Rowena“Ouch!” Eric held his head where I bumped it, rubbing it in an exaggerated manner. “Manager, I think I need to be treated for a concussion now.”As he spoke, I saw the hint of a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. He wasn’t hurt at all. I felt a blush creep into my cheeks, however, and I quickly jumped away from Eric as Adrian stepped into the room.
Rowena“Everything looks good here. You’re all set to go.”I leaned back from my current patient, a brown-haired warrior with a tattoo of a tree on his arm. He was in perfectly healthy condition; his musculature was completely symmetrical, his eyesight was perfect, and his heart and lungs sounded strong and steady.
RowenaA soft sigh escaped my lips as I kicked off my shoes in the doorway of our mansion. It had been a long, but satisfying, day. I had new patients for my clinic, I was gaining more traction as a combat manager, and I had a date with Adrian planned.Everything finally felt like it was coming together. I couldn’t help but think that maybe, just maybe, I would finally be taken seriously at the warrior camp. Maybe now people would begin to respect me rather than treating me like an
Rowena & EricEricThe car was silent save for the revving of the engine as I sped down the winding roads. I didn’t even bother to turn on the radio like I normally did; I just gripped the steering wheel tightly until my small warrior camp-sanctioned cottage came into view.“I just don’t get it,” I muttered under my breath as I pulled into my parking spot. “What d
RowenaAdrian and I leaned closely over the candlelit table, our hands clasped together. His thumb stroked back and forth over my knuckles, each small touch sending a shiver through me.“You really do look gorgeous,” he said softly, reaching out to brush a strand of hair behind my ear. “Even prettier than the homecoming dance.”
Rowena“Here’s your ticket, Rowena.” Adrian held my ticket out to me with a smile on his face. I took it, still ignoring Eric’s looming presence beside me, and felt my heart leap a bit.It was a scary movie. It was actually a genre that I enjoyed, but the thought of leaping into my date’s arms during a scary scene with my overbearing older brother right next to me felt…Weird, to say the least.“Scary movie, eh?” Eric said as we made our way to the theater, popcorn bags in hand. “Rowena doesn’t like scary movies.”Adrian raised an eyebrow. “Oh, you don’t? I can—”“I do like scary movies,” I said, shooting Eric a warning glare. “He’s just messing with me.”“Oh.” Adrian looked back and forth between the two of us, but said nothing. The three of us made our way to our seats, and of course, I got stuck in the middle. Eric leaned over as the trailers began to play, whispering in my ear.“Sorry for crashing your date,” he murmured.I whipped my head around and glared at him. “Just sit there
Rowena“Eric, you asshole! You stood me up!”Eric and I both whipped our heads around at the sudden shrill voice that was breaking through the air. When I turned, I felt my heart sink.Heather.She stormed up to him and stopped just a few feet away, her face beet red with fury and her hands curled up into fists. For a few moments, it seemed as though she didn’t notice me standing there outside the movie theater.“Heather,” Eric said with a surprising amount of calmness for someone who was about to be chewed out on the street. “What are you talking about?”“What do you mean, ‘what am I talking about’?” Heather huffed. “I got all dressed up for our date, and you didn’t even think to tell me you weren’t coming?”Eric furrowed his brow. “I never agreed to a date.”“Yes, you did.” She folded her arms across her chest. “You said you would meet me at the club.”“No. I said I might be there tonight. I never said that I would meet you there.”There was a long, tense silence as Heather glared u
RowenaThe kitchen smelled like fresh coffee and pancakes as I sat at the counter, finishing up my breakfast. I yawned, scrolling through my phone as the latest news headlines popped up on the screen.Next to me, my father, a tall and elegant man with slightly graying hair and a neat beard, flipped through the newspaper, and beside him my mother sipped her coffee. It was a relaxing Saturday morning, especially with the sun streaming in through the window.“Hey, look at this,” I said, holding my phone up. “They released a list of potential suspects for that missing princess. I wonder who it could be.”“Likely someone not from around here,” my father said casually without looking up from his newspaper.As I scrolled through the list of names, though, my eyes widened upon seeing a familiar name. My name, to be exact. But it made no sense. “My name is on here.”My father slammed down his newspaper, and my mother nearly spilled her coffee. “What?” they both said in unison.“My name is on h