the lead cardiologist, nearly scowled but decided to refocus his energy on the loading presentation. “Just getting started. Did you figure out your approach?”

  Roya pulled out her laptop. They were currently forming a cooperative approach to Savannah Lee, a five-year-old with severe Pagat’s disease, seizures, and a heart condition, along with other, smaller issues. The little girl had been under their care since birth, but only now did she require a multi-system approach to correct life-threatening issues. Months and months of planning, scrutinizing files and x-rays, and mind-boggling amounts of research hours had led them to this penultimate meeting. The surgery date was quickly approaching. They didn’t have much time to waste now.

  Roya’s knee brushed Olivia’s under the table. She decided to leave it there until Olivia wanted to pull away. “I think I have it down to some of the more nuanced details. I’m still not sure if it would be better to correct the limb and neurological issues at the same time, or do everything separately.”

  Matthew Bradford, the other cardiologist, leaned forward in his chair. “Why couldn’t we do cardio, then neuro, then the legs?”

  Olivia shook her head. “If she has no brain function, what good is fixing her heart first? It can wait. I say we do neuro and ortho at once, then finish off with cardio if she makes it through.”

  “I agree,” Roya nodded. Not only because she was currently eyeing how great Olivia’s breasts looked in those green scrubs, but because it was a damn solid plan. She had been leaning towards it for weeks now. “So lets go forward with that for right now.”

  Silence filled the room for a moment before Doctor Price spoke up. “Alright,” he cracked his fingers, “Lets keep that in mind as we go through the slides. Stop me if you want to discuss something. Otherwise, we’ll start with another overview of the patient’s x-rays.”

  Roya had memorized these months ago. Bones were her specialty for a reason. The ossification, cartilage folds, and connection points fascinated her. She didn’t need to see them again. Instead, she angled her body towards Olivia. “Thanks,” she mouthed.

  A smile bloomed across Olivia’s face. It was the one reserved for Roya alone. “Anytime. Here—I got you a mocha.”

  Roya tried not to think about how she spent all morning mind-fucking her best friend, but it was almost impossible. Olivia looked, by all accounts, aesthetically perfect. Just one glance from those green eyes sent Roya flying. Add the makeup, immaculately styled hair, and fancy scrubs—it was damn near surreal. Having so much attention bestowed on her at once by such a perfect creature almost felt uncomfortable. She took the proffered latte with little grace.

  “My favorite,” she whispered again. “Thanks.”

  It tasted creamy and sweet, much like how she imagined Olivia would be. She tried to push that thought away, but it came back with every sip. The proximity of Olivia distracted her through the whole conference. She didn’t even focus when her other colleague and friend, Taylor Mann, directed a question towards her. Roya was too busy imagining Olivia’s toned thighs wrapped around her waist to explain how to stabilize a tibia.

  They dispersed after an hour of arguing about the specifics of each surgical facet. Like the last meetings, they concluded to rejoin once more before going ahead with Savannah’s initial procedures. If they waited much longer, the little girl may not be able to ever walk again. But she didn’t need to tell anyone in the room that; they all understood the urgency lurking around them.

  “Have any surgeries today?” Olivia asked once they were the last two people remaining in the room. She picked up her bags with a perfectly manicured hand before tucking a strand of fallen hair behind her ear. “I have two scheduled and who knows how many emergencies.”

  “Being a neurologist must suck,” Roya retorted. “Hardly anyone needs me in a rush. Broken bones don’t kill people very often.”

  Olivia laughed again. Roya wanted to make her laugh like that for the rest of forever. “I’m not sure if you’re lazy or just really smart.”

  Roya grinned. “Can’t I be both?”

  Olivia rolled her eyes playfully. Roya loved it when she did that. “Are we still on for lunch?”

  They walked into the hallway towards the elevators. Roya pushed the button nearly as hard as she tried not to stare at Olivia’s lips. “As long as you’re okay with the cafeteria again. I have a few bones to set this afternoon.”

  The blonde grimaced. “They’re lucky you have gentle hands.”

  Roya really tried to fight off her blush. It won out in the end. “That’s what they say. Hey, thanks again for backing me up in there. And for the drink. I appreciate it.”

  “It was the best course of action. They all know it or we’d still be arguing about it.” Olivia brushed her fingers across the bare skin of Roya’s arm. It wasn’t an uncommon gesture between them, but damn if it didn’t set the patch of skin alight. “And besides, I know you’d do the same for me.”

  Roya debated what to say next. She appreciated the support, but she was also thinking about Olivia naked again. The softness of her skin, the authority of her presence. This crush wasn’t going to go away any time soon. Roya decided to plow forward with it, despite having the elegance of a bull. The elevator rose as quickly as her heart rate. “Want to have dinner tonight? I heard about a new Indian restaurant by my apartment we should try.”

  Olivia flashed a regretful smile towards her. “Can’t,” she answered as the elevator slowed, “I have a date.”

  She watched Olivia get off a floor below her own stop, fighting the bile rising in her throat. Fuck. Olivia had been single for months and months, allowing Roya to get closer to her than ever before. No dates, no distractions. They practically lived with each other for a few weekends when Roya’s air conditioning went out. And now Olivia chose to set up a date?

  With a
sigh, she stepped onto the orthopedic floor. She needed to get over her girl crush now before it crushed her.

  Chapter 3

  The next morning, she bumped into Olivia again outside of Savannah’s room on the pediatric floor. They hadn’t planned on meeting here, but it only made sense that they would both want to see their small patient before her upcoming surgery. Although Rose Valley was truly a huge hospital, the surgeons and doctors always did their best to make sure each patient felt welcomed and at ease.

  “I didn’t know you were coming by,” Olivia said, smiling as they arrived in front of Savannah’s door. “You should’ve told me. We could’ve planned a tag-team approach.”

  Normally she would’ve told Olivia she was coming to meet with a mutual patient. Today, however, she was too preoccupied with the fact that Olivia had a date. A date that was not with Roya. It threw her off her professional game more than a little.

  “Sorry,” Roya said, shaking her head. “I’ve been a little preoccupied today.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  Roya fibbed. “Had a lot of cases today. Stresses me out.”

  “Oh. Well maybe we can go out for drinks soon. It’s about time we take a break.”

  That was the best thing she’d heard all day. Not only did she need a break from work, she had a burning, primal urge to spend as much time with Olivia as physically possible. Felt like more than a little crush, but Roya didn’t dwell on that.

  “Definitely,” Roya agreed. She motioned towards the patient’s door. “You ready?”

  Inside, they found Savannah sitting upright in the bed. She didn’t greet them at first, too invested in watching cartoons on the small tablet in her hands. Her body was smaller than most five-year-olds. It was largely due to the disease that had twisted her bones at odd angles. Her mother had endured a complicated pregnancy that ended months too early—causing Savanna to have other medical issues. They planned on fixing as many of the problems as their surgical talent would allow.