Virgo--Book 7 Page 2

  Hanging up, I turned to flick the kettle on, instantly regretting it when I realised that it would be rude not to offer the newcomer a drink.

  “Hello,” she said.

  Looking at her, I smiled, but she only stared. Her harsh expression made me pause. What was wrong with her? Why was she looking at me like that?

  “I thought we weren’t allowed personal phone calls in the staff room?”

  My mouth dropped open of its own accord. I quickly shut it as silence filled the room, except for the sizzling sound of the kettle starting to heat water. Her skin was smooth, tanned. It looked like she’d been on holiday somewhere warm. Yet, I didn’t feel encouraged to ask her. Making conversation wasn’t on my to do list now.

  “Are you going to explain?” She folded her arms across her waist and cocked her hip to the side.

  My gaze followed the movement before it snapped back to the threatening growl that coloured her face.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “Are you my new boss?”

  My sarcastic tone made her take a deep breath. Her face straightened before she turned to her locker, grabbed out her uniform and left the room. Good riddance to her. I didn’t like her energy one bit.

  As I made myself a tea, I grabbed a biscuit out of the tin. We all shared responsibility in filling it up. It was my turn next week. I had made a rota for us to top up certain luxury items that the hospital wouldn’t supply, including food.

  Putting the rude woman out of my mind, I changed into my scrubs and headed towards the main office. There were several desks in there with a door that led to the lab.

  We had been researching viruses for the last year after the hospital was issued a grant from the government. Two doctors researched what they could, checking to see what happened to a virus’s structure, replication, pathogenesis and evolution.

  “Morning, Virgo,” Gary, the main doctor, greeted as I came into the room.

  Looking over to his desk with a smile on my face, I froze when the new woman caught my eye. She was standing next to Gary, wearing a doctor’s white coat. I had probably just assumed she was a nurse, but no, she probably was my new boss.

  “This is Alice.” Wasting no time, Gary didn’t give any of us a chance to talk. Instead, he shooed her into the lab, closing the door behind him.

  My breath huffed out as they went. At least he saved me the embarrassment of muttering an apology. Our other doctor had left two weeks ago, and we hadn’t been expecting a replacement for a while yet.

  “Are you okay?” My colleague, Lacy, raised her eyebrows.

  I was still staring at the door, gobsmacked by my encounter with the rude woman. She might have been a looker, but she was rude all the same.

  “Who’s that?” Moving over to my desk, I plonked my stuff down and sank into my chair.

  Lacy was a popular girl in her late twenties. Although I was a few years younger, we had become quite close. Working together was fun. Because it was serious work, we often made jokes about Gary.

  Watching me closely, Lacy picked up a pen and threw it at me. It rebounded off my arm, making me look at her, instead of the door.

  “She’s just graduated from Uni. Her scores were so high, they hired her straight away. I think her name’s Alice.”

  The woman’s haughty attitude would grate on me if she kept it up. Maybe her first day nerves were getting the better of her, but they wouldn’t get the better of me.

  “She had the cheek to have a go about my personal call in the staff room.”

  Frowning, Lacy glanced towards the door. “She better not try that one on us. She’s younger than me, more likely to be your age. I won’t have her telling me what to do.”

  Flicking my computer on, I waited a century for it to load. According to the funding department, our computers didn’t need to be top notch new ones. The ones we had were perfectly adequate, which was frustrating.

  “Let’s just hope... I dunno.” I couldn’t even make an excuse for her.

  She gave me a weird feeling, which instantly made me paranoid. My family had been brought up to be on the lookout for danger. I tried my hardest not to always suspect someone of wanting to hurt me. Being a love warrior hadn’t been as glamourous as I’d imagined. When I was a child, my parents, who were technically our guardians, were good at persuading us that what we were here to do in this lifetime, was something amazing. It was so remarkable, we would bring love back to a planet that had lost its way.

