The Lives We Lead | tmr/tw • tw/tmr |

(17) Doctor Simon? Your Patient is Howling

Abigail had perfected her bedside manners long before returning to earth 618. Respectable bedside manners were mandatory when working with children who had the Flare. Yes, Abigail could manage a smile even when treating the most hopeless of cases.

But when Isaac Lahey showed up at her door, all those bedside manners flew right out the freaking window.

"Oh shit, Isaac! What, what happened?" She gushed while hurrying to loop his uninjured arm over her shoulder and helped him in.

"Were you not just listening?" he groaned out in annoyance. "My landlords just tried to kill me."

He sounded nonchalant; like he was annoyed while sharing how he got gum on the bottom of his shoe—not at all like a normal response to almost getting murdered.

Abbie knew Isaac always made jokes about people trying to kill him and his old friends but she never thought that he could be serious. Him acting so calm scared her even more than if he was also freaking out. How many times did he have to be attacked in the past for his situation not to scare him?

She guided him from the entryway into the kitchen. For a modest, minimalist household, the kitchen was far more grand. Along with being extensive travelers, Abbie's parents also loved their culinary arts.

With dark flooring and light gray cabinetry, the mostly white marble countertops blended the room together well, contrasted by the cement-topped kitchen island. The room was large, with plenty of space for at least 3 people to work without feeling overly crowded. In addition, there were stainless steel appliances, including a large fridge and two ovens side-by-side. As well, there was the beautiful farmhouse sink with its garbage disposal system that Abbie distinctly remembered her parents arguing about for almost two weeks. She remembered her mother winning in the end, saying she was the one that always did the dishes and that she wanted it—well, demanded it. The slash of color in the room came from the brick backsplash, complement by the deep blue hand towels and utensil holder. Overall, it was a gorgeous kitchen that any cook would kill for.

Leaving Isaac to lean in the doorway to the kitchen, Abbie rushed over and pushed all of the sandwich making supplies off of the large kitchen island. She had made a sandwich earlier and all the ingredients and kitchen utensils were then sprawled out on the ground. She was luckily that there was no glass items—although, with her closest friend bleeding out not even 5 feet away, she cared little about what had been on the counter before.

Afterwards, Abbie rushed to help Isaac over and onto the island counter-top. If the moment had been less dire, she might have laughed at how easily his long legs swung up onto the counter, like one might slip onto a bar stool; perhaps her counter was always meant to become a surgical table for her ever worrisome friend.  She grabbed a clean rag from the drawer and pressed it down hard to the biggest wound she noticed, well aware that it was more important to stop the bleeding than worry about his pain level. Abbie expected him to cry out in pain and flinch but never in a million years had she expect him to give an agonizing howl was his his eyes glowed a bright, prominent yellow color.

"What the fu—oh gosh, you're still bleeding really bad," she panicked as more blood began pouring out than before.

Isaac, in too much pain to explain what she needed to do in order to save his life, groaned out as he tried his hardest not to lose control over his actions. Walking her through Healing a Werewolf for Dummies would prove pointless if he then torn her to shreds seconds after, unable to stop the instinctual need to defend himself. 

Abbie quickly ripped the already torn shirt off of him, not at all embarrassed by his very toned chest and abdomen as she was already in full doctor-mode, so to speak. She didn't have time to act like an awkward teenager (though she doubted many women could see that sight without acting like bumbling teenagers themselves); she needed to assess the damage.