Page 1 of A Diagnosis Dark & Deadly

Chapter1

If Olivia Goodsonwas one thing, she wasn’t dramatic. She didn’t like to wear her heart on her sleeve because she felt her emotions were hers to deal with - alone. She was not always like this; a couple years ago, one could read Olivia like a book. There were a number of causes that changed Olivia; first and foremost, she was a doctor, and as such, she needed to remain neutral and professional when interacting with her patients. Secondly, she worked for world-famous Dr. Mason Hadley, a diagnostician and a complete asshole. He pushed her, challenged her, more so than she had ever been. While she always liked a challenge, he could definitely be mean about it. She had known the doctor for three years; she had completed a year of residency with him and worked for him for two years after that on his diagnostics team as an oncologist. He was definitely a reason why Olivia became so guarded with her emotions. But the biggest cause of her isolation was her boyfriend of two years. Soon to beex.

Owen Bernard was a charming guy. He wasn’t necessarily handsome, but he could make anyone laugh and was most definitely a people person. However, just because he got along with everyone did not mean he was a good boyfriend. He had been badly hurt by an ex before he met Olivia, and for the first year of their relationship, became incredibly defensive and demanding, if only to see what he could get away with and to see how long Olivia would be willing to put up with him. Olivia gave everything she had and more; no one could tell her that she didn’t try to make the relationship work. But as Owen began to open up to Olivia, it only got worse. Because he began to trust her, he was not shy asking for things or making plans and leaving Olivia with thebill.

“You’re the doctor,” he would say. “I’m just a warehouse worker. Once I make more money, I promise I’ll start taking youout.”

While gifts from Olivia were constant, gifts from Owen were rare. She had finally realized she had to end things during a sexual encounter with him. They were at his place, and as he was maneuvering on top of her, she was staring at the ceiling feeling… nothing. Their sex life was once bountiful, and while not exactly mind-blowing, she had been introduced to what an orgasm felt like. Maybe it was because she had lost her virginity to him that she had held so long to who she thought they could be. Whatever the reason, after they had finished and had both departed to their respective jobs, Olivia had realized she had fallen out of love with him long before then. She knew this because when she had come to this conclusion, it didn’t hurt the way she thought it would.

And because she knew this, she knew she had to leavehim.

She had called him around ten in the morning, when he was taking his ten-minute break, and asked her to come to the hospital because they had to talk. Owen was somewhat paranoid, but Olivia remained silent about the reason. She had to do this in person.

The Friday was a long one; her mind was not where it should be. She was distracted, trying to make up a sincere break-up speech in her head. Olivia Goodson was rarely distracted when it came to her job. When Dr. Hadley offered his team the opportunity to cover his clinic hours that day (as he usually did when they didn’t have a case), Olivia jumped at the chance. At least at the clinic, Olivia was somewhat distracted. Dr. Hadley always seemed to know when someone had something else going on, and normally he would mock them until he found out what, exactly, it was. Olivia wasn’t in the mood for his persistent questioning, and when he offered her a chance to escape, she took it without hesitation.

Of course, this just piqued the doctor’s curiosity, and all throughout the day, Hadley would make random visits to the clinic, trying to figure out why Olivia had wanted the hours so bad. Olivia always offered to give them back, which would cause Hadley to disappear for a portion of time before reappearing with some sort of excuse.

During lunch, Olivia opted to stay in an empty exam room and take her own blood to have it tested for any STDs. While she felt that Owen had not cheated on her during their relationship, Olivia wasn’t as practiced in the art of making love as Owen was, and felt that he might have had something from before without knowing it. She deposited the blood in the lab, and requested, if possible, to have the results by the end of the day. Of course, she didn’t mention that it was her blood being tested. If word got out she was testing herself for STDs, she didn’t know what she woulddo.

Olivia managed to grab an apple before lunch was over, and decided to finish up the last four hours of her shift in the clinic. There were always a steady number of patients which meant that time moved along. She wasn’t surprised to see Hadley pop up a few times, but she expertly avoidedhim.

By the time five o’clock rolled around, Holy was incredibly nervous. Her heart pounded painfully and her stomach was abnormally light, as though she was at the peak of dropping on a very tall rollercoaster. She slipped off her lab coat and grabbed her briefcase from her locker. Flattening out the wrinkles in her shirt, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her red hair was pulled back, her green eyes looked somewhat lifeless, and when she tried to smile, the act felt almost foreign to her. She was wearing an oversized white, collared shirt and formless black slacks. Owen didn’t like her dressing too revealing, and he reminded her that as a doctor, she didn’t want to look like a slut, now didshe?

She opened her locker after forgetting to have placed her coat inside when she saw a photo of herself hanging on the inside of the door. She must have been two years old, with perfectly light curls and rosy red cheeks. She had blue eyes then; they had changed color as she had gotten older. Without warning, Olivia felt tears prick the edge of her eyes; she didn’t even recognize herself anymore. She had changed, and not in a goodway.

This only encouraged her to continue with herplan.

After shutting her locker, she swallowed the tears away. Before leaving, she stopped by the lab to pick up her test results. She was nervous as the technician handed her a small, white slip of paper before leaving her to stand in the hall alone. She hesitated before looking down, wishing that he would have just told her. Then she wouldn’t have to do this alone. But then again, he didn’t know the blood was hers. Unfolding the slip, her eyes looked at the bolded words.

Negative.

She was negative for everything. She couldn’t help but smile, and she shoved the paper in her briefcase. This just added to her confidence.

After taking the elevator up to the lobby, she began to walk outside. It had begun to rain, which was nothing new to Boulder. After stepping outside, she opened her umbrella. Owen told her that as a doctor, wet clothes were deemed inappropriate, and she wanted to look put together, didn’tshe?

She saw Owen sitting on a bench in front of the hospital, waiting for her. He, too, was holding an umbrella over his body to prevent himself from getting wet. When he saw Olivia walk over to him, he stood, ready to pull her into a hug. Olivia looked away and stepped back, preventing Owen from following through with theact.

“Babe?” he asked with confusion, arching a brow and looking at his girlfriend pointedly. “What’s goingon?”

Olivia sighed, and then forced herself to look him in the eyes. She had better get this over with; it was now or never.