  “Virgo?” Gary poked his head through the door. “Could you join us? I need to get Alice up to speed with what we’ve been doing.”

  Swallowing, I slid from my chair, glancing at Lacy as I went through the door. She stuck her tongue out at the last minute, making me bite back a laugh. If Alice was the new doctor, that meant I was her new assistant.

  “Aren’t you a nurse?” Alice asked as soon as I came into the room.

  The smell of disinfectant was always rife in the lab. Tables lined the outside of the room, with two in the centre. They were white with various machines on them.

  Alice sat with Gary in the centre of the room. He handed her a file as soon as I lowered myself onto a stool opposite them.

  “I am. I still do shift work, but I’ve cut my hours in half so I can work here, too.”

  Gary leant over and patted my hand. He was a middle-aged, unassuming man, with a rotund belly and glasses. His stubble was getting a little too long for protocol. Would Alice pull him up on it?

  Shaking myself, I stopped with the immature thoughts. She had to be nice. Most doctors were.

  “Well, if you work with me, I want full commitment from you.” She didn’t look up as she read my notes.

  I almost choked, so instead I cleared my throat as Gary’s eyes widened. He looked between us before he sat forward, getting closer to Alice.

  “Virgo’s been incredibly valuable to this research. Her natural ability to see healing qualities has helped us to figure out how medications can be used for preventative measures. I’ve often asked her to go and train as a doctor. She would probably match your results.”

  Alice’s cheeks burned red as she lowered her gaze. Her rudeness had been shot down by my friend and colleague. Yes, we were pretty young, as were all the females that worked in the lab, but that didn’t make Alice better than any of us, even with her pretty distinction.

  “I look forward to working with you.” She quickly changed her tune when the doctor had proved her judgement of me wrong.

  But, what had given her the right to judge me on a phone call? Non personal calls in work time had been a loose rule around the whole hospital. Staff room calls, when no one else was in there, hadn’t ever been frowned upon. Especially not in this department as there were only four of us in it.

  “Now, you’ve been training in New York, so I’d love to hear about that. But, first, I’ve got an important phone call meeting. I’ll leave you with Virgo so you can get to know one another better. Show her the ropes,” Gary said to me as he got up to leave.

  Once he was gone, Alice glanced at me. Something about me had riled her, and something about her had riled me also. Which meant, I had to make an effort.

  “Let me show you our equipment.” Standing, I was about to move to the nearest machine when Alice shook her head.

  “I know what everything is. It’s a very similar layout to the lab in New York. The funding came from there, so they wanted a similar set up.” Pointing, she indicated that I sit down again. “Let’s talk about you.”

  Doing as she suggested, I lowered myself back on the stool. My heart thumped in my chest as she looked at me, studying my face. “What about me?”

  Her intense gaze made me wonder what she saw. Did I look like someone who would be good at my job? Or, was she doubting everything Gary had said based on my call with Leo?

  “I’d like to know about your natural ability.”

  Her words caused my palms to sweat. My natural abilities were powers I’d had since I was a child. If I looke
d through a microscope, I could see how the cells moved. Yet, my real power was with alternative medicine. My herb poultices had been used by my siblings our whole lives.

  Whenever Leo or Aries accidentally hurt themselves, or each other, with their fire, I was there to assist in the healing. Saggi was much more sensible when she had trained her power, but her creation of fire was different compared to the other two fire element boys.

  “I can’t really explain it. When I see a virus attack healthy cells, I can see what’s needed to bring it under control. Sometimes that’s led to preventative meds being created. It’s my job, not really an ability.” I stumbled over my words, slightly nervous by her interrogation.

  Her shoulders relaxed as soon as I stopped talking. She smiled for the first time, relieving the pressure in the room. Her face was very pretty when she wasn’t scowling.

  Ducking my head, I stopped looking at her. My thoughts sometimes took on their own mind, analysing every little thing. In fact, I usually sat and watched people so I could rationalise them.

  “Well, if you’re as good as Gary says, I look forward to working with you.”

