Don’t Fall for the Doctor by Lacey Bolt

Chapter 39

Ashley pressed the doorbell to Michael’s apartment again. The mechanical chimes rang softly through the door, just like they had done the last two times she rang the doorbell. And just like they had done an hour ago when she stopped by. No other sound came from the other side of the door.

She turned and made a thumbs down signal to Kelly and Emily, who both sat inside Emily’s car. The wind blew her hair in front of her eyes, and she brushed it aside before scanning the parking lot again. A few cars filled the parking lot, but his wasn’t there.

Hours had already passed since she decided to show up at his apartment and win him back. She tried to push aside the pressing feeling in her chest. The same feeling that made her sure that he was at the hospital the other day resurfaced. But for how long?

She scanned the parking lot one more time and then walked over to Emily’s car and let herself in the backseat.

“Still no answer.”

Kelly made a soft tsking sound while Emily turned the car on. “We could head to the hospital.”

Ashley shook her head at Emily’s suggestion. “I want to do this outside of the hospital.”

Kelly pulled out her phone and tapped the screen a few times. “There’s another used car dealership a few miles from here. Want to look at one more place?”

Ashley’s heart sank at the thought of looking at another car. “I’m done looking at cars for today.”

“I really liked the red convertible at the last dealership.” Kelly sighed.

“Me too.” Emily let out a similar sigh.

“Me three. But I hated the price tag.” Ashley looked out the window as Emily pulled out onto the main road. A few cars passed them, but none of them looked like Michael’s car.

“I guess I’ll drive you both home. Ash, want to borrow my car tomorrow so you can look on your own while I’m at work?”

Ashley tried to hide the wave of sadness that washed over her. Everyone would be at work tomorrow, including Michael. She could practically see him sleeping at the hospital all week, returning home only to pick up clean clothing. He’d done it in the past, and she was sure he’d do it again.

She did not want to have this conversation at the hospital. Not where he said that he couldn’t balance a relationship and his job. No, she needed to talk to him somewhere else, in a place where he didn’t have all the reminders of his work. She needed to show him that they could get through hard times together. She needed to break through the walls that he’d built.

She saw a coffee shop across the street, and an idea formed in her head. “Emily, can you pull over?” This might make her a stalker, but she couldn’t risk missing him today.

Emily put on the turn signal and pulled into the lot for a gas station. “You ok?” Both she and Kelly stared at her with looks of concern. Kelly’s look was her typical motherly look of worry, while Emily’s look was more cautious. “Are you going to be sick?”

Ashley shook her head. “I have to find him today. There’s a coffee shop over there. I’m going to wait there until he comes home.”

Kelly looked across the street to the coffee shop. “You can’t see his apartment from there. How will you know when he’s back?”

“I can walk there and check.”

“And what if he doesn’t get back for a few hours?” Kelly pressed her lips together and frowned. “I should just call him and tell him to come home.”

“No.” Ashley’s voice came out harsher than she intended. “Sorry. I need to do this on my own.”

Emily gave her a small nod, and Kelly didn’t say anything further. Ashley got out of the car and crossed the street to the coffee shop.

* * *

Two hours and three cups of coffee later, there was still no sign of Michael. She glanced at the time again. Five more minutes. She’d make herself wait for five more minutes before she took the four-minute walk back to his apartment to ring his doorbell.

Three minutes passed by before a firetruck sped down the street in front of the coffee shop, sirens wailing. A minute later, another firetruck rushed down the street. Finally, one minute after that, Ashley picked up her purse and walked out the door.

Ashley turned the corner to Michael’s apartment building and gasped at the scene. The two firetrucks that passed by earlier blocked the view of his building, and firefighters walked around in full protective gear. A crowd of people stood at the back of the parking lot, huddled into small groups and staring at the building.

A familiar Tesla sat in the parking space next to Michael’s open front door. A firefighter walked through the doorway into his apartment.

Ashley started running. She ran between the firetrucks, ignoring the yells coming after her. She stopped right before she reached his front door when a large person stepped in front of her.

“Go back. You can’t go in there.” The man put his arms out, blocking her path.

She stared at the man, dressed in a police uniform. The high-pitched beeps of a smoke detector met her ears as she tried to push down the panic rising in her chest. She stepped back, then looked around. “Do you know where he is? The man who lives here?”

He shook his head. “Get back from the building.”

She opened her mouth to ask again, but the officer’s stern look made her words freeze in her throat. Two firefighters jogged past her and walked into Michael’s apartment.

The police officer grabbed Ashley’s arm and led her away from Michael’s apartment, towards the end of the row of apartments. She glanced over her shoulder but didn’t see Michael. “Do you know where he is?”

“You have to stay back. Let the firefighters do their job.”

