Memories Drifted Into Soft Silence by Kyx Frost 277

Athena

He turned to look at Sarah and me, his eyes assessing us both professionally, and I saw him take

in the cut on Sarah’s arm that was still bleeding through the bandage Kiara had wrapped, the bruises

forming on her face, and then his eyes moved to me taking in my neck, my face, the way I was

holding myself.

“You’re pregnant,” he said to me, and it wasn’t a question.

“Yes,” I said. “About two weeks.”

His expression became even more focused. “Then you go first,” he said firmly. “Sit down on the

bed, please.”

“Sarah’s arm needs stitches,” I protested. “She should go first.”

“Sarah’s arm will wait another few minutes,” Dr. Chen said, his tone brooking no argument.

“You’re pregnant and you were just in a physical altercation, that takes priority, now please, sit

down.”

Tristan guided me to the daybed and I sat down, suddenly feeling how exhausted and sore I

really was.

Dr. Chen pulled up a chair in front of me while Tristan pulled up another chair right beside me,

taking my hand in his.

“Tell me everything,” Dr. Chen said. “What happened during the fight? Did you take any hits to

your abdomen?”

“No,” I said quickly. “I was very careful about that, I kept my body turned, kept my front

protected.”

“Where did you take hits?” he asked.

“My ribs, my back, my shoulder,” I said. “Someone choked me, that’s where these bruises on my

neck came from.”

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1837 Tue, Jan 20

I saw Tristan’s hand clench into a fist at that, but he didn’t say anything.

“Anywhere else?” Dr. Chen asked.

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“My wrist where someone grabbed me,” I said. “But that’s it, I don’t think anything is broken.”

“We’ll see about that,” he said. “Are you experiencing any cramping? Any bleeding?”

“No,” I said. “Nothing like that.”

“That’s good,” he said. “That’s very good, but I still need to examine you thoroughly.”

He started with my neck, his fingers gentle as he probed the bruising.

“This looks worse than it is,” he said. “The bruising is superficial, there’s no damage to your

trachea that I can feel, but there is some swelling.”

“Is that dangerous?” Tristan asked, his voice tight.

“Not at the moment,” Dr. Chen said. “But it’s something we need to monitor, Athena, can you

swallow for me?”

I tried and winced at the pain. “It hurts but I can do it.”

“Good,” he said. “Can you take a deep breath?”

I breathed in and felt the pain in my throat but could do it.

“Any trouble breathing at all?” he asked. “Any feeling like your airway is closing?”

“No,” I said. “Just pain when I swallow and breathe.”

He pulled out a small light and had me open my mouth so he could look at my throat.

“There’s some inflammation but nothing that looks immediately concerning,” he said.

“However, if you notice any increase in swelling any difficulty breathing, any feeling like your throat is closing up, you need to tell someone immediately, understood?”

“Understood,” I said.

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side.

He moved on to my ribs next, and his expression became more serious.

“I’m going to need to lift your shirt to examine your ribs properly,” he said. “Is that alright?”

I nodded and he carefully lifted the hem of my shirt, exposing my ribs and stomach.

I heard Tristan suck in a sharp breath and when I looked down, I saw why.

The bruising on my ribs was extensive, dark purple and blue spreading across my entire right

“I’m going to touch these,” Dr. Chen said. “It’s going to hurt but I need to determine if anything

is broken.”

He pressed carefully along my ribs and I tried not to make any sound but I couldn’t help the

small gasps of pain that escaped.

Tristan’s hand tightened on mine with each sound I made, and when I glanced at him, I saw his jaw was clenched so tight I was worried he’d crack a tooth.

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Sara Lili

Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.