  A small nod dismissed me as she went back to reading a file on the norovirus. Her sudden change in attitude sent my mind spinning. Getting up from my seat, I walked towards the door, slightly confused by what had just happened.

  “Oh, and one more thing,” Alice called as my hand prepared to open the door. “Don’t ever expect to be as good as me, regardless of what Gary says.”

  Chapter Three

  Bitch. That’s what she was. As soon as I’d left the room, I’d uttered the word, causing Lacy to laugh. That had been eight hours ago. The shift had gone quickly, and luckily, I’d not seen Alice again.

  “Are you nervous?” my friend asked, handing me a drink.

  The small group of nurses often gathered in the pub after a long shift. My mind had wandered numerous times to Alice, but now it was brought back to the present.

  “Very,” I murmured, my hand shaking as I took the glass of wine.

  As we got closer to the group, I looked around the bar. There were plenty of men and women, but I only looked for one. A girl, around my age.

  Mid-twenties had crept up on me over the last few years. Way too soon.

  “There she is,” my friend announced, pushing me towards the direction of the door.

  Sweat lined my hands, almost making the glass slip from my palm. Cupping it with both hands, I smiled to myself when a tall woman with curly, black hair and cute glasses, waved at me.

  “Wish me luck.” I almost whispered my words as I said goodbye to my friends and left them to go on my first ever date.

  The energy in the room shifted as Florence came up to me. Bending, she kissed me on the cheek. We had met on a dating site, my first ever foray into online dating. It wasn’t as easy as I’d imagined, especially considering I still hadn’t told my siblings about my sexuality.

  “Hey,” she said, her cheeks growing pink as I stared.

  Clearing my throat, I tucked my thin hair behind my ear. “Hello, thanks for coming.”

  Her raised eyebrows alerted me to my too polite manner. We were on a date, we should be...doing what exactly?

  “Shall we sit? The waiter will get our drinks order from the table.”

  Nodding, I followed, looking over my shoulder at my friends who had persuaded me to go out with a woman. They were really supportive of me, which made it easier as I lowered myself to sit opposite Florence.

  Smiling, she glanced at the candle between us, her eyes then moving to look over my face. “You’re like a little pixie.”

  Reaching over, she stroked my cheek before running her thumb over my lips. I laughed, almost knocking my drink over as I placed it down. She was making me nervous with how forward she was being. Brushing my hand over hers, I discreetly moved it away.

  “Virgo?”

  The voice made me freeze. Turning, I faced Aries. He was sitting in a booth around the corner. He had been out of my eye line, but I was clearly in his. Great.

  Getting up from his chair, Aries came over. Natalie was with him, her eyes wide and cheeks pale. Her bump knocked against the table as she climbed out and came over with my brother.

  “Hello,” Aries greeted Florence. “I’m Virgo’s brother.”

  Offering his hand, he watched as she smiled at me before taking it. He was testing her, working out what was going on with that brain of his.

  “Sorry, we didn’t mean to interrupt.” Natalie grabbed Aries’ arm and attempted to pull on him.

  “No, they don’t mind. We’re not interrupting anything, are we?”

  Raising his eyebrows at me, he stared. I dropped my gaze, instead watching the bubbles of the wine climb up my glass.

  “We’ve only just got here. It’s out first date, as I’m sure Virgo’s told you, so we’re just getting to know each other.” Florence’s intentions were innocent enough.

  Aries’ cheeks grew red as he clenched his fists. “Virgo, can I have a quick word? In private.”

  Natalie tried to persuade him to leave again, but he wasn’t having any of it. If I didn’t speak to him, he wouldn’t stop. Which meant, I had to leave. I couldn’t stay when one of the most volatile of my brothers had just caught me out.

  “I’m sorry,” I said to Florence. “I have to go.”

  Her mouth dropped open as I swooped up my bag from the floor and got to my feet, knocking the cutlery on to the stone floor on the way. The metal clash made everyone stare as Aries’ imposing height towered over us.