“I know, but I need to know where the man is who lives there.”

“Look, the fire is probably put out by now. Give it a few more minutes, maybe half an hour, and your friend will show up if he was home at the time of the incident.” The police officer’s voice sounded nicer now that they were away from Michael’s door.

“Do you know if anyone was hurt?” Ashley tried to keep the panic from taking over her voice.

“You can check with the ambulance.” The officer released his grip on her arm. “Do not go back to your friend’s apartment until the area is cleared. Understand?” He narrowed his eyes at her, all signs of any sympathy erased from his face.

Ashley nodded once, and the officer walked away. She looked around the parking lot. Michael was tall, but she didn’t see him. She walked past a few groups of people and then noticed an ambulance parked behind the firetrucks. She weaved her way through the crowd until she reached the vehicle.

“Michael.” The word came out as more of a gasp than a word, but the man sitting on the back bumper of the ambulance looked up at her. He started to stand, but the medic standing next to him placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him from moving.

“Ashley, what are you doing here?” Michael shifted his body sideways, pushing the medic’s hand off his shoulder.

“Ma’am, you can’t be back here. Patients only.” The medic stood to block Ashley’s view of Michael.

“It’s fine, Pete. I know her. She can stay.” Michael looked around the medic. “What are you doing here?”

Ashley looked at the ground. He looked fine, but she couldn’t tell if he was glad to see her. “I came to, um, talk with you.”

The medic turned his attention back to Michael. Ashley took a cautious step towards them. Michael patted the empty space on the ambulance bumper next to him as an invitation to sit. Ashley let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding and walked around the medic to join Michael.

The medic pointed to the ice pack that covered Michael’s hand and his forearm. “How’s it feel now?”

“Better than before.”

“Keep this ice pack on it for a few more minutes.” The medic grabbed a clipboard from the side of the ambulance and leaned against the side of the open door, about two feet away from Michael.

Ashley looked at Michael out of the corner of her eye. He smelled faintly of smoke, almost like burnt sugar but more intense. “What happened?”

“Nothing really.” He looked at the ground by their feet.

The medic let out a snort. “I wouldn’t call a fire ‘nothing.’”

“Can we have some privacy, Pete?”

“Can’t. Not while you’re my patient. You should know that, doc.” Pete didn’t look the least bit concerned about annoying Michael.

“Pete.” Michael’s voice was heavy with warning.

“Doc. You two have your conversation. I won’t listen in.” He winked at Ashley. “Doc and I are sort of a team. We work together. I take care of the patients until they get to the hospital and let the doc take over. You can say anything you need to say in front of me. I’ve heard it all and I won’t repeat a word.” He looked back at his clipboard.

Ashley studied her hands. She did not want to have a win-him-back conversation in front of a stranger, even one who knew Michael. “Are you ok?”

“I’m fine. Don’t even really need to be over here.” He shifted next to her, his leg touching hers for a second.

“What’s the ice pack for?”

“Nothing really.”

Pete let out another snort. “I wouldn’t call a possible second-degree burn ‘nothing.’”

Ashley inhaled sharply. “You’re burned?”

“Just a little. Thanks, Pete.” He moved his left arm slightly, letting out a quiet hiss.

“Don’t blame me. You started the fire yourself.”

Ashley gasped again. “How did you start the fire?”

Pete put down his clipboard and looked over at them. “Hold up a second. The fire chief will want to hear this story. Ready to chat with him?”

Michael groaned. “Not really.”

Pete shrugged and turned away. “I’ll get him. Be back in a minute.”

Ashley watched Pete walk away and then turned to face Michael. He still hadn’t looked at her. She felt the anger start to rise now that she knew he wasn’t severely hurt. “I guess he forgot that he just said he needed to keep an eye on you.”

“Pete’s a good guy.” Michael raised his head and looked at Ashley. She couldn’t read the expression in his eyes. “Look, before they get back, there’s something I need to say.”

Ashley swallowed hard. She needed to talk to him before he built the wall between them any higher. “I need to say something too. I —”

“This is Gail, the fire chief.” Pete interrupted Ashley mid-sentence. A short woman in firefighter gear stood next to him, holding a notebook and a pen. “Chief, meet the doc.”

“Nice to meet you.” The chief held out her hand to shake Michael’s. He shifted slightly so he could shake her hand while keeping his left arm still. “Call me Gail. Want to tell me what happened?”

“Umm . . .” Michael licked his lips and made eye contact with Ashley briefly. He looked back at Gail and Pete, who both looked poised to take notes.

“This is a legal matter. I need to know exactly what happened. We need to rule out possible arson.”

“Arson?” Ashley’s mouth went dry at the thought of someone having purposefully tried to hurt Michael. “Who would do that to you?”

