Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
The door opens, and a man starts talking. “Jason Hawk, it’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard all about you from Walker.”
I stand up and hold my hand out. When he shakes it, I nod my head. “I’ve heard all about you too, Dr. Beem. Thanks for fitting me into your schedule.”
He laughs and drops my hand. “Well, Walker didn’t give me much of a choice.”
I laugh. “Yeah, Walker’s a good guy.”
“The best,” he agrees. “So here’s the game plan for today. “We’re going to do vision screenings—”
I cut him off. “But I can’t see. I mean, nothing. Not even shadows.”
I hear him roll a chair, and I assume he sits down, so I do the same. He clears his throat. “Right, well, it still needs to be done. Then we’re going to do an MRI of your head, run a few tests and…”
I cut him off. “So when will I know? No offense, Dr. Beem, but for two years I’ve been told my sight is going to come back, but everything is still black. I spend every day wondering if today is the day. I just want to know. I’m sorry, I don’t want to be pushy but…” My voice trails off.
“But you need to get on with your life, right? I get it. I’m here and I’m not leaving town until we have some answers.”
I take a deep breath, and even though I’m scared, fuck I’m scared, but it feels good to know that by the end of the day, I’ll know something. “Okay, sounds good. Let’s get started.”
Dr. Beem laughs. “Okay, let’s do it.”
“Are you going to have your nurse do the tests?” I ask him, wondering if he’s going to leave and I’ll have to track him down later.
He opens the door. “Nope, you’re stuck with me. Walker wants me to run all the tests myself.”
I whistle softly. “Wow, he’s pulling in all his favors. I’m never going to be able to pay him back.”
“We’re turning left out of the room. Testing room is the last room down the hall on the left.” We start to walk, and Dr. Beem fills me in. “Walker saved my life over twenty years ago. If he calls me and asks me to do something, I do it.”
I grunt. “He saved me too.”
Dr. Beem laughs. “I have a feeling most of the men and women here at the compound can say the same thing.”
I nod in agreement. “I’d say you’re right.”
We get into the room and go through a number of tests. There’s nothing to them, and for the most part, I lie back and let him do his thing. He asks me what feels like a thousand questions, but I answer every one of them truthfully.
After numerous tests, Dr. Beem comes to stand next to me. “You doing okay?”
I nod tiredly. “Yep, I’m good.”
“Okay, so the MRI is next. It will take around forty-five minutes. I need you to lie as still as possible.”
I nod. “I can do it.”
He attaches something to my head and then gears grind as I slide into a machine. There’s knocking as the machine starts to process and I concentrate on laying still. Of course my thoughts go to Olivia. I should have told her about my appointment today. but I felt that might be pushing it. She seemed fine with everything, even when I got a little too possessive of her. I wasn’t thinking, but at least she didn’t act like it was freaking her out. But asking her to come to a doctor's appointment, well, that’s just too real and I’m not sure she’s ready for it. And even though I’d love to have her here with me, I don’t want this to get too intense for her.
When the test is complete, the machine starts to move, and I roll out of the tunnel. Dr. Beem is at my side and undoes the basket wrapped around my head.
I stand up, and he lets me put my jeans and T-shirt back on. When I come out of the room, Dr. Beem is outside in the hallway. “I’m going to take you back to the room and let you have a seat.” We start to move, and I follow behind him until we’re walking into the room I was in earlier. “I’m going to be a little while. I want to go through all the tests, and I want to be thorough. I’ll be back as soon as I know something and have a plan in place.”
“Okay,” I tell him. There are at least a thousand questions going through my head, but I don’t ask any of them. Right now, they’re all ‘what if’ questions, and there’s no sense in wasting the man’s time. When he has an answer, I’ll ask all my questions.
“There’s a couch next to this chair if you want to lie down. I don’t know how comfortable that plastic chair is.”