  “I’m leaving,” I hissed to him when Natalie tried to make me stay.

  It was ruined, the whole evening. Even if by some miracle he did leave us alone, he would’ve killed the mood. And, made me paranoid about what he was going to say. So, it was better to go.

  “I’m so sorry,” I muttered to Florence before rushing through the crowd and out of the restaurant.

  Footsteps followed me as I put my coat on and marched down the road. Anything to get away from the embarrassment. My skin burned as I thought about Florence’s face. She’d looked horrified.

  “Virgo, wait!” Aries could get lost.

  As far as I was concerned, he had just proved exactly why I hadn’t let any of them know about my feelings. My siblings had no idea how to rein it in and if they expected me to be open and honest with them, they would have to earn it.

  “Please,” Natalie called. “I can’t walk that fast.”

  Spinning, I faced Aries as he caught up with me. Reaching up to poke him in the chest, I stopped him from coming any further. “You need to take care of your fiancée, not chase after me.”

  Biting his lip, he turned, saw that Natalie was fine as she stopped and put her hands on her hips, and then faced me again.

  “What...why...I mean, what...?” Aries couldn’t get his words out.

  Running his hand over his hair, he puffed out his breath. The situation made him feel uncomfortable, did it? Well, how did he think I felt, then?

  “I’m gay, okay?” I said, shutting him up.

  Natalie came closer, determined to stop her man from saying something stupid. It wouldn’t take a lot for him to make me blow. I was allowed to date women if I wanted.

  “I don’t care that you’re gay,” Aries said, grabbing my hand when I went to spin away. “I’m angry because you didn’t feel like you could tell us.”

  “Do you blame me?” I almost shouted in return.

  Taking a deep breath, Aries turned from me and stepped into the road to hail a taxi. Natalie came to me and put an arm around my shoulder. Without saying another word, all three of us climbed into the cab and stayed silent while it took us home.

  “I’ll tell them all now,” I suddenly said as we stood at the entrance to our building.

  We lived in a hotel, or what would be a hotel when we had finished with it. Our father had brought the building a few years ago, but since we had to leave our old place, we had made it our own. It
was big enough to make part of it into our home.

  The front door opened as Aries pushed it, indicating that we should go through. The lift was big and clunky. Father had said that he would change it when the renovations were done after we’d left.

  “I don’t want you to feel like you need to tell them just because I know. We can keep a secret.”

  Aries rationale would not apply to himself if he was the one who didn’t know about me, but it was alright to keep it from the others. Well, apart from Leo, but he didn’t know that our famous brother was the first to know.

  “You’ve proved to me that it’s worse if you lot don’t know. I never want to be that embarrassed again,” I muttered through my teeth as I pressed the button for the lift.

  Aries took my arm. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel like that. I was...shocked, that’s all.”

  The clunking of the lift took us up several flights. Once there, the doors creaked open, revealing the huge open living area. Several sofas and the television were in the first part of the room. Wall length windows made up the left hand wall. On the right, there was a flight of stairs leading up to the bedrooms.

  A couple of the zodiacs were in the kitchenette, which was against the far wall. They were chatting as they prepared themselves something to eat.

  “I support you, even if you hate me right now.” Aries patted my shoulder as he went over to the others.

  Natalie stayed with me, her eyes brimming with tears. “I’m sorry to make it about me, but I’m also a little sad that you didn’t tell me.”

  Although she had been in our life for a while, Natalie had no idea what it was like growing up surrounded by men and women whose destinies were so closely tied to mine. It was wonderful on one hand, but freedom wasn’t exactly a given.

  “I’m sorry, Nat, it wasn’t anything personal.”

  Taking my hands, she pulled me into a hug. Her stomach bashed into mine, making me have to reach high to get my arms around her.

  “Aw, isn’t that sweet?” Cancer said as she came down the stairs, followed by Derek.