Michael held up his hand and shook his head. “Not arson. Definitely not arson. I started the fire myself. On accident.”

Gail looked skeptical. “Two neighbors reported an individual approaching your door multiple times today, about once an hour, with the last sighting about forty-five minutes before the fire started.”

Ashley swallowed hard and looked at her feet as her face grew hot.

“I definitely set the fire myself.” Michael’s voice had a hint of hesitation. “I don’t think anyone else could have done it.”

“How did you start the fire?” Gail jotted down something in her notebook.

“I, well, I came home and started cooking.”

“What were you making?” Gail didn’t look up as she asked the question.

Michael mumbled something in response, but Ashley couldn’t make out the words.

“What was that?” Gail stopped writing and stared at Michael.

“Mint chocolate chip cookies.”

Ashley’s heart started thumping out of control. She felt Michael’s gaze on her but couldn’t raise her head.

He shifted and placed his uninjured hand on top of Ashley’s leg. “I was an idiot. I made the biggest mistake of my life. I wanted to do something to make up for it.”

“I love mint chocolate chip cookies,” Ashley whispered. She tried to turn her head to face Michael, but her entire body remained frozen, as if the wrong move would ruin this moment.

“I know.” His voice came out in a whisper in her ear.

“Can you repeat that part? Didn’t hear it.” Gail’s voice cut through and broke Ashley out of Michael’s spell. Ashley looked up at Gail, who studied her notebook, and Pete, who stood with his arms crossed, an amused smirk on his face.

Michael cleared his throat and shifted his head away from Ashley’s. “I said I made a big mistake, and I wanted to make cookies as an apology.”

“What kind of mistake did you make?” Gail stopped writing and shifted her gaze between Ashley and Michael.

“Is that relevant to how the fire started?” Michael protested.

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

Michael let out a sigh. “I tried to run away from the best thing that ever happened to me. From the best person I’ve ever met.”

“Did you apologize?” Gail looked less than amused.

“I’m trying to. The cookies were supposed to be a peace offering. But the oven caught fire.”

“How?” Gail started making notes on her paper again.

“The oven started smoking, and then there were flames. I put most of the flames out with the fire extinguisher.”

Ashley gasped at the image of flames taking over Michael’s kitchen. She could have lost him today. If the fire had been any bigger, or if he had been trapped in the apartment—she shuddered and lifted her hand to wipe her eye.

Michael jumped up, ignoring the ice pack when it fell off his arm and made a soft thump on the ground. He kneeled in front of her and took both of her hands in his. His left arm had a patch of bright red skin where the fire burned him.

“You could have been hurt badly.” Her voice shook as she spoke.

“I’m not.” His voice was the opposite. Calm and comforting.

“We fought yesterday. And I almost lost you today.” She freed her hand to wipe her eyes again. “Just like my parents.”

“What do you mean?”

She took a deep breath in, trying not to let loose the sobs that threatened to spill out. She came here to make up with him, to win him back, and to convince him that they could count on each other. She wanted to rip down the remaining walls between them. But her body was aching to run away.

She took a deep breath and looked up. Behind Michael, she saw Gail and Pete turn slightly and point across the parking lot. They were trying to give her and Michael a few private moments. She squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them again and looked at Michael. “I went to college to be a social worker, just like my parents. Except that I hated it. I wanted to transfer to a culinary school instead. My parents were upset the night that I told them. They thought I was throwing away three and a half years of college and that I should graduate with the social work degree. We fought. They drove away that night, and—” she looked down at Michael’s hands. “There was an accident. I never saw them again.”

Michael drew in a deep breath. “That’s why you didn’t want to become a chef.”

She nodded. “I didn’t want to disappoint my parents.” She swallowed hard and looked up. She could do this. She focused on his eyes and tried not to think of anything else. “I don’t want to live in the past anymore. I don’t want to stop myself from living my dreams. And I don’t want to lose you. I love you.”

He wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips against hers. His lips tasted like smoke, but she didn’t care. She told him that she loved him, and she had torn down the last of her own walls.

He pulled back from her kiss and rested his forehead against hers. “I love you too. I’m going to prove it to you. I have the name of a therapist, and I am going to get some help. Get my panic attacks under control again. And not let my fears ruin our relationship. I’m never going to push you away again.”

Ashley moved her head forward and kissed him again. “Make me one more promise first.”

He nodded. “Anything you want.”

“Promise me that you’ll sign up for remedial cooking classes.”

“I will if you’re the teacher.” A slow grin spread across his face. “Maybe I can earn some extra credit by washing the dishes.”

Ashley leaned forward for one more kiss. “I’ll let you wash the dishes every night. My cleaning days are done.”